Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary’s Baby is a Gothic horror novel by American writer Ira Levin. Published in 1967, it was a bestseller that was adapted into a critically acclaimed 1968 film starring Mia Farrow and directed by her husband, Roman Polanski. The novel is known for its focus on themes like women’s liberation and reproductive freedom, urban paranoia and fears of surveillance, and the relationship between conservative Christianity and the occult in the 20th century. Critics have also pointed out that its style and structure reflect Levin’s experience as a playwright.

This guide refers to the Pegasus Book edition of Rosemary’s Baby (Pegasus Books: New York, 2010).

Content Warning: This guide discusses scenes involving rape and suicide. Furthermore, the source material contains offensive language including an anti-gay slur and anti-Asian stereotypes.

Plot Summary

In August 1965, Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse are preparing to move out of Guy’s tiny bachelor apartment in New York City. They have signed a lease on an apartment in a new building but then learn that they have been taken off the waiting list at the historic Bramford. Guy and Rosemary view the apartment, which is smaller but more unique than the new apartment, and decide to tell a lie to get out of their lease so they can claim the Bramford apartment. Before moving in, they have dinner with Rosemary’s friend Hutch, who tells them that the Bramford has a dark history and has been the home of cannibals and witches. Rosemary and Guy dismiss his concerns about the building’s safety.

The Woodhouses move into the Bramford in late August, and Rosemary begins decorating while Guy, an actor, auditions for roles. While doing laundry one evening, Rosemary meets a young woman named Terry Gionoffrio who is staying with the Woodhouses’ next-door neighbors, an older couple named Minnie and Roman Castavet. Terry shows Rosemary a necklace with a bitter smell and says it is a good luck charm from the Castavets.

One evening in September, Rosemary and Guy are walking home and find a crowd in front of the Bramford. Terry’s mangled body is lying on the pavement in an apparent suicide. The Castavets appear, and Rosemary introduces herself and Guy.

Minnie invites Rosemary and Guy over for dinner in their apartment. Roman says he has traveled everywhere in the world and has worked in every business; he talks about the hypocrisy of organized religion and predicts that Guy will become a successful actor. While Rosemary and Minnie wash dishes, Rosemary notices that Guy and Roman are having an intense conversation in the living room. Guy finds Roman’s stories interesting and plans to go back over the next evening to hear more. That same night, Rosemary has a cramp that signals the coming of her period and feels sad that she is not pregnant despite having secretly stopped taking birth control. Guy doesn’t want to have children until his career takes off, and Rosemary is anxious that she will not have enough time to have the three babies she wants.

The next evening, Minnie gives Rosemary the charm necklace Terry had been wearing, but she doesn’t like the smell and puts it in a drawer. A couple days later, Guy is gifted two tickets to The Fantasticks and tells Rosemary to go with a friend so he can practice for an audition at home. When she returns from the show, Guy is in a good mood and they have particularly energetic sex. That night, they hear a party, complete with chanting and music, coming from the Castavets’. Guy learns that Donald Baumgart, who recently beat Guy out for a role, has suddenly gone blind and the part now belongs to Guy. He seems troubled instead of happy but tells her he is ready to have a baby.

One evening in October, Rosemary and Guy have dinner and drinks at home. Minnie drops off two chocolate mousses, but Rosemary’s has a chalky taste and she only eats a few bites. She starts to feel dizzy, and Guy puts her to bed. She has a vivid dream in which she is on a yacht, but she also dreams she is surrounded by naked people, including Guy and the Castavets. She realizes Guy is having sex with her. He has yellow eyes and leathery skin and smells like her necklace. She tries to resist, but he overpowers her.

In the morning, Guy apologizes for having sex with her while she was asleep. Rosemary is deeply upset and goes to Hutch’s cabin to spend some time alone. When she gets home, they reconcile and he reminds her that her period is two days late. A young obstetrician confirms she is pregnant. Minnie and Roman recommend that Rosemary see Dr. Abe Sapirstein, a famous obstetrician friend of theirs, and Rosemary agrees. She starts wearing the charm necklace.

Dr. Sapirstein tells Rosemary that she should visit him once a week, stop taking vitamins, and drink a daily milkshake that Minnie will prepare for her. Rosemary starts losing weight and develops extreme abdominal pains, which Dr. Sapirstein says is normal. In December, Hutch visits Rosemary and expresses concern about her weight loss. Roman briefly stops by, and after he leaves, Hutch asks questions about the Castavets. Guy comes home from a shoot. Later, as Hutch is leaving, he realizes he has lost one of his gloves. That night, Hutch calls Rosemary and asks her to meet him the next morning at the Seagram Building.

Rosemary waits for Hutch at the Seagram Building, but he never shows up. When she calls him, a woman answers, saying that Hutch fell into a coma early that morning. Rosemary’s pain continues to get worse, and she starts eating nearly raw meat. After catching herself eating a raw chicken heart, Rosemary decides to change things. She plans a party and doesn’t invite the Castavets. During the party, two of Rosemary’s friends tell her they are worried about her weight loss and convince her to stop seeing Dr. Sapirstein. That night, the pain in her stomach suddenly stops.

Over the next several months, her appetite returns and she gains weight. She is so relieved that she does everything Dr. Sapirstein tells her to do. While Guy’s new show folds quickly, he receives critical praise and more roles. In early June, the ninth month of Rosemary’s pregnancy, Hutch dies in the hospital. His friend gives her a book that Hutch wanted her to have called All of Them Witches. Hutch has underlined passages about Adrian Marcato, a witch who once lived in the Bramford, and Steven Marcato, Adrian’s son. Rosemary eventually realizes that Steven Marcato is an anagram for Roman Castavet. When Guy gets home, she tells him about Hutch’s discovery and her suspicion that the Castavets want to sacrifice her baby in a ritual. Guy laughs this off.

Rosemary tells Dr. Sapirstein about her fears, and he seems to believe her. He also tells her the Castavets are leaving New York because Roman has a terminal illness and wants to travel before his death. The couple departs a few days later. On June 24, as Rosemary’s due date approaches, she runs into Guy’s former vocal coach, who Guy said gave them the tickets to The Fantasticks. Rosemary thanks him, but he insists he never gave Guy any tickets. At home, she calls Donald Baumgart and finds out that Guy has one of Donald’s neckties. Convinced that Guy used the tie in a ritual to blind Donald, she packs her bags and leaves.

Rosemary goes to see Dr. Hill and tells him everything. Dr. Hill says he believes her but secretly contacts Guy and Dr. Sapirstein, who take Rosemary back to the Bramford. As they approach the elevator, Rosemary creates a diversion, jumps into the elevator, and rushes to the apartment, locking herself in. Guy, Dr. Sapirstein, and some others manage to get in, and as Rosemary tries to escape, she goes into labor. Dr. Sapirstein injects her with something, and she passes out.

When Rosemary wakes up, Guy and Dr. Sapirstein tell her she gave birth to a boy but the baby died. Different friends of the Castavets sit with Rosemary while she recovers, giving her food and pills and helping her pump her breast milk. After a few weeks, Rosemary hears crying and realizes her baby is alive and is being kept in the Castavets’ apartment. She secretly stops taking the pills and hides them. One evening, she uses the pills to drug the woman sent to sit with her. She sneaks into the Castavets’ through the hallway linen closet, which is a secret passage between the two apartments. She finds Guy and the Castavets in the living room, drinking and laughing with friends. A black bassinet decorated with an upside-down crucifix sits by the window.

Everyone watches Rosemary approach the bassinet. Inside is a baby boy with red hair and yellow eyes. Roman explains that the baby’s father is Satan and that the baby, whose name is Adrian, will overthrow Christianity. Rosemary thinks about grabbing Adrian and jumping out the window to kill them both, but she can’t bring herself to murder her baby. Roman encourages her to be a mother to Adrian. She insists that his name is Andrew, not Adrian, and the coven starts hailing Rosemary.