What city is "Handmaid's Tale" set in, according to Margaret Atwood?

Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale portrays the oppressive regime of Gilead taking over the United States and stripping away women's rights. While the novel does not specify an exact city, Atwood has stated in interviews that she imagined the events occurring in Cambridge, Massachusetts when first conceiving the story. Examining her statements on the setting provides insight into the personal origins of this acclaimed work.

Imagining Gilead in Cambridge - Atwood's Personal Visualization

In a 2021 interview, Atwood revealed she visually imagined Gilead's dystopia taking hold in Cambridge while beginning to write The Handmaid's Tale in Berlin in 1984. Having taught at Harvard in nearby Boston earlier in her career, Atwood was familiar with Cambridge as an iconic New England intellectual hub.

Chilling Disparity - Gilead's Impact in a Progressive Hub

This personalized setting choice by Atwood adds deeper resonance, as the imposition of Gilead’s anti-feminist order would have distinctly shocking consequences in a progressive yet historic city like Cambridge. Atwood intimated the chilling disparity between Cambridge’s enlightened reputation and Gilead’s totalitarian control made this a potent imaginative location.

Unspecified Setting - A Warning for All Times and Places

However, Atwood did not explicitly identify Cambridge or any other specific place as the novel's setting, leaving it open for broader applicability. Readers can recognize that liberties threatened anywhere risk a slide into oppression akin to Gilead's rule, in any community.

Conclusion

While Margaret Atwood had the local context of Cambridge in mind when envisioning Gilead’s genesis, she ultimately left the setting unspecified to convey that prohibitive regimes can arise even in supposed bastions of liberty if gradual encroachment of rights goes unchecked. The handmaids' tale carries resonant warning for all times and places.