Rape Fantasies

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses rape, sexual violence, and gender discrimination.

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian author. She is best known for her 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale. In 2019, she released its long-awaited sequel, The Testaments. Atwood has published 17 full-length novels, and she has also published numerous standalone short stories, poetry collections, short story collections, nonfiction titles, essays, and children’s books. Atwood also releases short stories via Amazon Shorts. Her story “Cut and Thirst” (2024) was nominated for an Edgar Award. “Rape Fantasies,” originally published in The Fiddlehead literary magazine in 1975 and later included in Atwood’s 1977 collection Dancing Girls, helped solidify her reputation as a sharp observer of gender dynamics and the everyday distortions of power.

Atwood was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1939, and lived between Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto over the years following. She later earned her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and earned her master’s degree from Radcliffe College of Harvard University. She studied English, French, and philosophy. 

Atwood has taught English and writing at many universities, including the University of British Columbia, Sir George Williams University, the University of Alberta, York University, the University of Toronto, the University of Alabama, New York University, and elsewhere.