Book (Mis)Treatment in "The Handmaid’s Tale": Manipulation, Burning, and Censorship

Lucía Ramírez García

doi:10.18172/jes.6667

Authors

Lucía Ramírez García Universidad de Málaga https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8046-4400

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18172/jes.6667

Keywords:

books, dystopia, manipulation, censorship, Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale

Abstract

This article is based on the theory that books contain ideas, ideologies, and alternatives, and that the restriction and destruction of books might signify the loss of these. This paper analyses the (mis)treatment of books in The Handmaid’s Tale in three different timelines: during the regime of Gilead as well as the before and its aftermath. Offred’s flashbacks offer an insight into the freedom of the past, but it already shows signs of the future restrictions. In the present timeline Handmaids cannot read and books are symbols of power; this is reinforced by the Aunts and Commanders. The future of the Historical Notes shows the negative impact that the lack of literacy has had for the history of the country. Overall, in The Handmaid’s Tale books are tools of censorship that serve to control the narrative.

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