Identity And Identity In Hitchcock's Eve Kendie
Eve Kendell (Eva Marie Saint) in North by Northwest (1959), though seen as taking a male oriented view of herself but towards the end reforms herself to be assertive about her identity. On the flip side of these strong female characters there lies weak characters who exist in Richard Allen’s view as Hitchcock’s tales of “ironic inversion and downward descent” (35). While studying this romantic inversion, Allen cites Vertigo (1958) as the “apotheosis of melancholic romantic irony that borders on tragedy” (37). Allen refers to the scene where Judy (Kim Novak) is forced to become Madeleine according to the whims of Scottie (James Stewart). Judy desperate to receive the love of Scottie transforms accordingly sacrificing her very self and identity.
To Allen this is the zenith of Hithcock’s romantic inversion model. There are moments where story could also deviate into a tragedy. Jeff’s manipulations of Lisa. It really takes a tragic turn-compelling and engrossing when Lisa stealthily enters Thorwald’s apartment and when Thorwald enters Jeff’s apartment (Keith 2). Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) in The Birds (1963) suffers from the fear of losing her identity and independence to marriage just as Jeffries in Rear Window fears and suffers from losing identity and independence to marriage. Critics argue that she has used her sexuality to her advantage, thereby possessing superficial independence that only exists within the confines of patriarchal model. Critics who take this approach is submissive to the said patriarchal model which Hitchcock questions in his films (Keith 2). Close examination of male-dominate females indicate they all end in a catatonic state in the films like The Birds, Vertigo and even Marnie. From Hitchcock’s films it is evident that he prefers strong, independent women than those who unquestionably acquiesce traditional gender roles.
To Allen this is the zenith of Hithcock’s romantic inversion model. There are moments where story could also deviate into a tragedy. Jeff’s manipulations of Lisa. It really takes a tragic turn-compelling and engrossing when Lisa stealthily enters Thorwald’s apartment and when Thorwald enters Jeff’s apartment (Keith 2). Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) in The Birds (1963) suffers from the fear of losing her identity and independence to marriage just as Jeffries in Rear Window fears and suffers from losing identity and independence to marriage. Critics argue that she has used her sexuality to her advantage, thereby possessing superficial independence that only exists within the confines of patriarchal model. Critics who take this approach is submissive to the said patriarchal model which Hitchcock questions in his films (Keith 2). Close examination of male-dominate females indicate they all end in a catatonic state in the films like The Birds, Vertigo and even Marnie. From Hitchcock’s films it is evident that he prefers strong, independent women than those who unquestionably acquiesce traditional gender roles.