For an example of a modern day tragedy, I chose Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. This story fits almost all of the requirements for a tragedy. Marie Antoinette was born of noble stature, being the archduchess of Austria, and later married and became the queen of France. In the movie, Marie is forced to marry a difficult and uninterested man she had never met before as well as live under constant scrutiny and criticism from both her mother in Austria and the court of Versailles. The pressure and responsibility at a young age drives Marie to drink, gamble, and cheat on her husband. Her immense spending and irresponsibility contributes to France's debt is a contributing factor in the spark of France's revolution.
Marie's downfall is not entirely her fault. She is brought from Austria innocent, young, and does not know how to be a queen. Responsibility is forced upon her, and the audience pitys her for the terrible situation she is caught trying to handle without much help. Marie wants to do the best she can, but eventually succumbs to the pressure, proving that a weakness for clothes, parties, drinking, and gambling is her tragic flaw. At the end of the movie, when Marie confronts the angry mob trying to drive her from her palace, the audience sees that Marie recognizes the errors in her judgement and actions and that she has still learned from the tragedy.
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