SOURCE: Beeker, Jon. “Archetype and Myth in Chateaubriand's Atala.” Symposium 31, no. 2 (summer 1977): 93-106.

In the following essay, Beeker analyzes Atala from a Jungian perspective. Using archetypal imagery, Beeker asserts the work acts as a monomyth, in that it portrays the ego's struggle for self-emancipation, and presents the characters of Atala and Chactas as two aspects of one psyche.

Chateaubriand's intent in writing Atala is clearly stated in the epilogue to the work. Here we see that the author's goal was essentially that of presenting to the readers an example of the importance of the Christian religion:

Je vis dans ce récit le tableau du peuple chasseur et du peuple laboureur, la religion, première législatrice des hommes, les dangers de l'ignorance et de l'enthousiasme religieux, opposés aux lumières, à la charité et au véritable esprit de l'Évangile, les combats des passions et des...