Narrative Devices in Hitchcock's 'Psycho'

Psycho’s suspenseful narrative begins as the camera pans and tracks into a hotel window, where our main character Marion Crane is having a secret rendezvous with her boyfriend Sam; hidden by closed blinds. Marion’s key motivation in the narrative is to be married to Sam, but she cannot marry him because it’s simply too expensive for both of them. Her motivation is then perverted, when she drives away with $40,000 stolen from her employer.  She is motivated by superficial needs and her own selfishness, although she is not without conscience; having deliberated over the theft. Norman Bates’ motivation in the narrative is to provide for his (dead) mother and in most cases ‘clean up’ for her in order to be seen as a ‘good son’. Sam, along with Marion’s sister Lila function in the narrative to expose Norman’s secret and find Marion because of their personal relationships to her.

Similar to many of Hitchcock’s films, the narration of the film is not confined to one person. Although the first forty minutes of Psycho are viewed from Marion’s perspective and the audience follow the character, even into small and confined areas such as a bathroom and hotel room, the film commands an omniscient narration. An example of this is a specific shot from Norman’s point-of-view as he peers in on Marion in her room through a hole in the wall, as well as later on in the film after Marion’s murder – forcing the narrative into other character’s hands, be it the private detective Arbogast or Lila Crane & Sam Loomis. The audience is lured into a false sense of security in regards to its view of this narrative, as a large amount of Psycho’s runtime is devoted to Marion Crane. 

Challenging the audience’s expectation is the primary goal here for Hitchcock, undermining the common traits of many Hollywood films of the time. Classic cinema conventions don’t apply in Psycho. Marion, while played by prominent actress Janet Leigh in the height of her fame, is motivated by selfish needs. Norman, while boyish and charming in his exterior, is highly disturbed. At first it seems that the money is the main drive of this narrative, when in fact it’s a ‘red herring’ – there to confuse and mislead the audience from the true nature of the plot. In terms of Todorov’s Stages of Narrative, characters do attempt to repair the disruption started by the theft of $40,000 and Marion’s disappearance. However, though they discover Norman’s secret, this is no clear resolution to the film. Norman is still disturbed, now even more so, having had his ‘mother’ personality take full control. There is also a sense that the ‘mother’ persona will help Norman to leave state care eventually, manipulating the police into believing he is ‘harmless’. The ending leaves the audience satisfied, but fearful of that last smile on Norman’s face and the recovery of Marion’s car from the pool. This may even suggest a New Equilibrium has been created, except in a far darker situation than a ‘happy ever after’ story.

The director utilises various strange and disorienting framing in order to confuse and unease the audience. Even in its first thirty minutes, these angles show Marion at her most helpless. The point-of-view shot of Marion from Norman’s perspective forces the audience to watch as she undresses, through a roughly carved hole in the wall. This voyeuristic act positions the audience in Norman’s shoes, making them feel nervous and apprehensive at the thought that they are in the middle of a criminal act. The suspenseful extreme close-up of Marion’s eye, as her body lies collapsed down onto the bathroom floor is another of these shots. Tracking away from the eye, a dead silence helps suspend the audience in tension. The audience is left with questions, prompting enigma codes like ‘Where will we go next? Who killed Marion? What will happen to the $40,000?’ Lingering on this shot also further cements the brutality and viciousness of this event.

Psycho, to me, is about the distance between seemingly ‘normal’ people and moral ruin. Psycho is also about appearances and their falseness. Marion to her friends, family and the audience is a hard-working, pretty and everyday woman. But when pushed to stress over the thought of happiness, she greedily steals $40,000 for her own needs. She mistakenly believes that marriage will make her happier and that this money is the key to this. By committing this crime, Marion falls victim to Norman Bates. Hitchcock is stressing that her death is incidental and wouldn’t have happened had she not been so opportunistic in the first place. Norman is also a product of his situation, having been neglected by his mother for a new man – driven to murder. He doesn’t exude the typical killer tropes or attitude; instead Norman is charming and witty. Hitchcock is saying that anyone can be a victim through circumstance, just as Psycho shows through its characters’ internal struggles. Norman’s being his trapped childhood and Marion’s being her freedom from the situation she is in; without money and without happiness.