This review will explore the film Psycho and how the Bates Mansion acts as a reflection of the

character Norman Bates, with Jean-Pierre Dufreigne’s Hitchcock Style supporting the ominous
design of the house and how Hitchcock uses it to foreshadow the events of the film, while
Haggstrom’s Marion, Norman, and the Collision of Narratives in Psycho will look at how the house
serves to show Normans place within the film while Grib’s Norman Bates from Psycho will explore,
along with quotes from the film the houses role as the representation of Normans psyche,
through the Freudian theory of the psyche.

Firstly, Psycho is one of Hitchcock’s most famous films,

and tells the story of Marion Crane and her arrival upon
the Bates Motel, where she meets the owner Norman
Bates and murders and mysteries unfold along the way.
The house itself is a looming presence in the film. Upon
Marion’s arrival, it’s nearly always in the background of
the film and is a great source of mystery for the audience,
as Norman scampers in and out of it, while his mothers
voice continually shrieks out from it and her shadow
lingers over the window, “The lofty, yet menacing
Fig 1, Bates Motel, (1960)
Victorian edifice, with its colonial style is the most
disconcerting factor that foreshadows the drama and that
foreshadows the drama and that, once the murder has been committed, goes
on unsettling actors and audience alike” (Dufreigne, 2004, 118). The house can also be argued to
have a relationship towards the character of Norman Bates, firstly through his personal relations
as he lives in the house, but the house ultimately belongs to his mother, a character that plays a
large role in his life and the plot of the film, as she’s the character that torments him regularly as
well as a source for his guilt, so the house can be argued to embody this as well, as it is where it
all occurred. its also where the a lot of the murders take place, so Hitchcock placing the house in
the background emphasises its importance without telling the audience that it is, letting the
combination of the Mother's voice and her shadow draw in the attention, and yet not attract to
much suspicion.

On the other hand, the shape and style of the house can also
relate to Normans character in that it displays that he doesn’t
belong anywhere, because the house is a reflection of his
mother, both in its Victorian style and the fact that it’s so
disconnected from the rest of the world. The isolated house,
acts as a time capsule for Normans mother, telling us about
her tastes and characteristics, through the fur scarfs and
expensive vintage furniture, but through this the house
doesn’t display or tell us anything about Norman as a
character, because it's so fitted for his mother, and as a result
shows us how much he doesn’t fit in the house, the isolated Fig 2, Marion, Norman, and the Collision of Narratives
Victorian structure, doesn’t suit him as a character, yet he has in Psycho, (2010)
no choice but to stay, as he’s so isolated from the outside
world that he doesn’t fit in it either. This conflict can be argued
to show most prominently, when Norman takes a seat in the
kitchen on the ground floor as “Hitchcock’s camera stays with
Norman as he walks back to his house. The final shot in the
sequence is of Norman deep in the frame, confined between the
two suffocating hallway walls—a man who doesn’t fit comfortably
anywhere in this world” (Haggstrom, 2010), so instead of
attempting to adapt within the outside world, Norman instead can
be argued to take on the personality of his mother to feel a sense
of belonging, wearing her clothes, impersonating her while also
playing the role of the punished son gives him a purpose, and
Fig 3, Norman Bates, (2013) holds the illusion that he still belongs in that house.

Lastly, the layout of the house, with the first floor, ground floor and cellar can
be theorised to be the visual representation of Normans psyche, as “The first floor indicates his
superego, where he keeps his mother corpse, the ground floor indicates his ego and the cellar
 goes for his id.” (Grib, 2013). Firstly, Freud’s theory of the psyche,
comes in three parts, first with the ID, it’s the biological component
and primal instinct that acts impulsively and is controlled by the
Ego, the part of the psyche that meditates between the ID and
Superego, and uses realistic ways such as being polite in society
and deciding behaviour to control the ID’s chaotic nature and last is
the Superego, the part that incorporates the morals of society from
the behaviours learned around us, and can also push the ego
through casing feeling of guilt and proudness based upon
achievements on the idea of the ideal self, and whether or not it can
be achieved. For the house in Psycho, the layout accommodates
this idea well, as the top floor as the Superego, accommodated
Fig 4, Floor Plan, (2018)
Normans mother, as well as her corpse and Normans projection of
her, she is constantly chastises him, which at the beginning projects a tone of
sympathy for Norman, until its later implied that Norman has been unstable from a young age and
that she should of have “Put him away now as I should have years ago. He was always
bad…” (Psycho, Norman Bates Mother, 1960), which turns the mother figure more into a
projection of Normans Superego, incorporating the conscienceless from learned behaviour, she
tells him what to do and in tern he learns from it, while also chastises him, putting her as the
conscience that pushes Norman’s ego around using guilt, “she'll not be appeasing her ugly
appetite with MY food... or my son! Or do I have to tell her because you don't
have the guts! Huh, boy? You have the guts, boy?” (Psycho, Norman Bates
mother, 1960.) Contrast is the ID, the cellar, that begins to play in when
Norman eventually decides to move his mothers corpse downstairs, in turn
moving and ignoring his Superego in favour of his chaotic, primal instincts
which is what eventually gets him caught. It can also be argued that in
putting his mother in the Cellar, he is showing that his mother became
subjected to his ID, as he poisoned both her and her lover out of jealousy
and moved her up in preservation for her to take the role of his Superego.

Lastly the ground floor serves as the Ego, its position between the top floor
and the cellar acts as a boundary between the two colliding sides, Normans
primal urges and his mothers strong hold over him, giving him the chance to
ponder over his decisions and whether he will listen to his mother or
abandon her for his own primal instincts.

Fig 5, Freud, (1921)

In conclusion, Psycho uses the house to show Normans position within the
film, as unable to fit in both in the house and in the outside world, as well as his psyche
through the progression of the film. Using the three layers of the house, it acts as both an
insight into Norman as a character, with the conflict of his mother and the cellar, as well as his
progression as a character at the end of the film when he decided to hide her down there.

 Illustrative Bibliography

Fig 1, Bates Motel, (1960), [Online Image], URL: http://www.retroweb.com/universal_psycho.html,

(Accessed: 24/01/19)

Fig 2, Marion, Norman, and the Collision of Narratives in Psycho, (2010), [Online image], URL: http://
reel3.com/marion-norman-and-the-collision-of-narratives-in-psycho/, (Accessed: 24/01/19)

Fig 3, Norman Bates, (2013), [Online Image], URL: http://reel3.com/marion-norman-and-the-

collision-of-narratives-in-psycho/, (Accessed: 24/01/19)

Fig 4, Floor Plan, (2018), [Online Image], URL: https://www.alfahmikonveksi.com/bates-motel-

house-floor-plan/bates-motel-house-floor-plan-and-pinterest-•-ein-katalog-unendlich-vieler-ideen/,
(Accessed: 24/01/19)

Fig 5, Freud, (1921), [Online Image], URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud, (Accessed:

24/01/19)

Bibliography

Dufreigne, Jean-Pierre, (2004), Hitchcock Style, New York, Assouline Publishing.

Haggstrom, J, (2010), Marion, Norman, and the Collision of Narratives in Psycho, URL: http://
reel3.com/marion-norman-and-the-collision-of-narratives-in-psycho/, (Accessed: 24/01/19)

Grib, S, (2013), Norman Bates from Psycho(1960): A psychoanalytic approach, URL: https://
shonkhogrib.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/personality-of-norman-bates-from-psycho1960-a-
psychoanalytic-approach/, (Accessed: 24/01/19)