The Women of Hitchcock
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Hitchcock's ideal woman, at least in his films, was willowy, blonde and cool. What intrigued him was the hint of uninhibited passion behind the cool facade; in his own words, "the drawing-room type, the real ladies, who become whores once they're in the bedroom ..." (1). As visible in the pictures above, Hitchcock's leading ladies all fit this profile - particularly his favorites Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly and Tippi Hedren, whom he used in multiple films. Additionally, this idea of the "cool blonde" is epitomized in Hitchcock's Vertigo through Kim Novak. Novak, having seemingly died as the elegant, fair-haired Madeleine Elster, is resurrected as Judy Barton, a brunette made to look as "tarty" as possible. This overt carnality, however, is rejected by the male figure of the movie, played by James Stewart. Judy must dye her hair, change her clothes, and virtually become Madeleine again before Stewart will accept and love her.
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The "cool blonde" and her role in Hitchcock's films point to a recurrent (and some would say misogynistic) pattern in the treatment of his heroines. Consistently, one of these women is reduced to a disheveled, panic stricken mess, or reveals some unexpected depth of sexual ardor. Hitchcock liked to quote nineteenth century French playwright Victorien Sardou's advice, "Torture the women!" though he added "The trouble today is we don't torture the women enough" (2). In keeping with this advice, Hitchcock's harsh treatment of the "cool blonde" culminated in The Birds with Tippi Hedren. Hedren, for her role, had live, angry birds tied to her with string throughout the filming. Hedren and Hitchcock's relationship would be strained throughout the filming of Marnie as a result.
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In addition, some argue that the women of Hitchcock's films are inevitably "made into passive objects of male voyeuristic and sadistic impulses, [intended] to fulfill the desires and express the anxieties of men in the audience" (3).
This is then furthered by the image of the "ideal" American woman of the period, presented, almost mockingly, by Hitchcock in such films as Shadow of a Doubt and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 version). These films explore traditional family dynamics in America and introduce evil into the domestic arena. In Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, he portrays the "perfect American housewife" of the 1950s. She is shown to be "a clueless ditz whose obtuseness about her male relations mimics the willed ignorance of human desires enacted throughout her self-idealized small town" (4). Her very normativeness is being demonstrated as a facade for Hitchcock's mocking imagery. However, Hitchcock also addresses the loss of identity associated with becoming a wife and a mother. At one point in the film, this "perfect" housewife comments "You know how it is. You sort of forget you're you. You're your husband's wife" (5). The image presented of the "perfect American housewife" supports the effort, at the time, to encourage the emerging independent woman to return to the home after the war rather than to continue to work. Shadow of a Doubt, therefore, succeeds in anticipating, and even critiquing, the policing of gender identities that would emerge around the same time. The theme presented in this film, the feminine loss of identity, would also be addressed in later films including Notorious and Vertigo, though applied in a differing context.
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While these examples, and Hitchcock's coarse comments in interviews, seem to support his reputation as a misogynist, others argue that Hitchcock's films express a deep sympathy for women. As John Fawell contends, there is a "tendency in Hitchcock's films to be deeply empathic to women and often hostile to the men and critical of their treatment of women" (6). In fact, the story of a man who trivializes and persecutes the woman who loves him is common in many of Hitchcock's films, including Rear Window and Vertigo. Generally, this theme encourages the foundation of a strong bond of sympathy between the audience and suffering heroine. Furthermore, the biting criticisms of women found in these films, that are all too often taken as representative of Hitchcock's attitude toward women, are actually a result of the confusion and fear found in the male role of the film. Additionally, there is evidence to suggest that Hitchcock was able to "register women's vulnerability powerfully because he identified so strongly with women, not men." In fact, his interviews are "filled with prideful boasts about knowing and understanding his actresses better than the actresses themselves did" (7). Also, countering the idea that Hitchcock's films are intended "to fulfill the desires and express the anxieties of men in the audience," Fawell suggests that Hitchcock was more conscious of the female audience than the male - particularly by keeping the spotlight on the leading woman's emotions (8). And, as Hitchcock suggested, "the chief point [he] kept in mind when selecting [his] heroine [was] that she must be fashioned to please women rather than men ... no actress can be a good commercial proposition as a film heroine unless she pleases her own sex" (9). While Hitchcock's philosophy was indeed "Torture the women!," it seems to come off as more sadistic than Hitchcock's films actually were - commonly, the women were tortured, but by cruel men.
End Notes:
1. Mogg, Ken. The Alfred Hitchcock Story. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing Company, 1999.
2. Mogg. The Alfred Hitchcock Story.
3. Modleski, Tania. The Women Who Knew Too Much. New York: Methuen Inc, 1988.
4. Freedman, Jonathan and Millington, Richard. Hitchcock's America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
5. Ramirez Berg, Charles. "Alfred Hitchcock: a Brief Biography." The Encyclopedia of Film. Austin, TX: Harper Resource, 1996.
6. Fawell, John. "Torturing Women and Mocking Men: Hitchcock's Rear Window." The Midwest Quarterly, v44 i1 (Autumn 2002): 88.
7. Fawell. "Torturing the Women and Mocking the Men."
8. Modleski. The Women Who Knew Too Much.
9. Fawell. "Torturing the Women and Mocking the Men."
4/18/03 by E. Wennerberg