Twin Peaks Analysis

One of the main themes of Twin Peaks, wether specifically addressed often or not, is the concepts of domestic abuse, both physical and sexual. Most of this sexual abuse takes the form of incest, which J.G. Bainbridge and E. Delany define as “the forbidden sexual relations between family members” in their journal Murder, Incest and Damn Fine Coffee: Twin Peaks as a New Incest Narrative. The main plot of most of the show is based around one central question: “who killed Laura Palmer?”. In the 7th episode of the second season, this question is finally answered, with an incredibly unexpected result. The killer was none other than Laura’s own father, Leland Palmer. There is, however, a catch to this: Leland was under the influence of a vicious inhabiting spirit named BOB for most of his life, and it is heavily implied that he committed these incestuous and murderous acts while under the control of BOB. Upon Leland’s confession and suicide, Sheriff Truman questions whether or not Leland sexually abused his daughter due to BOB’s control, or of his own free will. In the film Fire Walk With Me, which was released after the series ended and served as a prequel, detailed the life of Laura Palmer in the time right before her death. In this movie, Laura’s personality is outlined. In the review of the series and film on the blog Cinema Autopsy, the author lists the most prevalent signs that an individual was the victim of child abuse. These symptoms include “problems with concentration, nervousness, irritability and mood changes, withdrawal, wetting or soiling, regressive behaviour, trouble getting along with others, problems with emotions, personality changes, problems with depression and anxiety, post-traumatic symptoms, impaired sense of self, distortions of thinking, relationship problems, avoiding certain situations or people, use of substances or activities to reduce stress, sexualised behaviour, ritualistic behaviour, self-mutilation, suicidal thoughts or attempts, and dissociation including ‘multiple personalities’” Laura shows several of these in the film. A good place to start would be her love life. Her boyfriend, Bobby Briggs, was manipulated romantically into getting involved in very dangerous drug trafficking operations. While dating Bobby, she also engaged in a secret relationship with James Hurley, whom she also heavily used for her own amusement using love. She kept a secret diary, which upon investigation, detailed her escapades in getting into dangerous situations with no regard for consequences. As the LA Times review states in their Fire Walk With Me review, several people try to help Laura, including Agent Dale Cooper after her death, but she constantly ignores all potential for aid in her issues and dangers. In addition, both of her parents fit into the model of an incestuous family. Laura’s mother, Sarah Palmer, is shown fitting the model because of her low self esteem and constant feeling of helplessness. Leland, regardless of BOB’s influence, fits the mold due to his “violent and jealous outbursts” toward Laura, while seeming harmless and kind to outsiders. In addition, in Murder, Incest and Damn Fine Coffee, a point is made to highlight that almost all of this abuse, basically all of it excluding the murder, takes place in the home, in the domestic/family space. They mention Foucault’s studies on incest on this detail, in which he says “since the eighteenth century the family has become an obligatory locus of affects, feelings, love; that sexuality has its privileged point of development in the family; that for this reason sexuality is “incestuous” from the start… in a society such as ours, where the family is the most active site of sexuality, and where it is doubtless the exigencies of the latter which maintain and prolong its existence, incest… occupies a central place; it is constantly being solicited and refused; it is an object of obsession and attraction, a dreadful secret and an indispensable pivot. It is manifested as a thing that is strictly forbidden in the family insofar as the latter functions as a deployment of alliance; but it is also a thing that is continuously demanded in order for the family to be a hotbed of constant sexual incitement”. He means that the link between sexuality and abuse is most often the home. Bainbridge and Delany also cite several other incest narratives, and show their similarities to other Incest works in a purely narrative sense. In Mary Shelley’s Mathilda, the daughter’s revelation isn’t revealed until after her death, through a letter. This is similar to Laura’s diaries not becoming publicly available until after he murder. Another comparison is made to Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres. The two characters Ginny and Rose know they can’t tell anyone of their abuse because of their father’s popularity around the town. In Twin Peaks, Laura isn’t able to tell her best friend Donna Hayward, as their fathers are longtime best friends. Lastly, while much more vague, a comparison is made to Georgia Savage’s The House Tibet, where the character Vicky runs away from her family instead of telling anyone of her abuse. In Twin Peaks, Laura was heavily considering running away with James, to get far away from her father and her old life without compromising anything. Through all these examples and comparisons, it’s not hard to see why Twin Peaks could be seen as a modern-day incest narrative in addition to its place as a mystery or horror show.

Sources:

http://www.laweekly.com/film/twin-peaks-fire-walk-with-me-is-david-lynchs-masterpiece-2613896

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ea9794a5-482a-48f8-9f17-ad0f1114db29%40sessionmgr110&vid=6&hid=126

http://blog.cinemaautopsy.com/2000/10/01/shadow-of-a-twisted-hand-across-my-house/#three