The parallelism is no accident, and is another example of Hitchcock using form and small keys to inform the content of the movie.ĭisturbing as it was, one of the most prominent themes that I saw in Shadow of A Doubt is incest. The link is overtly stated by both characters, but is also reenforced by the song, as well as the fact that while Uncle Charlie is the supposed killer in the story, little Charlie is the only one we actually see commit a murder. What this truly illustrates to me is the great link between the two Charlies. But what is more interesting to me is that later in the film, when little Charlie has discovered the truth about her uncle, little Charlie yells at her mother for humming the same tune she had been humming the day before.
Originally she enjoys the tune, and when it is identified it is clear that Uncle Charlie cannot stand it (for obvious conscious guilt reasons). I would also like to propose a question: When Uncle Charlie is watching little Charlie through the window, and his hands tense into a strangling motion, does the window represent the fact that he won’t be able to do it (as it is a barrier) or does it represent the link between them (as she would otherwise be obscured by the wall)?Īnother interesting feature Hitchcock used was the song that little Charlie had stuck in her head. At the end of the very same clip two people in black cloths waltz across the frame, which I believe is a hint at the widow and death themes. For instance, it is revealed that Charlie killed three different widows, and at three different points in the film a seemingly random clip of people dancing is played as a transition in this clip people dressed in white clothes dance across the screen, giving me the impression of a wedding. As a widow strangler, Uncle Charlie obviously has an interesting relationship with weddings, and I loved the way that Hitchcock foreshadowed and hinted at this throughout the film. I will start by presenting a theme that interested me greatly: marriage.
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