The "dream" sequence vs. real-life events and people
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Rosemary's Baby
moviemadness2012 — 9 years ago(July 14, 2016 08:26 AM)
In the film, it is hinted that the "dream" that Rosemary experiences during her conception with Guy may not be a dream at all; Rosemary says so herself during the experience. So it's fascinating to see if anything in the "dream" has any counterparts in her real life. In the dream, we see her being transported to a yacht in the sea. In real life, she is probably being carried to the Castevet apartment instead. The fiery furnace in her dream may actually be the fiery painting in the hallway of the Castevet apartment. The presence of someone strongly resembling Jackie Onassis may indicate that some well-known people may actually be participants of the satanic ceremony (near the film's ending it is also hinted as such). And of course, the chanting heard in the dream actually occurs, because Rosemary has overheard it before. The yacht's captain (an African-American man) in her dream may actually be the African-American elevator operator working at the Bram. In the dream, we see Rosemary lying on a mattress that is actually floating in the sea, with camera movements throughout the dream that are unsteady and trance-like. All this is obviously an indication of Rosemary's half-conscious, dream-like state at the time. One more instance of real life seeping into her dream is when a person resembling Hutch calls out "Typhoon!", as if to warn them not to go out to sea (i.e. not to go through with the satanic ritual). This is, obviously, a parallel to the real life event of Hutch warning Rosemary about the Castevets. All these parallels add some "logic" to Rosemary's dream. In dreams, we often create a mishmash of real and unreal events in our minds that often pertain to our past experiences, fears, real events, and imagined events. This dream sequence accomplishes this, while creating a very cinematic viewing experience for the viewer.