There is no doubt that Lydia views the coming of Melanie as a threat to her relationship with Mitch. Lydia, Slavoj Zizek argues, has a “zealous concern for her son’s fate, a concern that is perhaps even more effective in blocking any lasting relationship he might have with a woman.”[12] Although this relationship can be interpreted as Oedipal in several ways (and Hitchcock tosses out much imagery, most obvious being the eye-gouged Dan Fawcett, to lead us to this conclusion), Annie Hayworth states this reason is not the case. Rather, Lydia is simply a jealous, possessive woman. This jealousy seems to manifest itself in the kitchen scene between Mitch and Lydia. In this scene, Melanie is playing Claude Debussy’s “Arabesque No.1” under the painting of the late Mr. Brenner. She converses with Cathy, who begs Melanie to attend the birthday party the next day. In the kitchen, Lydia is criticizing Melanie for jumping naked into a fountain and also questioning her motives to delivering the lovebirds. She even criticizes Melanie’s father for not keeping her out of the papers. All the while, Debussy’s music is heard throughout Lydia’s rant. This conversation is the only time in the film where instrumental music accompanies a scene.
So why is the music in this scene so important to describing the relationship between Melanie and Lydia? It must be noted that the music is not loud or fast or distracting. Rather, its quiet calm reflects the desired position Lydia wants Melanie to occupy. Lydia does not want a “wild” girl interrupting any part of her life. She wants her in the background, subordinated, nothing more than a caged animal. Furthermore, Mitch weakly defends Melanie against his mother, and ends the scene giving her a kiss on the cheek. As Mitch’s tenderness provides Lydia comfort and no sense of abandonment, the romantic music represents this kiss.