Reverse impersonation shows style constituted the queen’s identity more than her person

Evidence

In the complex pre-Revolution scam known as the Diamond Necklace Affair—which was a public relations disaster for Antoinette, although she was not at fault—she had been imitated by a prostitute who had been specially coached, to ape her style. The demimondaine had sent out all the right signals to the man who was to be conned. She moved in silence, in a floating white dress, a rose in her hand; at dusk in the grounds of the palace, she walked the walk. — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 705

Categorization

• XREF: Ties to the Pandora doll image - the queen being replicable by imitation - and to craft interest in how identity and outward show diverge, as in Mantel’s Cromwell. — connects to: A monarch’s identity can be owned by those who embody it — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 698; The Elizabethan spirit outgrew the queen who had nurtured it — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 72; Monarchy collapsed once its style no longer signified as royal costume — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 704
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 705

Broader Connections

• The Elizabethan spirit outgrew the queen who had nurtured it #complicates (0.50) — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 72
• Monarchy collapsed once its style no longer signified as royal costume #contradicts (0.45) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 704