Rosemary's Baby

Of all the books we’ve read so far this term for this course, Rosemary’s Baby was the quickest read. I believe I read it – all told – in about two hours, thus making it what I’d like to call a great book for an afternoon at the beach. This was also the first book we’ve read that I’d seen the movie before I read it. I think to some degree this affected my reading of this work. I knew what was going to happen – or at the very least some version of what was going to happen – before I ever cracked the spine of this novel, and I believe that helped keep me engaged in the work.

I felt this was a very compelling premise for a novel, and doubly so because of the era in which it was written. When Rosemary’s Baby was initially published in 1967, the subjects tackled in this work – Satanism, group sex, human sacrifice – would have been revolutionary, and I was impressed by the Levin’s treatment of them. The best way I can describe his approach is as being much the same as what people often say of old movies: the camera fades or the scene changes before you see the murder/sex/body/etc. This is effective because we as the readers are given enough credit to follow along with the story without Levin necessarily having to pile on the gore or the risqué.

The characters I found for the most part to be engaging if not always particularly memorable or well developed. I loved Hutch, period, and was genuinely sad when he died. I hated Guy outright. He seemed, simply put, too easily seduced by the “dark side”, too readily inducted into the cult. Rosemary I, as a mother, could sympathize with and on the whole I liked her as a person, but I did find her to be somewhat naïve. To an extent, I suppose it could be argued she needed to be for the story to work. Levin’s depiction of the Castevets I felt was competent but not stirring. I never really felt one way or the other about either of them. Other characters I wanted to know about. For example, I wish Levin had taken the time to develop the character of Terry Gionoffrio. I would have liked to have known about her past. The other cult members also seemed vague and not as well defined as I’d have liked.

The plot was very active and, as I stated above, I found this novel to be very fast paced hence my ability to digest it so quickly. (The fact that it’s only 218 pages probably didn’t hurt, either.)

There are of course obvious parallels between this novel and the Christ story, beginning with the female lead herself, Rosemary. She’s clearly portrayed as a Madonna figure. The conception itself, taking place during a dream state, is reminiscent of the “virgin birth” of Jesus Christ to Mary. Guy very much resembles Mary’s husband Joseph. The idea that Adrian’s birth will lead to a new age is very much one that’s addressed in both the Old and New Testaments. I found all the various ways Levin’s story mirrored the Biblical one to be a very effective frame for the novel.

In short, it’s a good book, a quick read, and I had fun reading it which is, as we all know, what matters.