No room at the inn

No room at the inn is a phrase Rosemary Woodhouse invokes while explaining why she believes Roman Castevet has not abandoned his religion: his father, Adrian Marcato, died in a stable after being refused entry to a hotel. The expression turns that reported rejection into part of Rosemary’s case that Roman’s commitment is rooted in family history and martyrdom, not merely in present-day fashion.

The Phrase in Rosemary’s Account

Rosemary tells Guy Woodhouse that Adrian Marcato died on Corfu, in a stable, because he was not allowed into a hotel. She compresses that history into the phrase No room at the inn. The juxtaposition of an excluded traveler, a stable, and an inn gives the wording a nativity-like resonance, while Rosemary’s account presents the circumstances as a personal tragedy in Roman Castevet’s past.

Argument and Dramatic Function

For Rosemary, the phrase helps explain why Roman might still believe in the religion associated with his father: she asks Guy to consider whether Roman could have given it up after witnessing such a death. Guy counters that it is 1966, but Rosemary argues that an old religion and its covens could persist beyond the decades since the book she cites was published in 1933. The expression therefore serves as a hinge between Adrian’s reported fate and Rosemary’s broader suspicion that Roman and his associates continue to practice their religion.