Rosemary's Baby ending ambiguity
 

Warning, SPOILERS here.

I just listened to this movie for the fourth or fifth times and now I am not sure what the end exactly means. I'm talking about the very end, when Rosemary lay down the suspicious tea cup Minnie just gave her, get up from the chair and go to see her baby; Laura-Louise is rocking the baby too hard and Rosemary tells her to be more gentle if she want the baby to stop crying. And finally Rosemary go see her baby, she touch him a little, we see her face with little tears in her eyes, music begins and the movie end.

For what I found while searching on internet, people tend to interpret that Rosemary has finally accepted her fate, and will become the mother of the child;

But I think something else.

When Rosemary is rocking her baby, she goes touching her baby and we can hear a rubbing sound and the baby instantly stop crying and the music begin right after that.

The first thing I thought was that she probably moved a blanket somehow and her baby stopped crying.

But I've come to another conclusion:

When Rosemary lay down the cup of suspicious tea, we can see she keeps the napkin from the tea cup in her left hand. So she get up, and go to her baby with the napkin hidden in her fist. So when she's finally rocking her baby, she may have subtly put the napkin in her right hand, and while we think she go "move a blanket to stop the baby from crying (she uses her right hand)", she may in fact stuff the throat of her baby with the napkin (the rubbing sound) so he choke to death. So her baby stop crying after that, the music begins and we see the sad face with tears of Rosemary looking at her baby.

So what I am saying is that maybe she killed her "Satan-born-son" instead of "accepting her fate as the mother of the child".

It could make sense because she often subtly hide things in the movie, like pills, money, etc.

And she may not have accepted this at all! Maybe she thought that her son is better dead than becoming the new Antichrist!

So I want to know what fans of the movie think about that. Do someone already came up with this interpretation?

Re: Rosemary's Baby ending ambiguity
 

It's been long time since i've seen it and didn't really think that much about it, just took it for what it is. But that's just goes to show what a great film it is, having some ambiguity leaving it open to interpretation and having people talk about it years later. My personal opinion would probably stick with the standard interpretation as think it's a bit more shocking and interesting.

Re: Rosemary's Baby ending ambiguity
 

I think the sound you hear is the baby breast feeding. At least I think that's what happens at the end. I believe that she decides to accept the baby and mother it.

Re: Rosemary's Baby ending ambiguity
 

Interesting theory, but I don't think it holds up. It's a Roman Polanski movie, great "bad" ending happen all the time. She's accepted responsibility as the mother. We don't know Rosemary to be especially religious so she will get used to it.

Re: Rosemary's Baby ending ambiguity
 

such a great horror film and indeed a creepy ending, i enjoyed it a lot, such a classic film.

Re: Rosemary's Baby ending ambiguity
 

That's an interesting theory. Makes me want to revisit the whole thing.

For the record I prefer that she accepts her fate. I can't remember much (more reason to revisit!) but isn't her desire to become a mother a major plot point? I can imagine her surrendering the world, in a way, for the chance to raise a child.

Re: Rosemary's Baby ending ambiguity
 

I have always interpreted the sound as the baby suckling her breast.

me too. Goes more in tune with her acceptance.

agreed

As I've thought the same just after having finished the film, I completely agree with the idea that she could choke the baby. Of course the common interpretation works too, as it's anyway certainly made to be taken this way, but, maybe the real ending is hidden, and a bit too well lol.

Isn't it more logical to think that she still has this - more than justified - feeling of being living the most abominable, frightful and unacceptable situation, feeling which she was still having right before, and so decides to kill the baby? As it's, however awful it can be, the only right and supportable thing for her to do at this moment. For sure it suits much more than seeing her accepting everything all of a sudden... Even if yes, that's precisely what makes the classic interpretation so remarkable.

Also this hypothesis that she kills it fits totally with those looks she gives in the direction of the cup of tea and own hands right before getting up, which otherwise doesn't make any real relevant sense. And as I just watch it for the first time, I can tell that these looks really seem to mean something, especially when every other single detail of the movie does.

So why ending the movie right after? Because it's also where her life stops, killing her own child. What could possibly happen next doesn't matter.