Marriage & Voyeurism in Rear Window

MARRIAGE All of the characters in Rear Window are described at one point or another in terms of their marital status and in terms of their relationships with the opposite sex. This represents a central theme in the film. The crime on which the plot pivots is the result of a failed marriage. The hero of the film, L.B. Jefferies, tosses the proposal of marriage around throughout the film despite his opposition to commitment. …

…most stereotypically masculine. It is the audience that is put in the role of an unpunished criminal (a voyeur) and of symbolic impotence (stuck in a chair while Lisa does her thing). If we are all directors then Hitchcock is offering a trenchant criticism of his own profession. At the very least, he is calling attention to what every movie relies on, for whenever we watch a film, we are voyeurs confined to a chair!