Caroline Young

The Conflict of the Single Woman in Hitchcock’s Films

Hitchcock’s films of the 1950s reflected the societal pressures on women at the time. They faced an identity crisis as they were sold the message that marriage was the only means of fulfilment. In Vertigo, we see the complexity explored through the character of Midge, an independent, working woman who is overlooked by Scottie, and through Judy’s desperate measures to please the man she loves. Her tragedy is her unfulfilled desire to be loved for who she is, rather than the construct of the perfect woman. As single women grappled with their life choices, the two sides of the Hitchcock heroine are in constant turmoil between the ideal woman framed like a portrait, and the earthbound woman, who feels that she isn’t good enough. This talk will further explore how Hitchcock used imagery and costume to depict the two sides of his heroines, transposing the gender roles of Madeleine/Judy in Vertigo, Lisa Fremont in Rear Window, Marion Crane in Psycho and Marnie Edgar in Marnie.

About
Caroline Young is a writer from Edinburgh, Scotland specializing in pop culture and classic cinema. She is the author of Hitchcock’s Heroines (Insight Editions), which explores the legacy of Hitchcock’s leading ladies, their costumes and their relationship with the director. She is also the author of Single & Psycho: How Pop Culture Created the Unstable Single Woman (University of Press of Kentucky), and Crazy Old Ladies: The Story of Hag Horror (Bear Manor Media), which was named as the Daily Mail’s book of the week and nominated for both a Rondo Hatton Award 2023 and the 2022 Richard Wall Memorial Award.