Bellevue Hospital

Bellevue Hospital is named as the place where Donald Baumgart is being treated after abruptly losing his sight and attempting suicide. Its brief appearance ties the hospital to a turning point in Guy Woodhouse’s career: the part Guy receives is the one Baumgart can no longer play, and Guy recognizes the grim circumstance behind his success.

The Report of Baumgart’s Admission

Guy tells Rosemary Woodhouse that Baumgart woke the previous day unable to see and tried to hang himself that morning. By the time Guy speaks to her, Baumgart is at Bellevue Hospital under sedation. The account supplies no further information about his treatment or recovery, so the hospital’s role in the episode is limited to receiving him after the crisis.

Career Success and Its Cost

The news reaches Rosemary and Guy at home. After Rosemary expresses alarm, the two look at one another painfully. Guy then says he has obtained the part, but acknowledges that the circumstances make it a terrible way to get it. The juxtaposition makes Bellevue Hospital more than a passing place-name: it marks the human consequence accompanying Guy’s professional opportunity, without suggesting that Guy caused Baumgart’s blindness or suicide attempt.

A Separate Medical Crisis

Bellevue Hospital is not identified as part of Rosemary’s later pregnancy care. When her friends urge her to seek another medical opinion because of her pain, the discussion concerns Dr. Hill and Dr. Abraham Sapirstein. Later, Rosemary expects to deliver at Doctors Hospital, but Guy and Dr. Abraham Sapirstein take her home instead. These separate references distinguish Bellevue’s specific connection to Baumgart from the medical decisions surrounding Rosemary.