Baby’s Heartbeat Recording: From Shared Miracle to Tool of Control
What Is the Baby’s Heartbeat Recording?
In The Surrogate Mother, the baby’s heartbeat recording is a digital audio file that Monica captures during her first OB/GYN appointment at ten weeks pregnant. Using her cell phone, she records the fetal heart sounds produced by a Doppler probe—a rapid whoosh, whoosh, whoosh that Abby describes as “really fast” and “perfect.” The recording itself is a concrete, repeatable object: a sound file that can be played back, shared, and weaponized.
Where the Sound Recurs
The heartbeat motif appears in three key moments across the novel:
- Chapter 12 – The First Appointment – Monica records the heartbeat for “much longer than … necessary,” according to Abby. Abby is moved to tears but also unsettled by Monica’s insistence on preserving the sound.
- Chapter 15 – Dinner at the Adlers’ Home – Monica plays the recording for Sam while Abby is delayed at work. Sam is visibly captivated; Abby later recalls the “look on his face” as he listened.
- Chapter 20 – Later Appointments – The motif expands to include ultrasound images and the baby’s kicks, but the original audio recording remains a symbolic anchor – Monica’s first claim on the pregnancy.
How Its Meaning Changes
| Phase | Symbolic Meaning | Character Resonances |
|---|---|---|
| Initial joy (Ch. 12) | Shared wonder, proof of life, Abby’s dream come true | Abby feels tears of happiness; Monica feigns tears |
| Manipulation (Ch. 15) | A lure to bond with Sam, a wedge between spouses | Monica plays it for Sam alone, erasing Abby |
| Final understanding (Epilogue) | Lingering presence of Monica’s control | David clings to Monica’s blanket, not a recording, but the pattern of sensory attachment echoes |
Character and Theme Connections
Monica – The Recording as a Fetish Object
Monica’s choice to record and play back the heartbeat reveals her deeper agenda. She treats the sound as a keepsake, similar to her saving the positive pregnancy test stick. By sharing it with Sam when Abby isn’t present, Monica creates a private intimacy, bypassing Abby as the intended mother. The recording becomes a verbal fetish – an object that stands in for the baby and for Monica’s own possessive bond to Sam.
Abby – The Recording as a Warning Sign
Abby initially dismisses her unease. She notes that Monica recorded “for much longer than … necessary” and that she “wants to save it,” but rationalizes it away. The heartbeat recording is the first concrete signal that Monica views the pregnancy as hers, not Abby and Sam’s. Abby’s failure to act on this discomfort sets the stage for later gaslighting and manipulation.
Sam – The Recording as a Bait
Sam’s reaction to the recording – the “look on his face” that Abby cannot forget – shows that Monica successfully uses the sound to emotional lasso him. The audio bypasses rational thought and taps directly into paternal bonding. Monica leverages this to drive a wedge between husband and wife, eventually monopolizing Sam’s attention at appointments.
Themes
- Trust and Paranoia – The recording embodies the tension between Abby’s trust (she lets Monica record) and her growing paranoia (she senses something wrong).
- Betrayal and Deception – Monica’s secret playback session is an early act of deception, foreshadowing the full reveal of her obsession.
- Obsession and Manipulation – The recording is a tool of obsession: Monica collects it, hoards it, deploys it strategically. It mirrors her later use of poison and a gun.
- Infertility and Motherhood – The sound of a healthy heartbeat underscores Abby’s infertility: Monica’s body produces the sound that Abby cannot. The recording is both a gift and a torment.
Four Study Questions with Answers
Q1: Why does Monica insist on recording the heartbeat rather than just listening?
A1: Monica’s recording transforms a fleeting moment into a permanent object she can control. By saving it, she creates a tangible claim on the pregnancy – something she can replay to Sam, remind Abby of her dependence, and eventually use to deepen her manipulation.
Q2: How does Abby’s reaction to the recording change between Chapter 12 and Chapter 15?
A2: In Chapter 12, Abby is merely puzzled (“What the hell?”). By Chapter 15, after learning that Monica played it for Sam alone, Abby feels jealousy and suspicion – the emotional wedge has already been driven. The recording shifts from a curiosity to a threat.
Q3: In what way does the heartbeat recording parallel Monica’s later actions (e.g., saving the pregnancy test)?
A3: Monica collects physical keepsakes at every stage: the urine-soaked test, the audio file, the ultrasound images. This hoarding reveals her refusal to let go of the biological connection. The recording is the first of many objects she uses to keep herself tethered to Sam and the baby.
Q4: What does the absence of the recording in the Epilogue suggest about Monica’s legacy?
A4: The Epilogue replaces the audio with Monica’s scent on a blanket, but the pattern is identical – sensory data that bypasses logic. The recording is gone (Monica is in a vegetative state), yet the threat lingers in a new form. The novel suggests that emotional manipulation, like a baby’s heartbeat, can be recorded and replayed long after its source is gone.