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cosmonaut 's review for:
Rosemary's Baby
by Ira Levin
I've never seen the movie adaptation of Rosemary's Baby, nor have I read any of Levin's other books. Of course I knew the gist of this novel (mostly the supernatural horror elements) but nothing beyond that. So finding out Levin was a man in the middle of reading was genuinely shocking to me because the novel shows this deep understanding of how insidious and pervasive misogyny is, that I was convinced it had to be written by someone who's had first-hand experiences. It doesn't portray misogyny as accidental, but shows that it exists in every domain of life and explores how it's perpetrated by every man (very fitting how the husband's name is literally Guy) and upheld and internalized by women themselves, including Rosemary. The novel empathizes with Rosemary, portrays her as a victim of abuse who's being betrayed by nearly every man in her life and the narrative never blames her for anything that happens to her. Although so many people focus on the supernatural elements of the story, it's not terrifying because of that or the satanic coven, but the constant gaslighting, domestic abuse and medical misogyny that Rosemary experiences.
I've seen other woman critique that Rosemary is a character who's obviously been written by a man and I do get the criticism, to a certain extent. Of course it's frustrating (and terrifying) how helpless Rosemary is, but considering her circumstances that doesn't mean her passivity (although I would argue she's actually not that passive at all) is unrealistic in any way. She's a young, naive woman married to a man almost a decade older than her who has a higher socioeconomic status than her. Not to mention that she's been shunned by most of her traditionally catholic family - who also live at the opposite end of the country - for marrying a protestant man. To me, it adds up why she always comes to the right conclusion before ultimately trying to rationalize and excuse her husband's behavior and convince herself that she's just overreacting - because what else can she really do? She's completely dependent on her husband.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending as it's totally believable to me that Rosemary
Also, I know this was written in the 60s but I think one still has to acknowledge the outdated racist language used at times. That racist "joke" about the Japanese character's accent at the end... now that was just unbelievable to me and completely ruined the climax. I really hope we can get a modern film adaptation without the racist undertones, and not directed by a rapist.
I've seen other woman critique that Rosemary is a character who's obviously been written by a man and I do get the criticism, to a certain extent. Of course it's frustrating (and terrifying) how helpless Rosemary is, but considering her circumstances that doesn't mean her passivity (although I would argue she's actually not that passive at all) is unrealistic in any way. She's a young, naive woman married to a man almost a decade older than her who has a higher socioeconomic status than her. Not to mention that she's been shunned by most of her traditionally catholic family - who also live at the opposite end of the country - for marrying a protestant man. To me, it adds up why she always comes to the right conclusion before ultimately trying to rationalize and excuse her husband's behavior and convince herself that she's just overreacting - because what else can she really do? She's completely dependent on her husband.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending as it's totally believable to me that Rosemary
Spoiler
would just "resign" to her fate. It's still frustrating that after everything the conclusion is that a woman's motherly instincts are bigger/more important than looking out for her own well-being. I realize that's the point Levin was trying to drive home though, it's supposed to upset us. Still, I kinda wish Rosemary had said fuck them kids, and hurled that demon baby out of the window.Also, I know this was written in the 60s but I think one still has to acknowledge the outdated racist language used at times. That racist "joke" about the Japanese character's accent at the end... now that was just unbelievable to me and completely ruined the climax. I really hope we can get a modern film adaptation without the racist undertones, and not directed by a rapist.