There’s something particularly offensive about banning a book; that’s not to say that there aren’t limits to what can and can’t be expressed, and all of that is defined by the good conscience of the writer at hand, but for whatever reason it seems as though books (and in this case, novels in particular) have always remained a bastion for freedom of creative expression, in all of its forms. With that idea in mind, we here at Goliath have taken a look at some of the most controversial texts we could think of and done some research into why these classic texts were banned in the first place. Of course, with 50 Shades of Grey spending a significant amount of time on the New York Times Bestseller List, some might argue we’re past the point of banning books…
10. Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)
The subject of much controversy after being serialized in 1856, Madame Bovary is the debut novel of French author Gustave Flaubert. Now viewed as a masterpiece of modernist literature and one of the founding texts of realism, Madame Bovary tells the story of a doctor’s wife who uses a series of extramarital affairs and liberal spending habits to combat the shortcomings of a domestic life. The text, which features numerous adulterous scenes but is hardly incendiary as we understand it in the 21st century, was attacked by critics for undermining traditional values. Flaubert and his text were placed on trial for obscenities in January of 1857, shortly after the novel was published in its full form. After Flaubert’s acquittal, the novel went on to become a fundamental modernist text which is taught in University classrooms worldwide.
http://beaverarchive.alexanderyoung.info/2011/03/22/lydia-davis-madame-bovary/madamebovary_translydiadavis/ Source: Beaverarchive.alexanderyoung.info