Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary determines that her baby is alive and being kept in the Castavets’ apartment. Hutch’s book mentioned a major ritual on August 1, and she assumes the baby will be sacrificed then. She stops taking the pills given to her, hiding them under the mattress, and she soon feels stronger and more clear-headed. She knows she cannot trust anyone and will have to rescue the baby alone.

No one else knows that Rosemary knows about the secret entrance through the linen closet, which gives her an advantage. She remembers being carried through the closet during her dream but now believes that experience was not a dream. She prays that God will forgive her and help her save her baby.

She retrieves the pills and hides them at the bottom of a tissue box. Leah Fountain comes to sit with her that evening, and Rosemary puts the pills in Leah’s coffee. Leah falls asleep. Rosemary gets a carving knife from the kitchen and goes to the closet. She pushes on a panel at the back, which swings open to reveal another closet with a keyhole. Rosemary enters and looks through the keyhole into the Castavets’ hallway.

Rosemary enters the apartment. The hallway is empty, but she hears voices coming from the living room. She sees a painting of a church on fire, which she remembers from her dream, and another painting of naked men and women dancing in a circle. She remembers the Castavets’ coven dancing naked in her dream. She hears Minnie’s voice.

From the living room doorway, Rosemary sees the coven gathered at the other end of the room, drinking and laughing. By the bay window is a large black bassinet draped with black organza and a silver crucifix hanging upside down on the hood. Rosemary says a Hail Mary and steps into the room. She sees the Castavets, Guy, Mr. Fountain, Laura-Louise, and a young Japanese man she does not recognize; they are all standing beneath a portrait of Adrian Marcato, which hangs over the mantle. They notice Rosemary, and the room goes silent. One woman tells her to go back to bed, and the Japanese man asks if she is the mother. Rosemary raises the knife, saying she stabbed Leah and will stab anyone else who comes near her.

Looking inside the bassinet, Rosemary sees a small, rosy-faced baby with orange-red hair and tiny mittens. She reaches for him, and his eyes open—they are yellow with vertical black pupils. Rosemary screams at the group, asking what they did to the baby’s eyes. Roman says the baby has “[h]is Father’s eyes” (236). He reveals that the baby’s father is Satan, the baby’s name is Adrian, and Adrian will someday overthrow established Christianity. Satan brought the Woodhouses to the Bramford after changing his mind about Terry and chose Rosemary to give birth to his son. When Rosemary starts calling for God, Roman tells her that God is dead and they are now in Year One. Rosemary drops the knife and sits down.

Laura-Louise rocks the baby in the bassinet. Now Rosemary knows her dream was real. Roman tells Rosemary it is fine that she killed Leah, but Rosemary says she only drugged her. Roman encourages Rosemary to be a mother to her baby. The Japanese man smiles at her and holds up his camera. Rosemary begins to cry.

Roman walks in with a handsome, dark-skinned man wearing a white suit and carrying a wrapped gift. Everyone gathers around him to greet him, and Laura-Louise holds the gift up in front of the bassinet. Roman points out the baby was born just after midnight on June 25, which was exactly halfway from Christmas, and the newcomer, whose name is Argyron Stavropoulos, points out that writer Edmond Lautréamont had predicted the birth several centuries earlier. Stavropoulos drops to his knees in front of the bassinet. Meanwhile, Guy approaches Rosemary, saying he was promised she wouldn’t be hurt and she hasn’t been. Rosemary spits at him.

Rosemary knows the only thing to do is to kill the baby, but she realizes she cannot kill him because he is her child, no matter what, and killing is always immoral. She hears the baby whimpering and walks over to the bassinet, telling Laura-Louise she is rocking him too quickly. Laura-Louise tells her to go away, but Roman intervenes, urging Rosemary to rock him. She hesitates but finally rocks the bassinet, and the baby stops fussing. His eyes suddenly do not look so grotesque; she even finds them pretty. Roman says he has tiny claws and is only wearing mittens so he doesn’t scratch himself, but his hands are otherwise normal. Rosemary adjusts the baby’s gown, which is too tight around his neck.

She decides the baby can’t be all bad; even if Satan is his father, she is his mother, and she is a decent, ordinary person. She talks to the baby, telling him she is his mother. The room is silent, and everyone is watching her. The guests start to say “Hail Rosemary.” When Roman refers to the baby as Adrian, Rosemary tells him the baby’s name is Andrew John Woodhouse. Roman tries to argue, but Rosemary says that because the baby is hers, she gets to choose his name. Minnie finally says “Hail Andrew.” Rosemary murmurs to the baby, telling him not to look so worried, finally tapping the crucifix to make it swing. The Japanese man steps forward and takes several pictures.