The uncanniness of Vertigo is examined in terms of the relation between man (John) and woman (Madeline), of power, and of the gaze. The construction of Madeline reveals that she is not a woman, but John's object-of-desire, she does not exist as such. When the mystery of Madeline is unveiled at the end of the film, she turns out to be an ordinary woman. John is cured from his vertigo, but at the cost of the woman's life, for a real relation turns out to be impossible.