#Norman bates full#

Personally, I loved Hitchcock’s film of Psycho but after reading this, I have a much better understanding of Norman Bates and what happened at that bloody Motel. Mother had to pass the grandfather clock in the hall in order to come in here and she could easily see what time it was.Īt 150 pages, this novella is straight to the point but really gets you living each character’s actions. He could tell now that she was going to be difficult the very question was a challenge. So it was best to keep quiet and hope that she wasn’t in one of her bad moods. Mother had been sleeping in her room, and knew how crabby she could get when just awakened. In fact, he didn’t look up he pretended to continue his reading, instead. “He didn’t even have to look up to know she was there. I like the way she’s always lurking in the shadows and is described as having a “shrill” and “high pitched” voice. The Mother, Norma Bates cuts a really spooky figure in this novel too. From this, I learned that Norman Bates is well-read and really understands academic subjects such a psychology and physics which adds a certain depth to his character. This means that you get to know more about the thoughts of each person. It’s written from a first person viewpoint with each chapter dealing with one of the 5-6 characters in the story. I really liked Bloch’s “version” as it made more sense that it was the alcohol that-made-Bates-do-the-thing-that-I-can’t-say-as-it-would-ruin-the-novel. Although he would be institutionalized again, he noted that he was 'finally free.' įour-and-a-half years later, after his final release, Norman saw visions of his mother as he destroyed his childhood home.Anthony Perkins, as Norman Bates, outside his Motel. įollowing several more murders as 'Mother,' Norman was told the truth about his mother and he destroyed Emma's mummified corpse as well as the 'Mother' personality. He killed her and used her corpse in the same way he did Norma's. Furthermore, Norma's sister, by then a co-worker of Norman, convinced him that she was his biological mother. However, after efforts by Lila and Mary Loomis – the sister and niece of Marion Crane, respectively – to return him to his insanity, the 'Mother' personality became evident once more. Īfter twenty-two years of being institutionalized, Norman was able to fully resist the 'Mother' personality.

#Norman bates full#

Īfter Norman murdered four people – including Marion Crane and Milton Arbogast – as 'Mother,' the personality took full hold on his mind. When the Norma personality took over, he would dress up as her and speak with her voice. He also believed that she was responsible for several murders that took place on the motel property when, in reality, Norman had developed a split personality of his mother. He began to act as though she was still alive and would hear her speak to him. Norman later stole his mother's corpse and mummified it. A jealous Norman poisoned them both with strychnine and staged the scene to look like a murder-suicide perpetrated by Norma. Soon, Norma began seeing Chet Rudolph, who she planned to marry after he received a divorce. Thrown into a rage, she put him in a dress and lipstick and called him a girl as she locked him in a closet in an attempt to make him forget about his penis. On another occasion, Norman doused her with orange flower water and Norma playfully wrestled with him until she felt him have an erection. On one occasion, Norma found a ladies' lingerie catalog in Norman's room and reprimanded him, forcing him to throw it away.

Norma was extremely controlling of her son's life and preached to him that all women – except herself – were whores and that sexual intercourse was sinful. The two lived in Fairvale, California, where they ran the Bates Motel. įollowing the death of her husband by bee stings, Norma raised their son alone. She was later remanded to a mental institution, having been ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial. The authorities intervened, returning Norman to his parents and arresting Emma. Emma, mentally unstable and extremely jealous, kidnapped Norman, believing him to be the son she should have had with Norma's husband. Norman Bates developed a close relationship with his controlling, abusive, and domineering mother who he would later kill and impersonate under his Mother identity. Norman Bates is the motel keeper of the Bates Motel in California. He decided to marry Norma and they had a child, Norman Bates. Norman Bates is the star of the well-known horror movie, Psycho. After Norman murdered her, he developed a murderous split personality based on her.Īs a young woman, Norma and her sister, Emma were both in love with the same man. Norma Bates (nee Spool) was the domineering mother of Norman Bates.