The theme of duality is portrayed by Hitchcock by the use of shadows. This is shown in the bedroom scene, it is here where Marion decides to leave her home and begin her journey. In the bedroom scene we see Marion’s shadow enter before we see the character herself. This portrays the theme of duality because the shadow is almost representing a character within a character, as it is in the shape of a human but not in the form of a human. Like duality it is two sides to a person presented as one. In this scene there is a close up of the money, which is a white envelope, this contrasts with Marion’s dress which is black. Again Hitchcock has used colour symbolism as well as the use of shadows to portray duality. Throughout the parlour scene Norman is sitting on a small stool, making him seem bigger than his actual size. By sitting on a small stool we see a larger shadow of Norman.
Hitchcock also portrays the theme of duality by use of weather. When Marion is leaving her home the weather is bright and sunny, but before she arrives at the Bates Motel the weather becomes dull, dark and rainy. This shows duality because when she leaves Phoenix she probably has an intention of returning but when she arrives at the Bates Motel she realises that she can not return. This is because she has bought a car and knows that she will never be able to repay the money. Also while she is driving, she hears many
Voice-overs of her boss, Cassidy and her work colleague all worried about her. Marion can not return because she has done a bad deed and feels guilty that people are worried about her. The reason that duality is shown here is that Marion has now made the transaction between the two worlds, the good moral world she left behind and she has joined a world of deceit, secrecy and theft.
The first time that the audience see Marion admitting to her duality is when she arrives at the Bates Motel and is signing in. This is shown by her using a false name, indicating that she is ashamed of her true self and wants to be someone else. By giving Marion two names, Hitchcock has allowed her to have two sides therefore making Marion see that what she has done is wrong. Not only does Marion give false name, but address as well. She is creating an entirely new character for herself. In this scene Hitchcock uses identity to portray the theme of duality.
When Marion enters the Bates Motel we are introduced to a new character, whose duality is a lot more obvious towards the end, however we do not find out until the penultimate scene of the film. This new character is Norman Bates. On the outside Norman seems like an ordinary, shy and well mannered man but on the inside he is eaten up by his mother’s death, evil and cunning. Not only is Norman a host, as owner of the Bates Motel, but a killer. He is a son but also a mother, by re-enacting his mother’s thoughts and words. Norman is also a man, by his natural state, and a woman, when he pretends to be his mother. Hitchcock uses a variety of ways to portray Norman Bates’ duality. On such way is in the parlour scene. Norman is surrounded by sharp and square edges and dim lighting, which is the opposite to Marion, who is surrounded by soft lighting and round picture frames. The shape of a square is cornered and has a specific stop and start point, showing the cut off from one edge to the next. This is a mirror of Norman’s life, because he can cut from person to person, from a host to a killer, from himself to his mother. However Marion is surrounded by circular objects, which are curved and do not have a specific stop or start point. Hitchcock uses the circle to portray Marion because her character has developed signs of duality, such as giving a false name, to cover her tracks. She is confused about where her original moral self starts and finishes and where her new deceitful side begins and ends. In the parlour scene Hitchcock has used shapes to portray the theme of duality.
By using irony Hitchcock is portraying the theme of duality because, irony has two meanings, which is similar to the theme of duality. In the parlour scene Norman says to Marion that it is a “dirty night”. This is ironic because Norman means that it is “dirty” because of the weather but Hitchcock knows that it is a “dirty night” because somebody, Marion, gets killed, this is “dirty” because her blood is spilled. Irony portrays duality because when Norman says “dirty night” he is viewed by the audience as a normal person as he is in his natural human form; however what Hitchcock is implying by “dirty night”, is what actually happens, when Norman is in his psychotic and murderer state. Therefore Hitchcock has used irony to portray the theme of duality. An example of how Hitchcock has used irony to portray duality can be backed up by what Norman says when talking about his mother. Norman wishes that “he could apologise for other people”, meaning his mother. This is ironic because Norman is his mother, it is he who is keeping her spirit alive by pretending to be her although she is dead, and therefore duality is shown by this phrase because it is ironic.
Duality is also portrayed through the use of metaphors; Norman says to Marion “you eat like a bird”. This particular phrase shows duality because a bird is a predator to smaller animals and a prey to larger birds and animals. This is parallel to Marion because she is the predator when she steals the money and becomes the prey of Norman when he kills her. Here Hitchcock has used metaphors to portray duality by comparing Marion to a bird which has two sides to it comparable to Marion.
Not only are the bird used to describe Marion but they seem to always be somewhere throughout the film. In the very opening scene the camera shot is a panning and reminds us of a bird, flying down towards the window of the motel. There are also birds in the parlour scene, which Norman has stuffed; they are in positions of flight and attack. The birds are a symbol of duality because they are in the film in a physical form, however as they are dead they are not actually involved. They see everything from a perspective different to that of the characters but the same as the audience; however they are in the film and not in the audience. They also portray duality by being in these positions of flight and attack because when an animal flies it is alive but since the birds are stuffed it is not really flying just being portrayed as alive. This shows two sides to the bird so therefore Hitchcock has used animal imagery to portray duality. Since these are just minor ways which portray duality, as an audience we can assume that the characters have a deeper meaning than what is shown. For example Norman is shown to be the owner of motel with an elderly mother, but the deeper meaning is that he is the killer of his guests to the hotel, and he is his mother.
Psycho is probably most famous for its exceptional shower scene. It is here where a lot of the duality falls into place. The audience never actually sees the killer’s face. We only see a shadow. Through analysis we can assume that since we have seen shadows before, but with their owner, and now we see them alone, we are only seeing one part of the story. The human form has been lost. Since, we realise that Norman has killed Marion; we must assume that he is not in the state we have seen him in before, and therefore he must be in the state of the killer, mother and a woman. Hitchcock has used the mother to carry out the killing to show that there is a strong theme of duality in Norman’s head. Norman can not bring himself to commit the crime, so has used his dual side to so for him. The shadow Hitchcock has used to portray Norman is very dark, and shows up clearly against the white tiles, however the shadows of Marion is a lot lighter, it is almost a grey colour. The colour portrays that Marion’s dual side is not a strong as Norman’s as he has been living his dual lifestyle for so long that it has become a part of his life which is why his shadow is so dark. A reason as to why Marion’s shadow is so light could be because she is dying as well as her other side.
Overall I think that Hitchcock has portrayed the theme of duality through the use of costume and colour symbolism of costume: white representing goodness and innocence and black representing evil and deceitfulness. Shadows and lighting are also used to portray duality, by giving Norman poor lighting and a large shadow Hitchcock has given him a larger secret to hide and a bigger dual side. In the car journey Hitchcock has used weather to portray duality, when Marion leaves her home it is sunny and when she arrives at the Bates Motel the weather is “dirty” and rainy. By giving Marion a new identity when she arrives at the Motel duality is shown and accepted by the character. However, it is probably in the parlour scene where most of the symbols Hitchcock has used to portray duality are shown. The use of furniture, irony, animal imagery and metaphors are used to portray the dual side in both Marion and Norman. By using so many conventions to represent the single yet complex film of duality Alfred Hitchcock has managed to create a film which will grip audiences for many years to come.
