Norman, shortly after
Marion’s arrival, invites Marion into
his office for a chat. In his room he has several birds, that he stuffed
himself (his hobby taxidermy – stuffing animals with the intention of
preserving their bodies), hanging downwards from the top of his wall.
This corresponds to the context involving Ed Gein’s sadistic act of
digging up his own mothers corpse and preserving it. Focusing on the birds, the
“bird of prey” hanging from the wall, looms over Marion (Marion is also a
birds name) which depicts that Marion
is the prey; this connotes the danger that Marion
is yet to face.
Towards the end of Psycho, we come to the understanding that Norman digs up his mum’s body from her
grave, preserving her deceased corpse in his house and I feel that this is a
connection to the birds. The reason is Norman's
Schizophrenia – his split personality
of himself and his mother. I feel that Norman
is always influenced by his mother and the birds indicate this – he preserves
his mother’s body like he does the birds' bodies – because they are and his
mother will always be above him; will always dominate him.
Not only that, if you see the lighting in this photograph it
illustrates that of low-key lighting, the predominant lighting being on the
bird at the top left hand corner of the photo as well as the left half of Norman's face – thus representing his schizophrenia of his mother (birds)
dominating half of his persona.
Furthermore, considering the shadows from the lighting on the birds, it
further corresponds to Norman’s
unconscious aspect of half of his personality, overtook by his mother. The
shadows not only link to Norman’s
forceful influence from his entrapped mentality inhibited by his mother, it
also connotes the weakness of himself and the life he lives.
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