Atala

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | 700+ words | Copyright

Atala, romantic tale by Chateaubriand, published in France (1801) and translated into English by Caleb Bingham (1802). Originally intended to be an episode in Les Natchez, it was later incorporated in Le Génie du christianisme (1802).

To René, a young Frenchman self‐exiled in the American wilderness, Chactas, an old Natchez Indian, tells how he was reared among whites by Lopez, a kindly Spaniard, then captured by the enemy Muscogulges and how he escaped with Atala, the virgin bride of their chief and the daughter of Lopez. Although she returned Chactas's love, she was faithful to her vow of virginity and killed herself. Chactas and René are killed during a French massacre of the Indians.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Atala." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Atala." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-Atala.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Atala." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-Atala.html

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