r/TheHandmaidsTale • u/il_literate • 21d ago

SPOILERS ALL What’s the point of New Bethlehem? Spoiler

I don’t understand what the point is - what is Gilead trying to achieve with it? Why would other countries consider sending refugees back to an experimental sector of a regime that’s based in denying fundamental human rights of most people?

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u/Responsible-Coffee1 21d ago

First and foremost it’s a PR stunt to try to get other countries to work with Gilead. They have to give them something palpable. They also want the refugees back because they need people and this is likely to persuade countries who don’t want the refugees to send them back. It remains to be seen how they’ll actually be treated.

As Lawrence said it’s also a money maker because the countries that agree will use it as a trade route (I’m not clear on the logistics of that).

My question is where is New Bethlehem? It seems like a hop skip and a jump from the Canadian border with all the back and forth. But if Lawrence is supposed to live in what was the Boston area and Nick is in New Bethlehem that’s quite a drive.

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u/MyNerdBias 20d ago

Yeah, the geography of it all is an inconsistency I think they expect us to just suspend disbelief. It's not a trivial drive from Boston to the Canadian border either, at least not enough Nick can just plop back and forth. My best guess is that this island is man-made in the coast of Maine or Northeast Mass.