The first thing that struck me about Rosemary's Baby, other than the plot seems to be taken straight from a death metal song (a woman is raped by Satan and carries his child because witches form a coven want to bring forth the anti-Christ: bring on the metal growls, guitar solos and corpse paint! Devil horns up!), was that the film takes an almost exclusively feminist point-of-view. The film is written and directed by a man, Roman Polanski (might I add the irony in him making a film with the word "baby" in the title, I swear this is my last digression), and shows the abuse a pregnant woman faces by not only her husband but her entire world at that point. I found it fascinating that the audience is being subjected to a woman being exploited in the 60s and it being put into such a negative light. After reading Karyn Valerius' "Rosemary’s Baby,Gothic Pregnancy,and Fetal Subjects" I was given a whole new feminist light that really hadn't occurred to me, which was the issue of abortion.
In class I believe Dr. McRrae mentioned something about the film not necessarily talking about abortion, but I think it takes a pretty clear stance on the issue. The film also obviously deals with certain anxieties coming with pregnancies at the time, i.e., the taking of medicine that gave babies birth defects. Rosemary even looks at her pills at one point and repeats the word "monster" almost as a direct statement to address the issue. But to get back to abortion as my main theme, Polanski shows us a woman trapped into keeping the baby causing so much pain and anxiety. Granted she belts out that she does not want an abortion, and we know she's a willing mother, but she also isn't given a chance to make her own decision about the pregnancy either. She's being made to go to a whole other doctor whom we can't trust. She is being forced fed a drink she doesn't want to take. In fact, her pregnancy was forced on her and the devil's baby was given to her against her will. According to the article, she was under special circumstances at the time to be allowed an abortion: she was raped and it was jeopardizing both her physical and mental health. The article uses a quote from Rosalind Petcheskey which I found to be very useful. "Not only is it not part of a woman’s body, but it contributes nothingto her sustenance. It only draws from her: nutrients, immunologicaldefenses, hormonal secretions, blood, digestive functions, energy. (Petchesky1984, 350)" I know, it's a horrible thought, but it's fascinating because it really is exactly what is happening to Rosemary. The baby is literally sucking the life out of her. She has a deathly look to her throughout the film that deteriorates more and more. Babies are such freeloaders.
Another way to show this as a feminist approach to abortion is the fact that others are choosing what goes on between Rosemary and her fetus, and not her. Who are making these choices dictating her baby's fate? Is it surprising that it's old people of a religious stance (well more like cult, unless you think Satanism is a religion) and not one of them "under 60"? As the article states, the unborn is given rights and individualized before it is even born. Pro-life people are known for sticking their noses in other people's uteri because of their belief that every fetus is a living being and the woman is to carry it term. We are given a demonized, pun intended, look at the pro-life movement through Rosemary's torment and psychological torture.
This is not to say Polanski is saying "abortions for everyone!" but I do believe he has a more cynical view toward those not giving women the choice of whether or not to carry the baby to term.
And oh yeah...HAIL SATAN!
