Rosemary’s Baby is an honest horror movie. Though it may not have any jump-out-at you moments unlike other scary movies, this film will certainly keep you up at night. While you won’t be hiding under the protection of your blankets from images of red demon eyes or Mia Farrow’s supposedly stylish new do, a truer threat will haunt your dreams: oppression and the inability to escape it. Oppression from your husband, from your neighbor, from your doctor, from everyone it seems.
Upon first viewing, the message of Rosemary’s Baby was clear to me. Even if Rosemary’s baby didn’t turn out to be the son of Satan, she was still overtly controlled by her husband, Guy (even his name simplifies him) is among the most detestable characters I can recall in any recent movie I’ve seen. He epitomizes a man, at least in the stereotypical “misandristic feminist” point of view, and provides good reason to side with feminists and those that call for a change in the way women are treated circa 1960.
The most appaling scene in the movie takes place immediately after the rape of Rosemary by the Devil. Guy and Rosemary awake and Rosemary says that she feels strange. We, as the omnipresent viewers, know this is because of the terrible events that took place the night before. Guy then admits to raping Rosemary in her sleep. He does not feel regret about the act, but merely apathy. He claims that “he didn’t want to miss baby night”. Rosemary, who has been conditioned to accept everything that Guy says and does to her, only shrugs off Guy’s words and goes on her day. This short scene can be taken to be perfect evidence toward any feminist ideas about the movie.
The other prominent male figure in the film, Dr Sapistein, like Guy, is very controlling. Though most in the 1960’s would consider Sapirstein to be a man of respect and power because of his social status as a doctor, his high placement in society still does not give him the right to treat Rosemary the way he does. When Rosemary is in severe pain because of the literal demon inside her, Sapirstein addresses Rosemary like a child. He talks down to her and ignored her words. Regardless of whether Sapirstein is a member of a satanic cult, he feels that he is superior to Rosemary. Later in the movie, Sapirstein goes as far as to grab Rosemary’s upper arm, like a father would a child, and forcibly walk her back home.
The few women in the film come nowhere close to the loathsome men in the film in terms of mistreatment of Rosemary, again lending to the idea of a feminist undertone in the film. All of Rosemary’s friends stick up for her, give her advice about her baby, and physically shut Guy out and away from Rosemary. Though the Satanist Laura-Louise seems like she may pose a serious menace to Rosemary, at the end of the film, she sticks out her tongue. Because of this, the old woman diminishes her threat to both Rosemary and the audience. The neighbor, Minnie, isn’t nearly as physically or emotionally offensive to Rosemary as the male characters are, she’s more just annoying and intrusive. Where Guy or Sapirstein would insult or physically impose their will on Rosemary, Minnie only suggests her will and is never too direct with what she says or does.
While Rosemary’s Baby might not seem to have an ostensible underlying message upon first glance, after thinking about it, it’s obvious that the film has a feminist agenda. If you had asked me before watching the film whether I had agreed with feminists ideas, or at least, what I thought were feminists ideas, I probably would have said no. After watching Rosemary’s Baby, however, I know absolutely agree with the theme of the film, and hopefully, you do too.
