Rear Window Dissatisfaction

Jeff is going a little nuts in his apartment, and the cast on his leg is the perfect indication of just how vexed he is by the situation. That restlessness is his motivation to start looking out the window, which is what sets the plot in motion.

This exchange clues us in to what a risk-taker Jeff has been. Jeff is so bored that he's still willing to take some risks to get back into the action. Spying on the neighbors seems like a harmless activity to him, but it ends up being way more dangerous than he counted on.

This is an interesting combination of Jeff's overwhelming irritation at being stuck and his disdain for getting married. It pretty much sounds like he considers the one indistinguishable from the other. They're both traps.

Stella has got the right mixture of insight and audacity to make a smart observation here. She hasn't known Jeff very long, so she hasn't gotten accustomed to his quirks like his friends have. But, at the same time, she's listened to him complain about his boredom for long enough to know a few things about him. Like where his restlessness will lead: nowhere good.

Stella has got Jeff pegged. He's dissatisfied with a smart and gorgeous woman who would climb into a suspected killer's apartment for his sake. That unhappiness drives the romantic plot throughout the film; they're bickering when they should be falling into each other's arms.

Here's a guy that can be unhappy about anything—even a smart, successful, gorgeous girlfriend who can't keep her hands off of him and wants to marry him. He assumes they're not compatible because of her glamorous lifestyle and hasn't given her a chance. She has to take matters into her own hands and prove him wrong.

Jeff assumes Lisa can have anything she wants, but she's no happier than he is. She wants to marry him but can't get him to commit and give up his travels. She's constantly being extremely seductive and amorous, but he ignores her. It's her unhappiness with the status of their relationship that pushes her to do something that might show Jeff that she can join him on his adventures: she climbs up a fire escape (in an elegant dress and heels) and sneaks into Thorwald's apartment.

Is marriage really that bad? Jeff is taking out his frustration about being confined to a wheelchair on poor Lisa, who's only trying to love him. This is one nasty comment about a woman who sure doesn't deserve it.

Early in the film, Jeff sees Thorwald constantly being summoned by his wife, who's in bed sick. We get an idea why Thorwald is so unhappy in his marriage. Later, he's making long-distance calls and discussing his wife's jewelry—there's another woman, we assume. But as Lisa and Stella point out, lots of people are unhappy in their marriages but don't see it as a reason to dismember their spouses. Thorwald must be desperately miserable.

Notice how powerless Jeff feels here: acknowledging that he wouldn't be able to do anything for Lisa and Stella if they should run into trouble. Nothing would be worse for this gung-ho guy than to sit by helplessly while the women are taking the initiative and at risk of getting hurt.