Psycho

            

            If I were to mention the phrases Bates Motel, the Classic Psycho, or shower murder scene, the first thing that probably comes to mind is Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 cult classic film. The screeching violins and the unnerving performance Anthony Perkins gave as Norman Bates have a permanent place in pop culture. As great as that film is, this post is going to examine the novel that inspired the film, Robert Bloch’s Psycho. After reading this book, I can see why Hitchcock jumped on this source material for a movie. Psycho is a tension filled read that gives reader’s a view into the mind of someone mentally disturbed.

            One of the things that catches the reader from the start is the way Bloch masterfully uses the dynamic of relationships to get deeper insight on the characters. This is especially true of Norman, whose conversations with his mother and internal rambling between the normal persona and little boy persona showcase his motivations and insecurities. For Mary, how she thinks and feels about her relationships with her sister, Lily, and her fiancé, Sam, gives the reader a solid impression of who she is as a person.

            This novel is filled with active yet sympathetic characters. Everyone takes action based on their own goals which causes consequences that moves the plot forward. For example, Mary hastily stole the money and, in her rush to evade any repercussions, ends up lost enough to stop at a random motel along the highway. She wasn’t some flat innocent woman that just happened to fall into Norman’s psychotic world. Bloch was careful to make her a sympathetic character instead of merely a ‘bad’ person who has committed a crime that seals her fate. The audience is able to understand her desperation and her impulsive theft.

Norman is the prize character of this piece, obviously. The desire to simultaneously reject and protect his mother is a trait that readers can empathize with in some way or another. Everyone has experienced some variety of teen rebellion or at least growing apart from parental figures as they started off into their own life. Norman is trapped by his overbearing mother to such a degree that even after her death she is a voice in his head. I would argue the scenes where Norman is engaging with his other personas are the most interesting in the book. Bloch is careful to treat Norman’s mother like a real character and constructs these scenes to where it’s not obvious Norman is actual alone and suffering from dissociative identity disorder.  However, one of the negatives of reading this novel after Hitchcock’s popular film is that Bloch’s twist has little impact. Readers know from page one there’s no mother outside of Norman. In way, this makes for an interesting read to see how Bloch built the story to provide that twist. On the other hand, I can’t say for sure if the twist was a successful surprise for me or not. I’m just going to assume it was since the story has become cult classic.

Towards the middle of the book, the plot starts to drag a bit. Once Sam and Lily get involved in the search for Mary, they spend a great deal of the book waiting and dreading. They wait for Arbogast, they wait on the sheriff, and they sit around and wonder and worry. I don’t think this is necessarily a flaw in the text. I’m guessing this slow pace is meant to build up tension in the reader for the big twist ending. Part of the problem with knowing the twist is that this doesn’t quite increase the tension the same way. Instead of the reader gripping the book desperate to find out if Lily and Sam will be able to uncover what happened to Mary and survive Norman’s psychotic mother, the audience feels as if this part of the plot has been drawn out. This may also a bit of presentism on my part; I wanted the plot to go a bit quicker in the way of more current works of fiction.

Something I found hit perfectly with the book was the ending. Both the external and internal conflicts were resolved, but Bloch was able to give them both a finish that was neither fully positive nor negative. Bates is caught and brought to justice (taken to psychiatric facility) for the resolution of the external conflict. Although Lily is sympathetic and finds the decision not to give Bates a prison sentence fair, it does leave a sour taste. Norman Bates has killed multiple people including his own mother. He even planned out the best way to dispose of the bodies and cover his tracks. Mary also commits a crime on a whim, only later to come to her senses and realize she was being a little crazy to think she could get away with the theft. It makes one ponder if all criminals have some level of insanity and, if that is so, how do we differentiate between ones that deserve a prison sentence and ones that deserve mental health? In Norman’s internal conflict, the mother persona wins over completely, however she pushes the guilt onto “the boy” and “the man” personas. In the end, Norman has escaped his mother’s tyranny by becoming her, but any remorse for his actions is erased in the process. Again, it’s a finish that leaves the reader feeling uncomfortable.

Overall, this is a classic and worth the brief time it will take to read. Reveal in the masterful way Bloch handles Bates’ internal struggles and the thought provoking ending.