Rear Window and Freud

What is the significance of the fact that Hitchcock places our protagonist in a leg cast?

Hitchcock was a master of his craft at creating amazingly suspenseful movies out of every day situations. When we find that our main character is going to be stationary for the entire film in one room, anyone who hasn't seen the movie might get an idea that they are in for a boring ninety minutes. Hitchcock plays into Freud's theory that that the male's development for fetishes stems back to the realization that his mother and any other females don't have a penis like males do. Hitchcock takes mobility away from a otherwise mobile person and places him in front of a window looking out into the other apartments in his building. This is where the fetish begins to appear for Jefferies. He begins obsessing over the lives of the people he watches through his camera. He begins making up scenarios and names for these people. He becomes so enthralled by their lives that he has a hard times keeping up with his own. This fetish he creates to make up for his lack of a second penis then leads him to believe his neighbor has murdered his wife which we later on find out is true.

What is the significance of the camera? and how does that apply to Freud's Theory?

This is a very easy question to answer. The camera is significant to the plot because this is what allows the main character to see out into other people's worlds. We are allowed inside with him every time Hitchcock switches to a camera view shot. Without it, Jefferies and Lisa are unable to become obsessed with their neighbor's lives. This applies to Freud's theory because since it helps develop the fetish and further the plot it also happens to be in the shape of a penis. It isn't necessarily a perfect shape but his elongated lens creates the penis effect. Now if he had a telescope the effect would still be the same. It is simply a man's desire to look for the second penis and Jefferies finds his through the lens of a camera.