Be it The Birds, Vertigo, or North by Northwest, Director Alfred Hitchcock is well known for making excellent films that show people with their own stories parallel to the main characters. Think of Psycho with Marion Crane, who is constantly trying to keep moving to escape the police, and Norman Bates, who is isolated in his own house and motel. They complement each other, enacting the main plot of the film. Hitchcock features these stories in multiple films, but perhaps the most in Rear Window. Rear Window is a remarkably captivating film by Alfred Hitchcock because it has a large cast of characters, though it mostly focuses on the two main characters, Jefferies and Lisa, stuck in a small apartment. Even though other people aren’t seen as our two main cast members, their actions and their own independent stories reflect the conflicts that our main characters go through for the duration of the film.
One character who has the largest change in the film is whom Jefferies calls “Ms. LonelyHeart”. Jefferies calls her Ms. LonelyHeart because she lives in the apartment complex all on her own. There are many times in the film where she is shown clearly to be depressed. She is seen in the film crying and feeling trapped in her apartment. People with whom she is associated have hurt her physically. Ms. LonelyHeart doesn’t have anyone to spend time with, and whenever she tries to spend time with anyone, they openly abuse her. This kind of disheartenment leads her to believe that her life will forever continue to be in anguish and solitude, a belief that leads to wanting to take her own life with cyanide. But when she starts to take the pills, she’s stopped by the playing of music. The piece begins to take her as she starts to feel a sense of joy. The music clearly shows a change in her, giving Ms. LonelyHeart a feeling of passion, and at the end of the film, she is seen with the pianist as they enjoy each other’s company.
The shift in Ms. LonelyHeart’s character represents how things won’t always stay unfortunate; things can change for the better in people, and things are not always permanent. Ms. LonelyHeart’s difference in character at the end of the film versus the beginning emphasizes her newfound appreciation for life, as this is the first time she is shown outside of her apartment and enjoying the company of someone who helps her with her enjoyment of music. Her aspect also parallels the changes between the main characters, Jefferies and Lisa, and their relationship. Jefferies didn’t want to develop a lasting relationship with Lisa because he believed that she was a simple person without any interest in what Jefferies wanted. But during the movie, she does things such as sneaking into a home to find evidence, revealing to Jefferies a side to her that he has never seen. She also shows him that she does care about Jefferies’ needs and interests.
Another character that reflects Jefferies’ relationship with Lisa would be the person he calls “Ms. Torso”. Ms. Torso is a working dancer whose husband is fighting in the war. She is shown to be interested in fashion and is very pretty. Throughout the film, she is seen having parties with other men and having an affair throughout the film. Eventually, Ms. Torso kicks the man out for reasons we don’t know. Ms. Torso is a representation of what Jefferies thinks of Lisa and what he believes Lisa thinks of him. Lisa is also quite fashionable. She has an abundance of different wearables and is also seen as attractive. Jefferies isn’t interested in love as he thinks it is just a surface-level idea that can be discarded. He considers that Lisa thinks of him as just another man who isn’t important, and that she just uses them. He even compares Lisa to Ms. Torso while observing the party. But Lisa says that if she really were like Ms. Torso, she wouldn’t actually care about any of the other men, reflecting that Lisa really does care about Jefferies and doesn’t want to be with any other men. She proves to Jefferies that she isn’t some superficial woman. She truly cares about him and helps him in the case around which the main plot is based.
The characters of Rear Window represent the relationship between Jefferies and Lisa. They show a change in the beliefs of love in Jeffries’ character and form contrasts in the characters, like Lisa and Ms. Torso.
