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WHO KILLED MARION CRANE? ... The latter of these two forms, desire, has the most relevance to this essay as the answer to the assignments overall question – that of who killed Marion Crane – is based upon both sexuality and indeed the fundamental potency of human desire.
One could talk for hours about the repressed society of the 1950’s that (a) could have drove Marion to commit such a neurotic, ‘uncharacteristical’ crime - which thereafter lead her to her grisly demise - or (b) resulted straight off in her death; the social and lawful limitations that hinder Sam and Marion’s relationship from becoming public (Sam lawfully had to pay alimony to his ex-wife, money that he did not really possess, and needed desperately); the strict attitude towards sexuality and provocative behaviour that resulted in Marion becoming an obvious target for the sexually charged Norman and/or the envious mother; the claustrophobic environment of small town mid America during the supposed era of family values which could have easily triggered in Marion the spontaneous need to ‘get out’; the inferiority of women and the sociosexual hostility of men (in our case, the millionaire in Lowrey’s office) that result in women (like Marion) being treated as objects; or even the small-minded homophobic attitude of a society that resulted in many people repressing their true sexual preference, culminating in mental and personal distress (a situation that Norman could be a product of). However, I believe that these are merely external ‘pot shots’ when trying to answer the question who (or what) killed Marion Crane? Yes it is true to say that Marion is the anti-heroine, a sexual rather than beautiful woman whose illicit affair with a fresh divorcee (the sexual revolution I must point out did not arrive until the mid-1960s, approximately five years after this picture was released in 1960) and the spontaneous theft of forty-thousand dollars from her trusting employee go against every morality that late 1950s American society held. Nevertheless, if the character of Marion were represented as a moral, clean cut Doris Day/Debbie Reynolds figure (both of whom were the big box office stars at the time), I personally still believe that she (Marion) would have met the same untimely death. ... It was Norman Bates’ arm that held the knife that pierced Marion’s flesh which subsequently caused the life to vanish from her body. ... However stemming from my own personal disbelief that the human psyche can be equally divided, 50/50, between two identities, I feel it is necessary to tackle my primary question (that of ‘who killed Marion Crane?’) with the intention to gather evidence incriminating one of the two suspects, Norman or Mother; since there is no doubt about the validity of Schizophrenia as a genuine mental illness (and equally there is no doubt that Norman suffers from this considering his actions and the psychiatrists diagnosis) the one that has the greatest overall influence is therefore the answer I am looking for, as they will be ultimately responsible for Marion’s grizzly demise. ... Yet, the question of sexual identity is key in not only trying to establish the true murderer of Marion Crane, but also in the films overall narrative. ... (regarding my analysis, is the ‘psycho’ – the knifed-wielding butcher of Marion and many others - Norman or Mother? ... Marion has the appealing physical sexuality of a woman but the headstrong courage and determination of a man, for it is she that steals forty-thousand dollars in order to aid the new life she is trying to establish with her secret lover; Mother, manipulative and domineering, had promiscuous sexual relations with a lover, behaviour (especially within 1950s America) that was in no way associated with a woman; and of course Norman, the shy, naive ‘mummy’s-boy’ whose delicate frame and movements, along with his hobby of taxidermy (a practice that though unusual, the basis of it revolves around stitching and sewing, an exercise more often than not associated with housewives) radiate a strong feminine side residing within him (the name ‘Norman’ itself denotes a complexity regarding sexual identity; Norman is neither woman, ‘Nor-man’, a subtle indicator of the battle of the sexes occurring within him – ‘Bellour, 1975). Followed by the camera’s clever composition and effective editing within the opening scene - which presents us with Marion in a sexual scenario with Sam, she being slightly lower in the frame almost looking up at him as if highlighting the spectacle of sexual difference - these initial introductions of the theme of sexual identity more or less equip us for what is to come. ... In the opening sequence in which Marion meets her lover Sam in a hotel room during her lunch our, she (Marion) says she would like her and Sam to meet at her place with her mother’s picture on the mantel, which in turn is met with Sam’s returning question “and after the steak do we send Sister to the movies, turn Mamma’s picture to the wall?” (notice also the reference towards the mother’s look, a theme reoccurant throughout the film which associates the mother figure – in particular Mrs Bates in our case - with eyes that watch and scrutinize); there are numerous family photographs scattered around her room which look down on Marion as she packs; the vulgar Mr Cassidy, who refers to his “baby” when boasting about his ability to reach expensive targets such as his “baby’s” wedding; even Marion’s fellow office girl has a prying mother. ... The continuous reference to and indeed emphasis on the dictating, dominant mother throughout the film leads us to believe that it is more than likely the mother half of Norman killed Marion and not Norman, the entity, himself. ... Her authority over him is immense; the impact that she has upon his life (“a boy’s best friend is his mother” says Norman in the parlour) and his obsessive fear of letting her down or disobeying her portrays the mother as almost a possessive girlfriend who kills Marion purely out of jealousy and contempt – how dare this beautiful woman enter my home and arouse sexual desire in my man?
Approximate Word count = 5098
Approximate Pages = 20.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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