Heart Vs. Reason: The Clash Between Love And Criticism In Hitchcock's Vertigo
Heart vs. Reason: The Clash between Love and Criticism in Hitchcock’s Vertigo
It’s not having the relationship that’s complicated (at least not yet), it’s taking the relationship to the next level, which keeps the two lovers of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Midge Wood, an independent woman with a career as an advertising artist, and John “Scotty” Ferguson, a retired police detective suffering from acrophobia, as just friends. Back in college, Scotty and Midge dated for three weeks, but, Midge, instead of continuing her relationship with Scotty, broke it off apparently under the belief that Scotty couldn’t handle a serious relationship with her. Scotty had no hard feelings, hence he still sees her; he accepted her decision, but he still really loves her and would love to take their relationship further. But Midge won’t let Scotty love her. She won’t let him be her “knight-in-shining-armor.” She’s her knight. Even so, despite Midge’s high standards, refusal to let Scotty love her, and stark criticism of his manhood, her relationship with him teeters between her wanting to keep a friendship and her desire to have a romantic relationship.
It’s clearly understood when Scotty, sometime after his tragic incident on the city rooftops of San Francisco, comes to visit Midge at her studio apartment, why their relationship probably didn’t work out before. Partially because Midge doesn’t have confidence in Scotty’s ability to have a serious relationship, but mainly because she has a conceitedly self-assured and patronizing personality, which gets in the way of her and Scotty ever having a romantic relationship. When Scotty expresses his relief that the corset for his injury he suffered after the tragic incident comes off the next day, Midge broaches a new topic regarding Scotty’s quitting the police force. Scotty assumes she disapproves of his quitting by the tone of her voice, but Midge reflexively corrects him in a casual and snide, sarcastic fashion that “…he...
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