Rear Window-The Look of Love

In Hitchcock's "Rear Window" the premise leads you to believe it is about Jeffries voyeurism of the lives of his neighbors as he sit incapacitated by a window. Intially Jeffries incapacitation is viewed as the reason behind his fixation on the lives of his neighbors. Lisa's visits seem almost intrusive in his life. He responds to her kindness and attention with disdain and ambivalence. It is clear that Jeffries cares for Lisa however he doesn't think he fits in her upscale world. Lisa cares for Jeffries however she wants him to change his life so that they can be together and views his unability to change as a sign that he doesn't want to commit to her. Jeffries uses his voyeurism of the lives of his neighbors to distract him from having to deal with the issues in his own life. The nurse who cares for him acts as the voice of his conscious mind that he knows is saying the right things but he's not ready to deal with them yet. Lisa's persistance in trying to prove that they should commit to one another results in her joining him in his voyeurism. It is in this combined efforts of watching others that they begin to see themselves.
Jeffries sees Miss Torso as the type of woman he's use to. To him she is a party girl;she's fun for a short time and then you move on. Lisa views Miss Torso as a party girl; the type that is not interested in committment. To her she is all about having a good time and distracts men from wanting to think about committing. Jeffries views Miss Lonelyhearts as a woman to be pitied. To him she's past her prime and is clearly hoping to find someone, anyone but her prospects are slim. She is driven to fantasy which makes him feel sorry for her. Lisa views Miss Lonelyhearts as someone she will become in the future if she doesn't settle down. To her she has become what every womans fear and she is frightened by her saddness and desperation. She feels sorry for her and somewhat for herself. Jeffries views The Composer as an image of his own life. He is a creative and talented individual; a single man who lives life as he sees fit. Sometimes he desires company; sometimes he needs time to himself to work, create or vent his frustrations. His freedom allows him the ability to live his life by his own rules. This is the life Jeffries has lived. Lisa views The Composer as the quintessential bachelor; living his life in extremes and excess. He is not settling down nor feels as if he should. She fears Jeffries although older than The Composer, has lived that life so long he may not want it to change. Jeffries views The Newlyweds as a possible opportunity gone by. he sees young love just starting out together. They are full of hope, youthful passions and wherever they are and whatever they do, they'll do it together. He thinks that type of committment may have passed him by. Jeffries does not share his voyeurism of The Newlyweds with Lisa. Jeffries views The Thorwalds as what happens in a marriage when one partner becomes completely dependent upon the other. He sees how the stress and strain of it all can create a bitter and antagonistic environment. In the case of The Thorwald resentment turned deadly. Jeffries sees this as a worst case scenario of what could go wrong in marriage over time. Lisa views The Thorwalds as a sad case of a man's lust for another woman driving him to do the unthinkable. She also allows herself to become part of Jeffries adventure into a murder mystery. In the process of this she comes to understand why he loves the life he lives.
Jeffries inclusion of Lisa in thoughts about his neighbors, allows him an oppotunity to see her in another light. He sees her beyond her social status and uspcale life; he begin to see where and how she could fit into his life. Lisa begin to see how she could fit into Jeffries world and still be in hers.

King Lear-Feminine Perspective

King Lear as with many Shakespearean works is based on strong male figures who are often crippled by emotional frailties which are viewed by some as feminine weakness. Coppelia Kahn has interpreted King Lear and viewed Lear’s troubles as stemming from his inability to embrace the feminine mystique within himself in order to reconcile choices that he made regarding his daughters. King Lear does depict a man driven by his own sense of power and entitlement; however I cannot say that I absolutely agree with her premise.

Ms. Kahn viewed King Lear’s mind state of “hysteria” as his coming to grips with his vulnerability. She equates this with Lear’s identification with “the mother”, his more feminine emotions or mindset. I however viewed Lear’s “hysteria” as a break in his mental facilities as a result of the aging process and possible bouts of dementia. Ms. Kahn viewed Lear’s break as a result of his repression of those emotional tendencies of weeping, feeling vulnerable and needy which would be viewed during that time period as feminine and therefore not what a man would do. I however have witnessed these types of responses in those in our population that we classify as the elderly. There are elderly men and women who after living rich and vibrant lives realize that they are no longer physically or emotionally capable of doing the things they once did or being the people they once were. I don’t know if I would therefore say that the behavior of elderly men is necessarily borne of feminine tendencies that have been repressed as it is a response to the physical and psychological changes that can occur in the aging process. If Ms. Kahn is correct in her assessment how would she interpret this behavior in elderly women? Ms. Kahn has based her perspective largely upon her view of King Lear’s weeping, which as a ruler and leader are not traits that would be considered desirable or within the norm, she believes as Lear realizes his vulnerability and the weeping becomes a catharsis by which he comes to terms with his life. I believe King Lear’s weeping brought about a breaking point in his ability to cope with the stresses of his situation and as opposed to Lear coming to terms with his life he entered into a state of wonderment where his thoughts and behavior teetered between reality and whimsy. This type of behavior is often seen in those suffering nervous breakdowns as well as in patients suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s, unfortunately this behavior is evident in both men and women which would make Ms. Kahn interpretation open to speculation.