Two classic tales together in one full length novel, each espousing the original virtues of Christianity and written by the founder of Romanticism in French literature Two classic tales together in one full length novel, each espousing the original virtues of Christianity and written by the founder of Romanticism in French literature "Atala," published in 1801, tells the tragic tale of the eponymous heroine, the mixed-race Christian daughter of a Native American chief, who saves the captured Chactas and tragically falls in love with him. "Rene," published the following year, is the seminal portrait of the sensitive and world-weary young Romantic hero who attempts to flee civilization and pursue a life in the wilderness of Louisiana. Referred to by their author as his "passionate twins" and intended to provide an illustration of the original, primitive virtues of Christianity, the two novellas were hugely successful in their time, thanks to their vivid depictions of exotic locations and their attunement to the emotional sensitivities of the age. Even more significantly, they helped shape European Romantic archetypes which would bear resonance throughout the 19th century and profoundly mark its literature and art in general.
Chateaubriand e stato il fondatore del moderno opinionismo politico, e questo violento pamphlet, scritto tra l''inverno e la primavera del 1814 per spianare la strada al ritorno dei Borbone sul trono di Francia, lo conferma. Fu, il suo, uno di quei gesti risoluti e instintivi che nascono dall''indignazione e tagliano tutti i ponti dietro di se. Scopo di Chateaubriand era di convincere i francesi che per evitare una nuova repubblica o l''instaurazione di un governo straniero bisognava restituire la fiducia ai Borbone e insieme togliere loro il potere assoluto, dando alla Francia un governo monarchico-costituzionale.
C'est pour obéir aux ordres du directeur de ma vie que j'ai écrit l'histoire de l'abbé de Rancé. Mon premier ouvrage a été fait à Londres en 1797, mon dernier à Paris en 1844. Entre ces deux dates, il n'y a pas moins de quarante-sept ans, trois fois l'espace que Tacite appelle une longue partie de la vie humaine. Le temps s'est écoulé, j'ai vu mourir Louis XVI et Bonaparte ; c'est une dérision que de vivre après cela. Que fais-je dans le monde ? Autrefois je barbouillai du papier avec mes filles, Atala, Blanca, Cymodocée, chimères qui ont été chercher ailleurs la jeunesse. On remarque des traits indécis dans le tableau du Déluge, dernier travail du Poussin : ces défauts du temps embellissent le chef-d'?uvre du grand peintre ; mais on ne m'excusera pas, je ne suis pas Poussin, je n'habite point au bord du Tibre, et j'ai un mauvais soleil.
