Images - The Feminine Gaze in Notorious and The Paradine Case

<BODY bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <font size="4"><p>The Femine Gaze in <i>Notorious</i> and <i>The Paradine Case</i></font> <font size="2"><br>article by Elizabeth Abele <p><b>T</b></font>hough the privileging of the male spectator and gaze may exist in <i>Vertigo</i> and <i>Rear Window</i>, Hitchcock's use of the gaze is generally more complicated. Though a male gaze perspective may be present, the controlling gaze in several films is actually female. In these films, Hitchcock's female gaze may be as objectifying and controlling of the man as a male gaze is to a woman, while in other cases it exists as a knowing, patient and protective gaze. To examine Hitchcock's use of a secondary, non-male gaze, I will discuss two films from his Selznick period (1940-49): <i>Notorious</i> (1946) and <i>The Paradine Case (</i>1947). Hitchcock's use of the feminine gaze gives his female characters power, agency and depth--despite Hitchcock's self--cultivated reputation as a misogynist. <p><a href="default-nf.htm">Go to article</a></font> </body>