2 verifications about Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau ×
“Rousseau attributed the statement "Let them eat cake" to a princess, possibly Maria Theresa of Spain.”
Rousseau did associate the line with a princess, but he did not name one. The “possibly Maria Theresa of Spain” part comes from later speculation by other writers, not from Rousseau’s text. That distinction matters because the claim makes it sound as though Rousseau himself pointed to Maria Theresa, which the evidence does not support.
“Marie Antoinette said the phrase "Let them eat cake" in response to being told that peasants had no bread.”
This claim is false. There is no historical evidence that Marie Antoinette ever said "Let them eat cake." The phrase predates her, appearing in Rousseau's Confessions (written 1765–1769) attributed to an unnamed princess when Marie Antoinette was still a child in Austria. The first printed attribution to her appeared only in 1843 — fifty years after her execution. Multiple authoritative sources confirm the quote is a myth rooted in political propaganda, not a documented historical event.