Shared Trauma Overcomes Class Differences
Long before the murder mystery gets under way in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, the audience is faced with Jeff’s personal dilemma, regarding his love life—whether or not to marry Lisa, a woman who he loves and who loves him back, due to her social status. He doesn’t see himself as someone worthy of her and all her elegance, social connections, and expensive clothing. Lisa is a New York socialite, while Jeff is a photographer who travels for work in suboptimal conditions that can be dangerous. He can’t leave his life and job behind for Lisa, and he doesn’t want Lisa to do the same for him. In the first scene of them together, Lisa makes it clear that she wants marriage, but Jeff tells her he cannot see either of them changing for the other, and they come to an impasse.
It isn’t until their investigation into whether Lars Thorwald murdered his wife begins in earnest that their differences start to feel manageable. A large part of this is due to the fact that concerns over their class differences do not matter in the face of danger. While Jeff is still unable to leave his apartment, Lisa takes over the more aggressive aspects of sleuthing and gets caught in Thorwald’s apartment in the process. When Thorwald finds her and starts to assault Lisa, Jeff is paralyzed with fear at the prospect of losing her, as he believes in his heart that Thorwald is a man capable of murder. Subsequently, when Thorwald attacks and nearly kills Jeff in his own apartment, Lisa has a similarly panicked reaction. After he falls from his window, Lisa cradles his head lovingly while Jeff tells her he’s proud of her (1:49:50). In this moment, it is evident that their survival and safety is all that matters, making their earlier relationship troubles seem almost trivial. Having both been assaulted by the same man in an effort to discover the truth, Jeff and Lisa not only become closer but more grateful for their lives together.
Marriage is not mentioned again, but the final scene of the film makes it clear that Jeff and Lisa will be able to make their relationship work. As Jeff sleeps with two casts, one on each leg, Lisa sits in the apartment in a far more casual outfit than she wore throughout the rest of the film. In a blouse and jeans rather than her $1000+ gowns, her clothing makes it clear that she and Jeff are trying to close the gap between them. Compromises are being made, though neither of them will fully change. As he dozes off, Lisa reads a travel book, clearly for Jeff’s benefit, then picks up something more to her liking once she knows he’s asleep. But the implication is clear—Lisa and Jeff are going to make it work and find a way to exist in the other’s world, even if it’s only halfway.