The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale

“Maybe none of this is about control. Maybe it really isn't about who can own whom, who can do what to whom and get away with it, even as far as death. Maybe it isn't about who can sit and who has to kneel or stand or lie down, legs spread open. Maybe it's about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it. Never tell me it amounts to the same thing.”1

Why was this book banned?

Published in 1985, The Handmaid's Tale has been frequently challenged in schools for it's depictions of sex, rape, and it's perceived criticisms against Christianity. In 2006, a parent in San Antonio, Texas, was successful in temporarily getting the book banned from the school district for being offensive to Christians. The ban was eventually vetoed and the book returned to classrooms.2

"Primarily, the challengers have objected to the 'explicit' or 'graphic' sex passages and to profanity. These passages were likened to violent pornography, the book being 'far afield from the habits and mores of this community' (ALA, Pennsylvania, 2000)...objections were also raised about the treatment of women as sex objects and the lack of respect for Christianity."3

Sources

1Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale. New York, NY: Anchor Books, 1998.

2Heyworth-Dunne, Victoria. Banned books: the world’s most controversial books, past and present. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 2022.

3Green, Jonathon, and Nicholas J. Karolides. The encyclopedia of censorship: New edition. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2005.

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