The Rear Window

I think that Hitchcock defines the relationship between Lisa and Jeffries, as well as general roles of men and women in the stories of the other apartment dwellers. They give us insight into the apprehensions Jeffries may feel about marriage, loneliness, and the lengths people can go to.

Lisa is an obviously attractive socialite, who for some reason has taken interest in Jeffries despite his obvious aversion to the idea of marriage. The character that demonstrates this best is Miss Torso. She is seen dancing around her apartment by day, and schmoozing handsome rich men by night. These business men obviously desire her, but she always ends up kicking them out at the end of the night, because the only man she truly loved was away at war. This is like Lisa, because she can have any man she wants, but the other men in her life only serve as distractions. The man she really wants, it seems she cannot have. This is due to the fact that Jeffries does not want to marry, or at least not Lisa, because he thinks she is too perfect and would not be able to survive his life style.

The Newlyweds demonstrate part of Jeffries apprehension, because it seems like the wife is constantly nagging the new husband. The drapes are perpetually closed, besides a few instances the husband tries to sneak a smoke break, but is almost simultaneously beckoned back by a needy wife. I don’t think this seems like something Jeffries wants to sign up for, being such a rough and tumble man that he is. The Thorwalds also show his fear of marriage, because at the beginning the wife is constantly nagging her husband for things, while she lays in bed all day with no one to care for her but him. Besides the disfunction of the Thorwalds relationship, they serve to bring Lisa and Jeffries together. When Jeffries first believes there has been a murder no one will believe him, not his nurse nor a detective, except for Lisa. She initially thinks it is madness, but is the first to believe what Jeffries has to say. She seemed to be humoring him, and bit-by-bit began seeing he was right. Jeffries would have had no hope of finding out the truth without Lisa’s help, and by the end they almost work as a crime solving team.

The composer serves as a clue into their relationship, because at first Jeffries deemed the song rubbish, when Lisa asked what it was. It was an indicator of the progress of their relationship. The first time Lisa decided to spend the night, was when they composer had finally finished his work and was having the debut party. Jeffries opinion of the song seemed to have change by then, while Lisa’s stayed constant.

The secondary characters appropriately serve as a window into the life of the main characters. The fact that Jeffries is so engulfed in their daily activities shows his escapist attitude towards his own life. The scandal with the Thorwalds seemed to give his life meaning. However, his confrontation with Mr. Thorwald at the end shows he has confronted his fears, and while he has struggled with them, and they almost took him down, he has overcome them with Lisa’s help.