Faith, Doubt, and Prayer

This flow traces Rosemary’s changing relation to religious belief, from agnostic distance through desperate prayer to a final refusal to surrender maternal love.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

An Agnostic Household

Belief Discussed Religious Distance Rosemary says she was raised Catholic but is now an agnostic. Guy shares her skepticism, while Roman dismisses organized religion as theater. Respect Remains Rosemary still feels respect for the Pope, even without believing in his holiness. Her uncertainty is not simple hostility; inherited feeling remains beneath her declared doubt.

The Pope’s Visit

Public Hope A City in Celebration Rosemary follows the Pope’s appearances on television and is moved by his appeal for peace at the United Nations. The shared civic event briefly gives her a sense of moral possibility. Private Irony That evening she is drugged and assaulted while believing she has merely become dizzy. Sacred imagery and private violation occupy the same day in her memory.

Prayer for the Pregnancy

Faith Longed For A Habit Remembered Rosemary wishes she could pray again and ask God to protect the child from illness and harm. Her agnosticism has not erased the emotional language of her upbringing. A Private Vigil She puts her hands over her abdomen and imagines a safe birth. Maternal fear gives religious longing a new urgency.

Prayer in the Passage

The Return of Prayer A Plea for Help After finding the hidden passage, Rosemary prays to Jesus to forgive her doubt and help save her child. Fear brings back a form of faith she thought she had lost. Faith as Resolve The prayer does not offer a visible rescue, but it helps her gather courage to continue. Belief becomes action rather than an argument about doctrine.

The Child and the Cross

Faith Without Certainty The Coven’s Proclamation Roman declares that God is dead and Satan lives, while the coven celebrates Andrew. Rosemary calls on God, but receives no answer that can settle what she has seen. A Moral Choice She refuses to kill the child and instead rocks him. Her action rests on compassion even in a world where religious certainty has been violently destabilized.

September, at the Castevets’ first dinner

October 4, during Pope Paul’s visit to New York

Late October, after the pregnancy confirmation

June 25, before Rosemary enters the coven’s gathering

June 25, after Rosemary sees Andrew’s eyes