Must we kill the thing we love? : Emersonian perfectionism and the films of Alfred Hitchcock

317 Pages·2014·20.82 MB·English

by  Emerson

MUST
EMERSONIAN WE
PERFECTIONISM
KILL
THE
AND THE
F ILM S O F THING
ALFRED HITCHCOCK
LOVE?
WE
William Rothman
Must We Kill the Thing We Love?
FILM AND CULTURE
John Belton, Editor
FILM AND CULTURE
A series of Columbia University Press
Edited by John Belton
For the list of titles in this series, see page 303.
MUST
WE
KILL
THE
THING
LOVE?
WE
Emersonian Perfectionism
and the Films of Alfred Hitchcock
William Rothman
Columbia University Press N ew York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2014 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rothman, William.
Must we kill the thing we love? : Emersonian perfectionism and the fi lms of
Alfred Hitchcock / William Rothman.
pages cm — (Film and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-16602-7 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-16603-4
(pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-53730-8 (ebook)
1. Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899–1980—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Redemption
in motion pictures. 3. Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803–1882—Infl uence. I. Title.
PN1998.3.H58R683 2014
791.4302'33092—dc23 2013038575

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
Th is book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
cover photo : AF archive / Alamy
cover design : Milenda Nanok Lee
References to websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor
Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the
manuscript was prepared.
For Stanley Cavell

Contents
Introduction: Drawing a New Circle 1
1 Th e Wilde-er Side of Life 31
2 Accomplices in Murder 40
3 “I Don’t Like Murderers” 49
4 Little Deaths 58
5 “Th e Time to Make Up Your Mind About People Is Never” 73
6 “But May I Trust You?” 78
7 Silence and Stasis 87
8 Talking vs. Living 99
9 Two Th ings to Ponder 105
10 Th e Dark Side of the Moon 110
viii Contents
11 Scottie’s Dream, Judy’s Plan, Madeleine’s Revenge 141
12 Never Again? 173
13 A Loveless World 185
14 Birds of a Feather 199
15 A Mother’s Love 208
16 Every Story Has an Ending 255
Conclusion: Emerson, Film, Hitchcock 270
Notes 287
Acknowledgments 295
Index 297
Must We Kill the Thing We Love?