Hitchcock's Use of Mother Figures

(contains some spoilers)

Alfred Hitchcock, arguably the most influential director of all time, used many recurring themes in his films. Staircases, birds, trains, sexuality, brandy, the perfect murder, and tennis are just some of the motifs and symbols explored by the master of suspense. Hitchcock was fond of using plot techniques which at the time were revolutionary but since have become commonplace in films, such as the wrong man or innocent man being placed in a dangerous situation (e.g. The Wrong Man, Strangers on a Train, North by Northwest) or the use of a MacGuffin, a technique popularized by this Hitchcock and found in many of his films (e.g. Vertigo, Notorious, The Man Who Knew Too Much). 

While Hitchcock influenced countless other filmmakers with the techniques mentioned above, one motif or figure he frequently included in his films was that of a strong, intervening, potentially fierce mother. His villains, or in some cases charming sadistic antiheroes, often had mother figures who were controlling to the point of driving their sons mad. Some critics argue that Hitchcock himself had a severe pathological psychology, and perhaps his own relationship with his mother was fractured in such a way that his characters also frequently were tormented by their mothers. What really went on inside the genius filmmaker’s head I have no idea of, but for whatever reason he seemed to return to the concept of mothers as being intrusive and domineering.

The domineering mother figure presents itself in such Hitchcock films as Notorious, Strangers on a Train, North by Northwest, Rope, Marnie, The Birds, and Shadow of a Doubt. Many of his most famous films, these movies all contain some form of mother figure that control their sons. In Notorious, the character of Sebastian’s mother is stronger of the two, the one who pushes for him to poison Alicia because of her intentions. This was the first of Hitchcock’s films in which the aggressive mother figure was addressed head-on. 

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The most famous example would be from the 1960 film Psycho. The killer, Norman Bates, not only quotes that “a boy’s best friend is his mother”, but he dresses up as her and puts on a personality, even having arguments with himself in both roles. This shows a clear delusion of reality in Bates’ mind, and is in part why he kills Marion Crane in the famous shower scene. It has been said that Hitchcock’s mother forced him to stand at the foot of her bed as punishment; this is alluded to in a scene from Psycho.

Psycho has been analysed by modern Freudian psychologists, saying that the Bates mansion is symbolic of the three levels of the psyche, the superego, ego and the id. This would explain the deeply rooted connection between Norman and his mother. In the Freudian sense, Hitchcock’s characters also occasionally blend sexuality and motherhood in a disturbing take on the Oedipus complex. Hitchcock famously explored many levels of insanity through his sociopathic characters, and many aspects of psychology can be found in his films.

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Alfred Hitchcock was once quoted saying that “the way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them”. This certainly is interesting as issues of sexuality, violence, vertigo and murder are all addressed. The director’s mother passed away in 1942, and not long after he began creating a domineering presence in his films by the mother figures. Where this is rooted from is not fully known, and why it is used is also a bit of a mystery, Hitchcock often had rocky relationships with his females stars as well. Regardless of his personal psychology, whatever it quite was, there is no denying that Hitchcock was a genius director and a huge influence on all following filmmakers.

Sources:
http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/10/17/the-psychology-of-alfred-hitchcock/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Themes_and_plot_devices_in_the_films_of_Alfred_Hitchcock

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