He argues with his girlfriend Lisa about how he needs to travel and not be tied down. He claims Lisa is too perfect and unadventurous for him, but we really see how frightened he is of being trapped. Marriage is a prison to him. This central idea lends to all the major themes in the film: isolation, imprisonment, and relationships.
Isolation is demonstrated in a number of ways. Jeff is isolated in his apartment and we are alone with him. He cannot leave and his only recreation is to spy on his neighbors. His neighbors too, are isolated in their own ways. Miss Lonelyheart is the saddest example as we watch her have an imaginary date to dinner, dress up to the best of her efforts to go out alone across the street, and almost commit suicide out of despair. She is an aging, depressed spinster with no apparent friends. Miss Hearing Aid and the bachelor composer are also loners, focusing their attentions on their art. Miss Torso has many suitors yet is still alone because she is not connected to anyone. Even the couples are isolated. The couple who sleeps on the fire escape are unhappy bickerers who fuss over their dog. Raymond Burr and his invalid wife are terribly isolated from each other and her from the world. Even the honeymooners isolate themselves from reality to devote all their energies to de!.
sires of the flesh.
Isolation is one thing, but imprisonment is the inability to escape isolation. We, as viewers, are trapped by this picture. The camera only shows us Jeff's apartment and what can be seen from it. He is confined to his cage and our line of sight is confined to the courtyard. This is very effective in terms of suspense because we feel very claustrophobic. We are made to see what Hitchcock wants us to see. We are forced to connect with James Stewart's character because we understand how fascinating his surrounding are.
There are also many symbolic representations of this imprisonment.