Norman Bates. Three personalities

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Of all the works of Alfred Hitchcock, the most famous, frightening, ageless, innovative and unique, despite countless attempts to reproduce success, is the film "Psycho". In fairness, it should be noted that during the lifetime of the master, none of the filmmakers dared to shoot a direct sequel. In the 80s alone, three Psychoses were released at once, with the third part directed by Anthony Perkins, the hostage actor of the role of a murderous psychopath named Norman Bates. "Psycho" is a thriller by Hitchcock, most fans of the genre associate the name Norman with this film masterpiece. A much smaller number of ordinary people know about the book "Psychosis" by Robert Bloch, based on which the film was made, and few people are aware that the novel was based on real events that once happened.

Literary prototype and real person

Conventional wisdom says that when creating the character of Norman Bates, writer Robert Bloch was inspired by a real person - the murderer Ed Gein. Much later, the writer presented to the public his author's history of Gein, rich in artistic conjecture. In addition, Bloch stated that certain characteristics were himbased on Castle of Frankenstein publisher Calvin Beck. So Norman Bates is both Calvin Beck and Ed Gein.

The story of Norman's transformation into an insane homicidal maniac began with his mother, Norma. The woman was opposed to any manifestation of carnal relations, accused people of sinfulness and called all the surrounding women fallen. After the death of Norman's father, mother and son lived together for some time. But the boy grew up, and soon Norma had a lover named Joe Considine. Norman Bates, mad with jealousy, poisoned his lover and mother with strychnine. At the same time, the teenager fabricated Norma's suicide note, which clearly indicated that she had poisoned her lover, after which she committed suicide. Then no one suspected the teenager, but Bates still ended up in a mental hospital. There, unbridled guilt caused Norman's alternate personalities to emerge.

Three personalities

Leaving the walls of the hospital, Norman Bates inherited not only his mother's house, but also the family business - a motel. In addition, the corpse of his beloved mother became the most valuable part of the property of the crazy boy. In Bloch's literary original, Bates was a vessel for the coexistence of three personalities - the dependent, frightened little boy Norman, the domineering, tough and aggressive Norma, capable of destroying anyone who encroaches on the disclosure of the secret of her death, and the normal, reasonable and adult Norman. The leader, as in reality, is Norma, for whom the unfortunate madman even spoke in female highvoice.

Cine Image

The cinematic image of Norman is significantly different from the literary one. The book hero is a short, ugly 45-year-old man. In Hitchcock's film, the hero is a handsome, slender guy of 25-30 years old. They say that the change in the appearance of the hero is entirely the merit of the director, Hitchcock wanted the viewer to some extent sympathize with the character. Initially, in the film, Bates appears before the viewer as the owner of a modest motel, which he manages together with his mother.

After a while, Norman develops sympathy for one of the guests, Marion Crane, who has the imprudence to recommend that the guy send his mother to a madhouse. That same evening, the girl dies from knife blows inflicted by a figure in a white robe. Norma and Norman decide to get rid of the corpse, but they can't hide what happened. During the ongoing investigation, it turns out that Norma Bates died a few years ago. It becomes clear to everyone that the killer is Norman himself, that is, one of his alter personalities. As a result, the hero is neutralized and placed in a mental hospital, where Norma completely destroys his mind, and people bypass the long-distance Bates motel. Norman will be released from the psychiatric hospital after 22 years.

Character in 1983 sequel

In the second part of the film, the hero leaves the hospital. Therapy helps Norman get rid of his mother's personality. Time passes, the man falls in love with a relative of his first victim. But people begin to die in the district again, and Bates receives mysterious messages from a kind of rebellious mother. This developmentevents slowly but surely drives a man crazy. As a result, it turns out that Lily Crane, the sister of the girl killed by Norman in the first part, is behind all these incidents. She, guided by a sense of revenge, is trying in every possible way to return Bates to the hospital. At the same time, Norma's no less insane sister named Emma appears, who considers herself the mother of the protagonist. In the end, the crazy Norman Bates kills the aunt who suddenly appeared, but keeps the corpse, probably out of habit.

Struggle and relatively positive ending

In the third and fourth parts, Norman's struggle with his mother continues with varying degrees of success. As a result, the hero still manages to get rid of the ghosts of the past, preventing "his mother" from killing his wife. Bates burns down the family mansion to break the thread that binds him to the past. Naturally, if absolutely necessary, the creators could reanimate the cruel Norma at any time, but they decided to make the finale of the fourth part relatively positive.

This is how psychopath killer Norman Bates appeared before the audience. Hitchcock's "Psycho" is rightfully recognized as the best in the franchise.