When she returns the things she took from Beth's (Winona Ryder) dressing room, the shoe knife becomes a weapon of self-harm, as Beth repeatedly stabs herself in the face. Again, there is no confirmation whether this is imagined or actually happened but the theory that it is part of Nina's psychosis certainly adds up.
While it is possible that the scene mostly played out that way in the film's universe, it is also possible, that due to Nina's increasing unhinged mental state, she killed Beth.
The final twist reveals that Nina had hallucinated Lily's death and instead stabbed herself in the abdomen. However, given the artist she is, she continues performing the ballet's final act as a dying Odette, landing on a mattress with thunderous applause.
Nina says they're nothing but a rash and her mother becomes angry and hints that Nina hasn't scratched herself like this since she was younger, and she thought Nina was over this. Nina tries to brush her off but her mother grabs her hand and takes her to the bathroom to cut her fingernails with scissors.
As the film progresses, Nina completes her transformation into the Swan Queen. She continuously scratches a specific spot on her back, which viewers are told she has done in the past. This behavior develops into the visual and tactile hallucination of Nina sprouting wings.
Black Swan/Best scene/Darren Aronofsky/Natalie Portman/Winona Ryder
What mental illness did Nina have in Black Swan?
Accuracy of Portrayal
Although symptoms would not occur as rapidly as they do in Nina Sayers in most common cases of schizophrenia, it is plausible. Therefore, Black Swan is a decent portrayal of a person's descent into paranoid schizophrenia.
The night before she is set to perform, Nina becomes convinced that Lily is going to take her place. Her paranoia and mental strain cause her to hallucinate that she's physically turning into the role of Odile, the Black Swan, complete with red eyes and black feathers protruding from bird-like skin.
Ambiguity and Duality: The relationship between Nina and Lily is also characterized by ambiguity and duality. As the film progresses, it becomes unclear whether Lily is a real person or a figment of Nina's imagination. Lily may represent Nina's alter ego or a projection of her desires and fears [2].
NOT REAL: Therefore, Lilly and Nina did not have actual sex (we know this because after sex, Lilly said something to Nina about being a ‘Good girl’ and then tried to smother her. Not real!)
The broken mirror symbolizes that she is no longer a victim to the black swan and that she is in control of its dark power. As the corruption of the Black Swan effected her mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, the transformation attributed to her fall as the White Swan that was completely diminished.
The portrayal of Nina's schizophrenia is shown by hallucination that she experiences. It happens when Nina on rehearsal alone and she hears noises. When she comes to the noises, she sees the form of Lily and Leroy making love. Shortly after that, Nina sees Leroy's face change into a creepy figure.
Destruction of the body is the basis of all horror, but Black Swan's body horror serves a dual purpose by not only freaking out the viewer but also using symbolism to represent the decline of Nina's mental state. Though it isn't as overt as most other horror films, Black Swan is no less terrifying.
Lily was the evil twin and the director of the play was the prince, Lily was seducing the director (Thomas) but Nina becomes the black swan and seduces him but ended up killing herself to finally free herself from the constant burden she puts on herself to be perfect all the time.
She stole them because she was trying to acquire an aspect of Beth herself. Wearing them gave Nina a sense of power and achievement. She psychologically steals these feelings from Beth because Nina couldn't develop those qualities within her own self.
During rehearsals, Thomas tells Nina to observe a newcomer, Lily, who has a physical resemblance to Nina but also an uninhibited quality Nina lacks. Nina has hallucinations and finds scratch marks on her back.
In the movie, it's VERY strongly suggested that Nina is a virgin, and that she lies at one point when the director asks about the men she's slept with. The scene in the film where the director asks her if she's had sex is not in the script.
Lily hugs Nina before Nina completely closes the door. Nina then turns around and looks at Lily, locking their eyes with even more sexual hunger than before. Nina then rushes to Lily and starts passionately french kissing with her.
As Nina walks on the sidewalk in the streets of New York City on the Upper West Side, she sees a woman wearing a black coat. The camera is behind her and we get a split second look the woman's face. Initially, we assume it is Lily, but closer inspection reveals it to be a face that is both Nina and Lily's.
1 Answer. So much of Black Swan is left open for interpretation. I always thought that Nina perceived Lily as a threat in all aspects of her life. Lily removing her panties just reiterates the point that Lily has no inhibitions and Nina has several.
According to the mental health professional, Matt McKnight, Nina's visible signs of behaviour exhibit her symptoms of 'delusions of persecution', wherein, she constantly nudges herself into believing that the onus of her actions slipping in a morose direction lies entirely on her, even when she is sexually harassed by ...
According to Malaspina, Nina's affliction is most consistent with a severely neurotic, obsessive-compulsive patient with features of a borderline personality disorder who suffers from “mini-psychotic episodes.”
Nina's increasing neuroses are manifested in a bizarre, unconscious kind of self-mutilation. Repeatedly she picks at the skin around her fingernails and scratches her back viciously. She has awful hallucinations in which she sees herself tearing bloody strips of skin away from her fingers.
In Black Swan, we see extreme emotional enmeshment: the mother is not allowing her daughter to be a separate individual, instead she sees Nina as a reflection of herself (wanting her to pursue same career) and someone who exists to meet the mother's own needs.
