52 pages • 1 hour read
Ira LevinA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Rosemary and Guy arrive at the Castavets’ that evening. The furniture is a mix of styles, and part of the living room is cluttered while other parts are clean and spare. Rosemary asks Roman where he’s from. He says he is from New York but has traveled to every country and continent, for both business and pleasure. When Rosemary asks what his business is, he says “[just] about every business” (55).
During dinner, they talk about the newspaper strike and whether the Pope might postpone his visit because of it. Roman says that every religion, including Catholicism, is pageantry for the ignorant. Rosemary says that she was raised Catholic and has been conditioned to respect the Pope, even though she is now agnostic. Roman insists the Pope is not worthy of respect.
Roman praises Guy’s performance in two small roles, saying he was more authentic than the more prominent actors. Roman says his father was a theatrical producer, so he grew up around actors and knows how to spot a genuinely talented one. For dessert, they have pie that, to Rosemary, has a strange, sweet taste. Rosemary helps Minnie clean up. She looks from the kitchen into the living room and sees Guy and Roman smoking together and speaking intently.