Gender Differences Between Lisa And Mrs. Thorwald

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There are several parallels between Jeff’s relationship with Lisa and the scenarios he observes voyeuristically. These parallels are especially striking between Jeff, Lisa and the Thorwalds, but in this case we can observe that the gender roles are reversed. Mr. Thorwald and Lisa are always active and dominantly standing over their counterparts, while Mrs. Thorwald and Jeff are immobilized in one space and passive. When Mr. Thorwald brings his wife a rose, he shows a desire for a loving relationship, but Mrs. Thorwald laughs at him. Lisa, on the other hand, isn’t even able to get Jeff’s attention by smothering him with affection while sitting on his lap. Laura Mulvey argues in Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema that in virtually every visual

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