At the heart of animal world Initiatory route and childhood story in Chateaubriand’s Mémoires d’outre-tombe

Chateaubriand’s Breton childhood story follows an initiatory route, described by ethnologists, which gives a crucial role to animals. The child forges his character close to the birds, he learns how to face fears by braving owls and a black cat in Combourg. Poor rider, Chateaubriand presents the horse as an emblem of a class and an achieved power. He shows his passion for hunting in his Mémoires, where we can see his growing sensibility to animal condition.