Norman Bates describes life as a trap, or more accurately, our own private traps that we cannot get out of – no matter how hard we try. While this is true for many characters in the film Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it is most true about Norman himself. The surprising information we learn about Norman throughout the movie proves this point more and more. Norman suffers from a multiple personality disorder brought on by his desires. Norman lives as both himself and his deceased mother. By taking on his mother’s personality, he hopes to bring her back in some way. This shows two things. One is Norman’s melancholy after his mother’s death, and two, Norman’s inner struggle with his desires.
Norman’s ultimate desire is his mother. As we learn at the end of the movie, Norman killed his mother and her boyfriend. This shows that he always had a fantasy of his life, alone, with his mother. When another man came in and threatened his relationship with his mother, he got rid of the both- the man for protection of the fantasy and his mother out of betrayal. Norman felt betrayed by his mother because she ruined the fantasy. His melancholia after his mother dies is what causes him to dig up his mother’s bones and take on her personality. The mother that we see in the film is the piece of his mother he has kept with him after losing her. …show more content…
With each kill, signs of the real Norman lessen until there is nothing left of him. The ultimate moment of this is when Norman’s ID cannot kill the people in its way. When his mother senses threats to the fantasy, she gets rid of them to protect it. To kill, the superego and ID have to fully inhabit Norman. As Lila finds the dead body of Norman’s mother, Norman as his mother comes down to kill her but he cannot because Sam stops him. When he cannot kill Sam and Lila, the mother stays in control to navigate through the real world while protecting the
Norman’s ultimate desire is his mother. As we learn at the end of the movie, Norman killed his mother and her boyfriend. This shows that he always had a fantasy of his life, alone, with his mother. When another man came in and threatened his relationship with his mother, he got rid of the both- the man for protection of the fantasy and his mother out of betrayal. Norman felt betrayed by his mother because she ruined the fantasy. His melancholia after his mother dies is what causes him to dig up his mother’s bones and take on her personality. The mother that we see in the film is the piece of his mother he has kept with him after losing her. …show more content…
With each kill, signs of the real Norman lessen until there is nothing left of him. The ultimate moment of this is when Norman’s ID cannot kill the people in its way. When his mother senses threats to the fantasy, she gets rid of them to protect it. To kill, the superego and ID have to fully inhabit Norman. As Lila finds the dead body of Norman’s mother, Norman as his mother comes down to kill her but he cannot because Sam stops him. When he cannot kill Sam and Lila, the mother stays in control to navigate through the real world while protecting the