In this case L.B. Jeffries fills this role literally; throughout the film everything that we see in the film is shot inside his apartment, or looking out his window - the only time this rule is broken is when Jeffries actually falls out his window.
What I actually find most interesting about this film though, is that oh-so-familiar dynamic of the main character's efforts being challenged by the antagonist: Lars Thorwald. I say it's familiar, but in this case the "Main Character" has a broken leg and is trapped in his apartment, and the "Antagonist" doesn't even know Jeffries is there!
Looking at it like that I thought "That just doesn't make sense - the other characters are questioning Jeffries all the time, surely one of them would better fill the role of antagonist..."
Lt.Thomas J. Doyle
Doyle is an obvious choice, after all he tells Jeff he's wrong to his face, and insists that he stop, how much more challenging can you get?
Doyle: "Lars Thorwald... is no more a murderer than I am."
Jeff: "You mean that you can explain everything strange that has been going on over there, and is still going on?"
Doyle: "No, and neither can you. . ."
However, despite disagreeing with Jeff's conclusion, Doyle spends most of his time actually helping him; he looks into all aspects of the case, interviews potential witnesses, all the while mentioning how he really shouldn't be getting so involved without any actual evidence.
It is also established that Jeff and Doyle are old army buddies, this cements their bond of friendship; Doyle is a good friend and thoroughly invested in helping Jeff realize the truth (that is, the truth the evidence leads to).
Doyle: "Get that idea out of your head. It will only lead you in the wrong direction."Nurse Stella
Stella is openly critical of Jeff right from the start, but it's more of a motherly, voice of reason type criticism; like his conscience. She obviously thinks well of Jeff and encourages him to make sensible decisions, and to consider other peoples feelings . . . she's also a bit of a busybody and ultimately takes very little convincing to believe that Thorwald is guilty.
Lisa Fremont
Lisa is a stalwart supporter of Jeff's position, even to a fault. She is faithful to Jeff in every way, even when he awkwardly reasons that their lifestyles are incompatible, she doesn't want to argue about it and agrees with him (albeit unhappily). When Jeff tells her about Thorwald she offers a token amount of disbelief, but once it becomes clear that this is something Jeff really believes in, she's completely on board.
So we're back to Thorwald.
Despite all of these characters providing different perspectives for Jeff to consider, the one confounding factor that keeps Jeff from proving his theory, is Thorwald's behavior. As long as Thorwald keeps acting normal, Jeff can never prove that he's guilty - this is the focus of everyone's deliberation. This passive resistance is so effective, that Jeff reaches a point of doubt - he's been running on 'belief' alone, and without any evidence, and with Thorwald continuing to create his own alibi, Jeff is left with a difficult choice . . .
but with the killing of the dog, Jeff's convictions are bolstered and he decides to stay the course. Now, more convinced than ever, they take desperate measures and force Thorwald to show his hand.
Without being aware of it, Thorwald was hindering Jeff's progress by acting normal - eventually when cornered he tries to bribe Jeff, and ultimately tries to physically stop him via strangulation.
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