Rosemary's Baby

Ira Levin

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1967

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-5

Part 1, Chapters 6-10

Part 2, Chapters 1-5

Part 2, Chapters 6-10

Part 3, Chapters 1-2

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Consumption

The novel is full of scenes in which characters consume various foods or drinks, and this motif is tied to the larger theme of The Performance of Social Identities. Perhaps the most ubiquitous example of this motif is in Rosemary’s daily consumption of the drink Minnie prepares for her. Despite the fact that Rosemary does not enjoy the drink and becomes increasingly suspicious of what it contains, she drinks it for almost the entire novel. Her compliance seems bound up in her desire to be accepted by her neighbors as well as her anxiety about being a healthy, responsible mother. When she finally refuses the drink in the last weeks of her pregnancy, she is symbolically asserting control over herself and her pregnancy. However, this resistance is undermined when she agrees to consume the pills prescribed by Dr. Sapirstein. In this sense, Rosemary cannot escape the social pressure to consume and is herself ultimately consumed by manipulations from external forces.

Tannis Root

A significant symbol throughout the novel is a fictional herb called tannis root. Minnie grows tannis root in her kitchen greenhouse and puts it into the charm necklace she gives to Terry and then to Rosemary. It is spongy and greenish brown and has a strong, bitter smell that is difficult to cover up. When Terry shows it to Rosemary, she claims to not mind the smell because she believes the charm will bring her good luck. When the charm passes to Rosemary, she does not want to wear it because of the smell, but once she becomes pregnant, she begins wearing it, also hoping for good luck. After Rosemary tells Hutch about tannis root, he immediately expresses doubt about it, asking if a root can also be an herb and suggesting that Rosemary has gotten its name wrong. Additionally, Rosemary’s breast milk smells faintly of tannis root, which suggests that even after she stopped consuming Minnie’s drinks and stopped wearing the necklace, the tannis had invaded her body. Tannis root ultimately represents the existence of The Unnatural Within the Natural, something that should be safe and nourishing but is instead twisted for sinister ends.

Baby Names

Throughout her pregnancy, Rosemary tries out different baby names, often changing her mind about which names she prefers. The motif of naming is important for the novel’s depiction of familial relationships and its concern with agency and control. For example, when Rosemary tells Hutch that she likes the name Andrew or Douglas for a boy and Melinda or Sarah for a girl, Guy asks her why she did not mention an earlier name choice, Susan (she does not reply). Guy’s confusion belies an anxiety about being excluded from the naming decision and ultimately from the family itself. This would be particularly troubling for Guy because he has manufactured the conditions under which Rosemary became pregnant. An unawareness of potential names would take away some of his control he has worked so hard to obtain. The baby’s name becomes even more important in the final scene, in which Rosemary and Roman argue over whether he will be named Adrian or Andrew. Roman wants the baby to be identified with his father, Adrian Marcato, while Rosemary wants his name to reflect her dreams about how her family would look. Ultimately, Minnie forces Roman to concede, which suggests that the name is much less important to the coven than it is to Rosemary. While her victory may have been a small one, it still reflects her determination to maintain some kind of authority over her child’s identity.