Now to understand it the way I understood it, hearing it from the mother... That is from the mother half of Norman's mind, you have to go back ten years... to the time when Norman murdered his mother and her lover. He was already dangerously disturbed. Had been ever since his father died. His mother was a clinging, demanding woman, and for years the two of them lived as if there was no one else in the world. Then she met a man and it seemed to Norman that she 'threw him over' for this man. That pushed him over the thin line... and he killed them both. Matricide is probably the most unbearable crime of all — most unbearable to the son who commits it. So he had to erase the crime, at least in his own mind. He stole her corpse... and a weighted coffin was buried. He hid the body in the fruit cellar. Even treated it to keep it as well as it would keep. And that still wasn't enough. She was there, but she was a corpse. So he began to think and speak for her. At times, he could be both personalities, carry on conversations. At other times, the mother half took over completely. He was never all Norman, but he was often only mother. [to Lila] When he met your sister, he was touched by her... and aroused by her. He wanted her. That set off his 'jealous mother' and 'mother' killed the girl. Whenever reality came too close, when danger and desire threatened that illusion, he dressed up, even to a cheap wig he bought. He'd walk around the house, sit in her chair, speak in her voice. He tried to be his mother. And now... he is.