Norman Bates

Connie Bates (wife)

> "*Well, a boy's best friend is his mother.*"
>
>

> - **Norman Bates**, 1959
>
>

**Norman Bates** was the owner and manager of Bates Motel. After he murdered his domineering mother, he began to recess in and out of the alternate personality of his mother throughout the rest of his life.

## **Biography**

### **Early Life**

Norman was born to Norma Bates with several complications, leading to many long-lasting adverse health effects on his mother.

When Norman was six years old, his father would die of health complications due to bee stings. During his father's funeral, he would accidentally laugh after being tickled by his mother's touch, but was heavily punished by his mother for this afterward.

Norman would be raised alone by his abusive mother, who indoctrinated to her son that all women were creatures of evil who could never be trusted, except for her.

One time, while reassuring his mother during a violent storm, he experienced an early erection and ran to his room in a panic. His mother would discover a woman's undergarment catalogue in his room, for which she would punish him and would state that she wished she had been firmer with him.

On another distressing occasion, Norma playfully tackled Norman, causing him to have another erection, which Norma noticed. In a violent rage, she forced Norman to dress in woman's clothes and lipstick and locking him in a closet for hours, alone with his shame.

## **Mental State**

### **Personality**

Superficially, Norman Bates is a charming, yet timid individual who seems to care about the well being of others. He is, however, quite reserved which is most likely a result from his mother's over protective parenting style. This is demonstrated during the initial moments of his interactions with Marion Crane, a stranded cross-country traveller. Norma Bates is very cautious with whom Norman may interact with and women tend to be a big "no-no" in in her books. Norman also comes across as being extremely submissive, especially to his Mother. In Hitchcock's *Psycho,* there are various exchanges between Norman and Norma that demonstrate the dominance Norma has on her son, despite him being a grown adult. After Marion questions why Norman keeps putting up with her outbursts, Norman is quick to rationalize her behavior. Despite the unhealthy relationship Norma and Norman have, Norman will shut down any accusations of his Mother being abusive or overly dominant towards her son.

Norman Bates suffers from a mental disorder known as dissociative identity disorder (DID) or multiple personality disorder (MPD). After enduring emotional and physical abuse from Norma from an early age, Norman would go onto develop a second personality/identity that resembles his Mother in many ways. When he portrays his true identity, Norman is a sympathetic, friendly, and down-to-earth man. However, his alternative personality demonstrates the polar opposite.

### **"Mother" personality**

As a result of his mental disorder (Dissociative Identity Disorder), Norman Bates exchanges between his original identity, and a second identity known to resemble his Mother. It can be assumed that as a result of his childhood abuse from his mother, the passing of Norma was an ultimate stressor in developing his mental illness. Norma Bates was very persistent in making her son believe that all women were evil with the exception of herself. She made it a goal to make Norman realize that they are manipulative to the core and want nothing but the worst for her son. As a result, when Norman demonstrates his Mother's personality, he is not afraid to murder anyone who attempts to separate Norman from his Mother (either physically or mentally). Most of Norman's murders are done while he is demonstrating his Mother's personality which goes to show how emotionally abusive she was towards Norman while she was still alive.

The personality traits and behaviors of Norman Bates are heavily inspired by the notorious serial killer Ed Gein. Norman Bates would experience very similar life stressors to Ed Gein which would later contribute to his mental decline after the passing of his mother.

## **Physical Appearance**

***Psycho:***

Norman Bates is a handsome, charming individual with a friendly smile. His body type is tall and slightly skinny but overall, an average-looking man. His most distinct physical features are his eyes and smile, both of which can shift from being very warm and friendly to sinister and psychotic-looking. During the majority of Hitchcock's film, Norman's eyes and smile give off a very attractive lure of innocence which helps parallel his submissive behavior. However, the ending of the film is the perfect representation of his Mother personality in physical form. The innocence that is most often seen on his face changes to one of the most frighting physical appearances in film history. The notorious grin of the Mother personality following the statement "she wouldn't even hurt a fly" is the perfect representation of the sinister mentality of his mother.

## **Known Kills**

1. 1950's: Norma Bates
2. 1950's: Chet Randolph
3. 1950's: Holly
4. 1950's: Gloria
5. 12/11/1959: Marion Crane

## **Appearances**

* Psycho
* Psycho II
* Psycho III
* Psycho IV: The Beginning

## **References**

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Psycho
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Psycho IV: The Beginning