ABSTRACT
Reading of Vertigo will use the tradition of dignity deriving from Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative: "treat humanity, whether in ourselves or in others, always as an end in itself and never only as a means." "Dignity" has a complex history. A self-state of dignity is comprised of a nonhubristic pride in oneself and a realistic pleasure in one's capacities. Maintaining one's dignity requires living by moral standards, treating others as dignified beings, and living with authenticity and integrity. Dignity violations occur in the treatment of others as though they do not possess inherent worth. Hitchcock evokes in Vertigo the fear of the loss of dignity and of the integrity of the self. Gavin and Judy attacked the sanctity of Scottie's mind, the dignity of knowing what he knows. Indeed, one of the most harmful things a parent can do to a child is to undermine his or her sense of reality.
