Norman Bates was the main antagonist of the movie psycho. He was the owner of the hotel named “bates motel” which he ran alone. It was earlier established in the movie that Norman lived with her aged mother, Norma, who was sick and controlling, but we later found that Norman had killed his mother a long time ago, and he was dressing up as his mother and having a two-way conversation.
Norman was suffering from a psychological disorder, In which he had three personalities in him; the most dominant one was her mother, who took full control of him most of the time and committed murders; the less dominant one was Norman, who was being controlled by his mother and the least dominant one was his personality which would interact with customers to successfully run his hotel. During this time people send Halloween Quotes and Facts to their friends.
Being brought up in an abusive family, Norman’s mother would usually beat him, which made him believe that women are filthy creatures who are unworthy of love. His whole life, his mother, remained his only source of companionship, and that further aggravated his illness.
1. “Mother! oh god, mother! Blood! blood!” -Norman Bates
After Norman finds her mother covered in blood, he shouts these lines and runs to Marrion to check on her, whom he later finds dead. Believing that her mother had committed those crimes, Norman did try to hide them to protect her mother.
It was later found out that Alfred Hitchcock purposefully made Norman’s voice sound like a scared teenager in this scene.
2. “Well, a boy’s best friend is his mother.” -Norman Bates
While having a casual conversation, when Marrion is asking Norman what he does in his free time, and if he has any friends with whom he goes out, he replies by saying the above lines.
This line established quite well the kind of relationship Norman had with his mother, which Marrion found out to be odd, but she did not interject.
3. “Headaches are like resolutions. You forget them as soon as they stop hurting.” -Norman Bates
Still, in the starting parts of the movie, when Marrion is having a light-headed conversation with her co-worker in the bank, she tells her that she has a headache; when asked, she reassures her by saying the above lines.
4. ‘Norman Bates no longer exists. He only half-existed, to begin with. and now, the other half has taken over. Probably for all time.” -Norman Bates
Around the end of the movie when Dr Fred Richman explains to the two detectives who exactly killed Marrion. Dr. explains to them by telling them about Norman’s condition.
He was suffering from a dissociative identity where he was committing the crimes, but it was believed that her mother, who was dead, was killing the victims.
5. “No one runs away from anything. It’s like a private trap that holds us in like a prison.” -Norman Bates
After having a little conversation with Marrion about his mother, when Norman is put off by her suggestion, Norman asks her what she is running from and where she plans to go after leaving the motel, and then when Marrion asks him why he thinks so that she is running away, Norman replies by saying this line.
In a way, both Marrion and Norman were trapped in their world, Norman was bound by his psychotic killer mind, and Marrion, who was running away from her life, was later trapped by Norman.
6. “A son is a poor substitute for a lover.” -Norman Bates
The parlour scene in the film was very well done and appreciated by the audience because of its lines. As it was clear in the above lines, one can take a hint of the kind of disturbing relationship Norman and his mother had.
Although it was not shown in this particular movie, this idea was further explored in the other remakes of the same movies.
7. “Oh, we have 12 vacancies. 12 cabins, 12 vacancies.” -Norman Bates
On her way, when Marrion was stuck in a storm and had to stop at the Bates Motel, she asked Norman if they had any vacancies. Norman, who was excited to see a customer at his hotel, told her that all their rooms were vacant as they had no one staying there at that point.
One might wonder why someone would want to stay in a hotel like that, but it was a stormy night, and Marrion needed a place to stay. Also, Norman looked like any other normal person, so she believed him.
8. “You- you eat like a bird.” -Norman Bates
The bird references were very creepy in this movie. When Marrionenters the parlour area, she sees a dead bird being put as an artefact in the parlour area, which freaks her out, but she ignores it.
Later, when Norman gave her dinner, she ate very little, and when he said to her that she eats like a bird, on which they laughed because birds eat very much compared to their weights, so it did not make any sense.
These starting scenes in the movie explain why Marrion did not doubt Norman at all. He was just like any other ordinary man with some problems. It was not until much later that she found out that there was so much left to be unearthed.
9. “I won’t have you bringing some young girl in for supper!” -Norman Bates
Not much into the movie, we have a scene where it looked like Norman and his mother were fighting about bringingMarrion over to supper, to which her mother refused bluntly.
Later we find out that Norman’s mother was dead, and he was having this conversation with himself, which was the scariest find of the movie.
10. “I think I must have one of those faces you just can’t help believing.” -Norman Bates
Norman said these lines to the detective who was appointed to track Marrion down. Detective Milton Arbogast followed Marrion and booked a room in the same hotel in which Marrion was staying to see if Norman was helping her hide, but he soon started to doubt Norman.
Arbogast was a smart man, but it was too late before he realized that something was wrong with Norman.
11. “I’m Norma bates.” -Norman Bates
Psycho was one of the kinds of films that were made in that era. The ending is very unexpected and a shock to many, but in one of the soundtracks, if one listens carefully, he can hear these words being said, “I am NormaBates”, which tells the audience that NormaandNorman is the same people.
12. “We all go a little mad sometimes.” -Norman Bates
When Norman was having a conversation with Marrion about his mother, Marrion suggested that he put her mother in some care facility, which offended Norman too much.
He said that even if he has some problems with her mother, that does not mean that he will leave her, everyone has some problems, and they do crazy things sometimes.
13. “We’re always quickest to doubt people who have a reputation for being honest.” -Norman Bates
One of the most powerful lines of the movie was said by Arbogast. He was one of the most intelligent men in the movie, and he said that we usually doubt those people who are honest and often trust those who are putting on a show and pretending to be nice.
14. “Hey cluck their thick tongues, shake their heads and suggest, oh so very delicately!” -Norman Bates
The parlour scene where Norman and Marrion discuss his mother is one of the most well-done scenes in the movie. He tells her how controlling her mother is. And that his hampering his life, but when Marrion suggests that he put her someplace else, he gets offended and says that no matter his problems, he wants to take care of her mother.
People often judge a person’s situation from afar. Say words about them. And give odd suggestions without having full knowledge of it, and he says that bothers him.
15. “Well, gee, I don’t even much both with guest registering anymore, you know. One by one, you drop the formalities. I shouldn’t even bother to change the sheets, but old habits die hard.” -Norman Bates
There were many subtle moments and dialogues in the movie. Which might suggest Norman’s state of mind, as one can see in the above lines.
Bates hotel was barely surviving as it was not doing well. And thus Norman says that he should not even register the name of the people who stay there. As there are not many of them or not bother changing the sheets. But he still does so because of his behaviour.
It shows that Norman might also be suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The movie did not do much well at the box office. But it was one of its kind and remained one of the cult classic movies. The film was adapted into various other parts and franchises. And the character of Norman Bates is one of the most iconic characters in the history of cinema. One of the finest works of Alfred Hitchcock. The movie was way ahead of its time. And was in doubt over its explicit scenes. But they are nothing compared to the movies made today.
16. “You know what I think? I think that we’re all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch.”- Norman Bates
Here, Norman utilizes bird-related terminology to describe his challenging circumstance, saying, “We scratch and claw.” However, it subsequently becomes apparent that Norman may also be describing what it feels like to be locked in a state of psychosis. At this time, we (and Marion) assume that Norman is referring to being trapped at the Bates Motel, caring for his dying mother. However, Marion discovers during this exchange that she can escape her trap unlike Norman. In a strange manner, both Marion and Norman escape from their traps despite the fact that Marion is never able to go back to Phoenix and atone for her mistakes.
17. “You’re alone here, aren’t you? It’d drive me crazy.” “I think that would be a rather extreme reaction, don’t you?”- Norman Bates
The spectator is not yet ready for how extreme Norman’s madness truly is; this line is an illustration of Hitchcock’s gloomy, macabre sense of comedy. Norman is frantically attempting to hold onto the reality he has painstakingly created for himself during this talk with Sam. Therefore, he is trying to allay Sam’s suspicions with this comment. The conversation also highlights the similarities between Norman and Marion because it brings to mind the encounter in which Marion responded, “Occasionally just once is enough,” in response to Norman’s remark that “we all go a little crazy sometimes.” Sam and Marion both act out of passion, which sets them apart from the realistic characters like Sam, Lila, and Arbogast. Norman is aware that Sam does not comprehend crazy in the same way that Marion did.
Meanwhile, Sam does not see the irony of accusing Norman of going “crazy” and stealing the money from Marion, when, in reality, Sam is the one who drove Marion to commit said “crazy” crime in the first place.
18. “This place happens to be my only world. I grew up in that house up there. I had a very happy childhood. My mother and I were more than happy.”- Norman Bates
Arbogast informs Norman that the Bates Motel appears to be “hiding from the world” when he first visits there. Given that Norman is hiding from the public, Arbogast’s prediction is prophetic. The only location where Norman’s dreamy upbringing with his mother is still a reality is the Bates Motel. Only in the Bates home can Norman act out his illusion without raising suspicion from the general public.