Analyzing The First Leading Women In The Film 'I' In Rebecca By Alfred Hitchcock

Over the course of Hitchcock’s film career that we have viewed in this course, Hitchcock’s leading women have become more substantive and developed as characters. This stark difference, involving both the characters and filming experiences of the actresses, is best exemplified through Joan Fontaine in Rebecca (1940) and Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest (1959).
CHARACTERS
Though many of Hitchcock’s first leading women were not forces of nature, none was quite to the extent of “I” in Rebecca. She was a meek girl who was completely out of her element when set in charge of her new husband’s house, in the shadow of his wife, Rebecca, who tragically died. She is constantly compared to the other woman due to her essentially filling in the vacated
This is likely because a woman’s hands “suggest their vulnerability and uncertainty” which is something that a spy should avoid at all costs (Walker, 224). They must be measured, calculating, in control. They cannot let body language condemn them. Had her hands ever given herself up, her death would have likely been imminent at Vandamm’s hands. Eve is clever and aware of what she must do. Her control and strength in her situation are unlike that of other Hitchcock leading women and show a move in the correct direction for Hitchcock’s future female
The actress was considered to be very unsure of herself which came through in her performances- exactly what Hitchcock needed for her as “I”. While filming, Hitchcock essentially wore this woman down to an even more insecure point, depleting her confidence as she increasingly became “the real Mrs. Max de Winter” (“Is Fontaine’s Future in Hitchcock’s Hands?”). Hitchcock was very aware of what he was doing. He knew that he needed to keep her at that level in order to maintain him getting the same degree of results from her. And though she did not enjoy it, and was in tears half the time, Fontaine was determined to come to set whenever she could and to finish the film despite her unfavorable treatment (“Fontaine’s Future”).
And according to the impression of audiences, Hitchcock’s tactics worked, one reporter remarking, “[o]ne believes in her with no restrictions” (“Convincing Acting in ‘Rebecca’”). Fontaine had proved herself to Hollywood and she had Hitchcock and his methods to thank, something that she knew down to her core, causing her to worry about what kind of a performance she would give without Hitchcock’s bullying (“Fontaine’s Future”). Hitchcock pushed her to be the best that she could be in the role, and in this case it meant tearing her down, and Fontaine accepted it knowing that it would bring her her best