The Shining is full of allegory and mystery, but none are as wild and potentially insidious as what could be lurking behind that strange man in a bear suit.

At first glance, the scene seems brief and, quite frankly, somewhat forgettable given all the other intense imagery in Kubrick's classic. In the scene, Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall) is roaming through the halls of The Overlook Hotel with a knife when she approaches a door at the end of a long hallway. Inside, a man in a bear suit is performing fellatio on one of the Overlook's guests. Wendy seems to be thoroughly freaked out by this, and runs away.

Despite being strange and somewhat out of place, this scene exists in the book as well, but involves a man dressed as a dog who is performing the sex act on one of The Overlook's owners, who was bisexual. It's no secret that Kubrick's take onThe Shining deviated largely from Stephen King's novel - in fact, King notoriously hates the film - but film scholar Rob Ager delved deep into what Kubrick may have been implying with this scene, which was not implied in the novelization.

The Bear Man Is A Reference To Sexual Abuse

Stanley Kubrick's films are known for leaving behind hints and foreshadowing as well as clues that all signify some kind of deeper meaning, usually tethered to psychological conditions, phenomena, or theory.The Shiningis no different, and, if Rob Ager's theory is correct, could explain a much darker nature to the relationship between Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd) and his father, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson). It seems ridiculous on the surface, but Ager's in-depth analysis points to some very compelling evidence.

One of the most persuasive is the reoccurrence of bear symbolism. For example, during the scene where Danny is speaking to his psychiatrist, he is laying on stuffed bears. At The Overlook Hotel, there is a picture of two bears above Danny's bed, and there's a prominently featured bear skin rug in the lobby. This provides a clear connection to the notion that bears are associated with Danny Torrance. Keen-eyed viewers have pointed out before that the issue ofPlaygirl magazine Jack Torrance is reading in one scene has an article titled "Incest: Why Parents Sleep With Their Children" featured on the cover.

What Really Happened in Room 237?

Danny's experience in Room 237 when a ball rolls into the room before Wendy comes to his rescue after she hears him screaming is punctuated with the claim that a "crazy woman" strangled him. Room 237 is know for having a female specter, as referenced when Jack encounters a woman in the bath. Ager suggests that Danny's experience in Room 237 was his way of externalizing his abuse, and that it was his father who assaulted him instead. The ball itself is featured in another scene with Jack throwing it against a wall in the hotel lobby.

Ager cites Jack's experience in Room 237 as evidence that he's abusing his son. In his theory, he states that, inside the room, Jack is face-to-face with the truth of what he's been doing to Danny after having been in a dissociative state, previously unaware of his own horrific actions. All of this corresponds to Wendy's horrified reaction to seeing the bear man in the hallway, which Ager suggests may or may not imply that she has realized, in that moment, what's been happening to her son. Ultimately, it's all speculative, but Ager's cogent proof unravels the mystery of the bear man all the same.

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