What is Atlanta's pledge?

Atalanta vows to shun men because of a warning by the
Oracle at Delphi that marriage would change her character. Needless to say, marriage
would also inhibit the freedom she has enjoyed in pursuing her own way of life. It would
seem that this awareness of her loss of freedom constitutes the principal meaning of the
myth. The hatred of men that is mentioned in the retelling of the myth may be an
expression of the idea that men and women have different interests, with women usually
sacrificing theirs to serve those of men. That Milanion defeats Atalanta in their
footrace suggests that the security represented by gold is, mythically, the most usual
way by which men overcome women. It is difficult to interpret the metamorphosis of the
lovers into lion and lioness, but a strong suggestion is that uncontrolled passion does
not lead to stability and is, further, a violation of divine
propriety.