Vertigo : the Spiral of Obsession.
Vertigo (1958) by Alfred Hitchcock is a tale about obsession which is perfectly represented with a symbol of spiral. The spiral is used in this film to amplify the obsession of the protagonist.
The title “Vertigo” itself evokes a sensation of dizziness and disorientation, akin to the feeling of spiraling. This sensation is echoed in the film’s soundtrack, which spirals in ascending and descending patterns, adding to the overall sense of unease. Scottie’s pursuit of Madeleine unfolds as he tracks her through various locations in the city, from a cemetery to a museum. Along this journey, we witness Madeleine’s intense fixation on a painting of a woman named Carlotta at the museum. Hitchcock cleverly links Madeleine to Carlotta through their spiral twist hairstyle, creating a connection that later becomes integral to Scottie’s own obsession with Madeleine.
As the plot progresses, Scottie’s attempt to save Madeleine from jumping into the water deepens their connection. Throughout the film, spiral symbols continue to surface, reinforcing the themes of birth, rebirth, and the inescapable pull of obsession. Madeleine shares a dream tied to Carlotta, leading Scottie to believe he can cure her. However, this well-intentioned plan backfires when Scottie’s own vertigo incapacitates him, resulting in Madeleine’s tragic fall at the church bell tower. This pivotal moment underscores how obsession can lead to an inevitable downfall.
Following Madeleine’s death, Scottie experiences a mental breakdown. Upon his recovery, he succumbs to the same obsession, causing the film’s narrative to spiral back on itself. Scottie becomes fixated on his past, mirroring Madeleine’s own obsession. The film revisits key scenes to provide viewers with a firsthand experience of Scottie’s consuming fixation, helping us grasp the intricacies of the story.
It is during this revisitation around the city that Scottie encounters Judy, who bears a striking resemblance to Madeleine. Just as he once followed Madeleine, Scottie now pursues Judy, and a new obsession takes root. Their relationship develops, but Scottie’s fixation drives him to transform Judy into a replica of Madeleine. He buys her identical clothes, urges her to change her hair color, and insists on a spiral twist hairstyle, completing the eerie transition. What should have been a romantic moment becomes a tragic foreshadowing as the camera circles around them, resembling a spiral. However, Scottie’s world unravels when he discovers he has been deceived, and his obsession reaches its culmination at the same church bell tower where it all began. The film’s cyclical nature serves as a poignant reminder of how the past can perpetually haunt the present, leaving us spellbound by its psychological complexity.
