Character Analysis

• John “Scottie” Ferguson

• Madeline Elster

• Judy Barton

• Gavin Elster

• Midge

Scottie (played by James Stewart)

• As “Everyman” (C14th morality play) representing the plight of the ordinary man?

• Becomes lost in a world of illusion, dream and fantasy that Elster and “Madeline” create for him

Madeline (played by Kim Novak)

• A fabrication from the start – a fact not known until over half way into the film (when it is revealed that Judy impersonated Madeleine in a scheme to murder the real Madeleine Elster, something that unmoors the viewer).

• She represents an unobtainable, otherworldly ideal.

Judy (played by Kim Novak)• In contrast to Madeline, Judy represents the real.• Her manners are unrefined, even a bit coarse - she is

the opposite of the refined, ethereal “Madeleine.” • Scottie recognizes some trace of Madeleine in Judy.

Judy defends her true self when he quizzes her – perhaps she is desperate to reclaim her true identity after having played the role of Madeleine for so long.

• When it becomes clear to Judy that Scottie will never love her for her own attributes, she consciously surrenders herself and allows him to transform her into Madeleine.

• When her transformation is complete, it seems that rather than playing a role, Judy has actually taken on Madeleine’s identity, a fact that would account for her unthinking and fatal choice of Carlotta’s necklace when she dresses for dinner.

Gavin Elster

• The film’s anti-hero.

• Gavin is an old college acquaintance of Scottie who has married into a wealthy shipbuilding family.

• He is calculating and manipulative, exploiting Scottie’s weakness to achieve his own goals.

Midge

• Represents the opposite of Madeline – she is real, grounded, well adjusted and realistic.

Context

• Hitchcock was born in London to middle class parents in 1899.

• He was a prolific film-maker – he died whilst working on his 54th film!

• He is widely considered to be one of the greatest film directors of all time – his films include Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest, The Wrong Man and The Birds.

• He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres (e.g. the Dolly Zoom).

Activity

• In groups brainstorm what you think are the key themes in Vertigo

Themes

• Juxtaposition of myth and reality• Attempt to create the ideal women• Death• Past, present and future• Voyeurism and the impenetrable nature of

appearances• Love• Power and freedom

Reality

• There are parallels between Scottie’s quest for the ideal woman and Hitchcock’s relationship with Grace Kelly – Vertigo is often thought to be Hitchcock’s most revealing and autobiographical film

• She was an actress who appeared in three of his films. • Hitchcock felt that Kelly’s blond beauty and distinct

acting style made her the standard by which all other actresses should be judged.

• Her departure from the film world in the mid-1950s to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco led Hitchcock to attempt to mold other actresses in her image.

• Kim Novak, the blonde co-star of Vertigo, was one of these Grace Kelly stand-ins.

Parallels with myth on allegorical or figurative level?

• Roman myth of Pygmalion and Galatea:– Sculptor Pygmalion uses his art to create an ivory statue of the

perfect woman and then tragically falls in love with it.

• Orpheus and Eurydice:– Musician Orpheus follows Eurydice into the underworld in a

desperate attempt to bring her back to life, only to fail at the last moment by fatally looking back at her

• Both males in either myth are artists like Hitchcock• Both myths explore, like Vertigo, the timeless and

universal themes of love and metamorphoses (could you say Vertigo is “Ovidian”?)

Themes

• Juxtaposition of myth and reality• Attempt to create the ideal women• Death• Past, present and future• Voyeurism and the impenetrable nature of

appearances• Love• Power and freedom

The ideal women

• Pygmalion and Galatea – does it reflect Scottie’s desire to transform Judy Barton?– Sculptor Pygmalion uses his art to create an

ivory statue of the perfect woman and then tragically falls in love with it.

Themes

• Juxtaposition of myth and reality• Attempt to create the ideal women• Death• Past, present and future• Voyeurism and the impenetrable nature of

appearances• Love• Power and freedom

Death

• It is presented as being both attractive and frightening

• Can you think of any scenes where it is presented as attractive?

Themes

• Juxtaposition of myth and reality• Attempt to create the ideal women• Death• Past, present and future• Voyeurism and the impenetrable nature of

appearances• Love• Power and freedom

Time

• Cyclical nature of events

• Symbolism of trees in the Sequoia forest – the meeting of past, present and future

• “Madeline’s” obsession with the past: the Museum and McKittrick Hotel (Carlotta Valdes)

Themes

• Juxtaposition of myth and reality• Attempt to create the ideal women• Death• Past, present and future• Voyeurism and the impenetrable nature of

appearances• Love• Power and freedom

Audience as voyeur

• A theme taken up in 3 of Hitchcock’s most famous films – Rear Window and Psycho as well as Vertigo

• How does this involve the audience in the story?

Themes

• Juxtaposition of myth and reality• Attempt to create the ideal women• Death• Past, present and future• Voyeurism and the impenetrable nature of

appearances• Love• Power and freedom

Themes

• Juxtaposition of myth and reality• Attempt to create the ideal women• Death• Past, present and future• Voyeurism and the impenetrable nature of

appearances• Love• Power and freedom

Power and Freedom

• Tunnels and corridors are a motif in the film – what do you think they might symbolise?

Narrative

• The story is divided into 2 sections, each of which re-construct the same ancient story

• Does the film end in a state of resolution (the “Hollywood” ending satisfying audience expectations)?

• Why (not)?

Spectatorship: subjectivity and objectivity

• The audience switches between a state of:– Identifying and sharing experiences with

Scottie (subjectivity)– Being at an objective distance from Scottie,

often knowing more than him– The line between objectivity and subjectivity is

a fine one

Symbolism

• Flowers– “when Scottie spends the day with Judy before her

transformation into Madeleine, he buys her a single flower to wear as a corsage, not a replica of Madeleine’s signature bouquet as we might expect. It is a visual reminder that Judy does not possess the ideal perfection of Madeleine, but merely a small seed of it”

• Colour green (e.g. of clothes)– spring, rebirth and life after death, common colour in

early folktales (story has roots in ancient narratives)• Spirals

– staircases, camera movements