o her.Laura Mulvey argues in Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema that in virtually every visual text, the man represents the bearer of the gaze while the woman is the image or subject of the gaze. This idea corresponds to the common stereotype of the active man and the passive woman. In Rear Window, Jeffries, although in a passive physical position, takes on an active role by viewing his neighbors and eventually Lisa. Her character captures the attention of the audience immediately in the film. She draws attraction from the viewer with her captivating to-be-looked-at-ness quality. In the scene when Doyle first meets Lisa, it is obvious that he cannot take his eyes off her. Jeffries, however, is not as easily charmed. Lisa must be a part of his story in order to capture his full attention. Against Jeffries wishes, she ventures across to the apartment building in search of evidence that would incriminate Mr. Thorwald. During this scene the camera gives us a very interesting shot. We see Thorwald approaching the building from the outside and Lisa snooping around inside simultaneously. At this point her passivity as a woman is revealed. She now becomes a character in a film of which Jeffries is the spectator. This is arguably the most exciting scene of the movie. Also important is the shot/reverse shot technique used here. We first see a shot of Lisa in Thorwalds apartment, followed by a shot of Jeffries, who is staring directly at her. She is being viewed by both the film audience and Jeffries through his camera. During the confrontation between Thorwald and Lisa, the police arrive. At this point Lisa signals to Jeffries that she has found the wedding ring. This is clearly symbolic of the end of Jeffries marriage anxiety, which Johnson 4leads to his willingness to accept her as a bride.Jeffries soon becomes aware of the changes in the other relationships across the block. The newlyweds are at odds again. We hear a ve...
