Tania Modleski claims that critical approaches to Hitchcock have falsely fallen into two camps: either he is seen as a misogynist, or as sympathetic to women in his demonstration of women's plight in patriarchy. In opposition to these positions, Modleski asserts that Hitchcock is ambivalent towards his female characters. Applying the theories of psychoanalysis, mass culture, and a broad range of film and feminist criticism, Modleski presents readings of seven Hitchcock films from various periods in his career.