Rosemary's Baby, Gothic Pregnancy, and Fetal Subjects

Abstract

This discussion reads Rosemary's Baby in relation to public discourse on abortion in the United States. It argues, first, that when Rosemary's Baby is located historically in relation to the criminalization of abortion prior to 1973 and the idealization of maternity for married, middle class, white women, this story of a frightening pregnancy evokes feminist arguments for sexual and reproductive freedom. Second, at the present moment Rosemary's terrifying experience also suggests the dangerous effects of anti-maternal, pro-natal public discourse and social policy for low-income pregnant women who wish to carry a pregnancy to term.

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