Hitchcock themes and motifs - handbags
The handbag, a traditional "feminine" accessory, frequently functions in Hitchcock as a powerful object, rather than as a mere costume accessory. Perhaps surprisingly, in view of the standard claim that women in Hitchcock films are passive victims, the handbag is a signifier of female assertiveness rather than frivolity or passivity. The way it is used consistently demonstrates that in Hitchcock films femininity can be a powerful force to be reckoned with, often consuming the male protagonists with both fascination and fear.
— Sarah Street, "Hitchcockian haberdashery" (1995)[1]
Blackmail (1929)
Suspicion (1941)
Stage Fright (1950)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
Vertigo (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Marnie (1964)