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Day Six
August 18 – 10:00 a.m.
Re.: “Know the Truth, and the Truth Shall Set You Free.
Determined to keep the group on task, Dr. Peterson has given each patient an assignment during their last session. She instructed them to
bring a list of their three best qualities. Norman is absent from this session
because he is still undergoing shock treatments.
Dr. Peterson: “Let’s start with Scottie. What do you feel are your best
qualities?”
Scottie: “Well, I’m sensitive, loyal, and . . . and persistent.”
Brandon [snickering]: “I think that’s called
obsessive-compulsive, Scottie.”
Dr. Peterson: “Here we go again. Brandon, you and Charlie will have to
refrain from sarcasm if we are to work through some of these issues. Good,
Scottie. Tell us how you see yourself as persistent.”
Marnie [whispering]: “Uh oh.”.
Scottie [bragging]: “I knew that there was something odd
about Judy. She reminded me of Madeleline, but there was more to it than that.
I pursued it until I found the truth.”
Dr. Peterson: “And what was the truth, Scottie?”
Scottie [sobbing]: “The truth was . . . was . . . that in
my mad attempt to have the woman I loved, I killed her. I frightened her and
drove her over the edge. I turned Judy into Madeleine, and Judy died just like
Madeleine. True, Judy was a bit low class, but I should have left well enough
alone. What good did it do me?”
[Brandon stifles a comment by biting his
fist. Charlie has muffled his face in his pillow.]
Dr. Peterson: “You were a victim, Scottie. You were set up, a pawn in
Gavin Elster’s plan to murder his wife. And your persistence in finding the
truth almost led to your own death. But don’t you feel free now that you’ve
shared this with the group?”
Brandon: “The damn truth didn’t set me free.”
Dr. Peterson: “What is the truth, Brandon?”
Brandon: “The truth is I should have never invited Jimmy Stewart, I mean
Rupert Cadell, to my party. I almost got away with murdering an insignificant moron.”
Marnie: “Knowing the truth gave me peace and freedom. “
Lady Henrietta: “Are you sure, dear?
Seems to me that being given the choice between marriage of prison
doesn’t offer a woman much freedom.”
Charlie: “Good point, Lady H.”
Lady Henrietta [now standing]: “Shut up,
you arrogant bastard.”
Dr. Peterson: “Let’s continue after lunch, shall we?”
[C. D., MD]
Dr. Peterson rubs my temples to try and quill the headache creeping up her spine.
Later in the day:
August 17 – 6:00 p.m.
Re.: Cut!
After a long break, Dr. Peterson gathers
the group and gets right to the point.
Dr. Peterson: “What do you think about Lady Henrietta’s question, Marnie?”
Marnie: “I though I was here to deal with the death of my mother.”
Dr. Peterson: “Do you blame your mother for your kleptomania?”
Marnie: “Not any more, once I understood what we both went through.”
Dr. Peterson: “Then why are you here?”
Brandon: “Yeah, Marnie, tell us why you are here. Could it have
something to do with that hostility that is steaming from your ears?”
Marnie [shouting]: “I said I was no longer angry at my
mother!
Dr. Peterson: “But you are
angry?”
Marnie: “But I love Mark.”
Brandon [scoffing]: “Sure, every newly married woman jumps
into a swimming pool to drown herself the morning after her wedding night.”
[Marnie’s head snaps and she glares at
Brandon.]
Marnie: “What happened on my wedding night is none of your damn
business, you controlling, conceited, little rich boy!”
Lady Henrietta [gently]: “We all saw the movie, Marnie,”
Marnie [shouting]: “That’s right. It was just a movie, and
we’re just figments of Hitchcock’s fantasies. Even you, Dr. Peterson. One and
off screen you were one of his obsessions, and you just sit here acting as if
you have all the answers. Well, I have a few questions. And answers. What will
become of all of us once these movies are over and the lights go up? I, for
one, am checking out of this crazy profession. I should have stayed in
television commercials. You, Dr. Peterson, you will grow tried of your
patient-husband and probably run away with some charismatic Italian director.
And you, Lady Henrietta—has anyone here noticed that Dr. Peterson and Lady H. could
pass for identical twins?—how does that work, with mirrors? Mr. Oakley will do
his penance by filming Bible documentaries, and poor Norman will never be able
to shake the stereotypic role of a madman. He’ll be trapped in Psycho
sequels for the rest of his life. And you, Brandon, you’ll survive because you
are too amoral to be defeated. And furthermore—”
[To everyone’s surprise, Hitch enters the
room.}
Hitchcock: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I have been watching
you banter and have come to the conclusion that it is time you all returned to
the safety of the screen where you can do no one, including yourselves, any
harm. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to deal with a silly young actress who
thinks she is going to marry some Monacan prince.”
[C. P., MD]