Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby Glossary

secretary

also known as an escritoire; a piece of furniture made of a base of wide drawers, with a desk on top, and a set of cabinet doors or bookcase set on top of that.

Victoria Vetri

the name of the actress for whom Rosemary mistakes Terry Gionoffrio, and also the real name of the actress playing Terry Gionoffrio, who performed under the stage name Angela Dorian

partition

an interior wall or barrier dividing a room into separate areas

Vodka Blush

a fictitious cocktail Roman serves to Rosemary that he says is "very popular in Australia"

Luther

a 1961 play directed by John Osborne about the life and death of Martin Luther, starring Albert Finney in the lead role. Roman mistakes Guy for Finney's understudy

Mrs. Fiske

a reference Roman makes to Minnie Maddern Fiske (1865-1932), a famous leading actress in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century theater scene who helped popularize the dramatic works of Henrik Ibsen

Forbes-Robertson

a reference Roman makes to Johnston Forbes-Robertson (1853-1947), a British actor and theatrical producer who starred in a silent film version of Hamlet (1913).

Modjeska

a reference Roman makes to Helena Modjeska (1840-1909), a prominent Polish actress who specialized in playing female roles in Shakespearean tragedies like Juliet, Ophelia, and Desdemona.

Henry Irving

a Victorian-era English stage actor (1838-1905) whom Guy mentions that Roman knew before he died

tannis

a made-up name for the "root" that is in fact Devil' Pepper, a mold Minnie puts in the charm of Rosemary's necklace and her vitamin drinks; a loose anagram of "Satan"

mousse

a sweet dish made as a smooth light mass with whipped cream and beaten egg white, flavored with chocolate, etc.; Minnie Castevet also calls it a "mouse"

The Fantasticks

a 1960 musical play with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones about neighbors who pretend to feud in order to convince their children to fall in love

herbarium

an organized and arranged collection of dried plants

ectopic

in an abnormal place or position

crape-hanger

a person who sees the dark side of things; a pessimist

anagram

a word, phrase, or name formed by rearranging the letters of another

coven

a regular group or gathering of witches

esbat

a coven meeting at a time other than one of the Sabbats

sabbath

a supposed annual midnight meeting of witches with the Devil

Dubrovnik

a Croatian city on the Adriatic sea where the Marcato family is allegedly from

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