What's with all the broken/bleeding/scissored nails in Black Swan?

It’s deep. Don’t you see? :) She’s fragile

But why the nails? There are lots of ways that her fragility is depicted. The nails are so bloody and they seem so out of place.

I think it was supposed to be related to her issue with scratching herself, though I can’t tell you what exactly it was supposed to imply.

She has to pay attention to her looks all the time, I guess the broken nails also have to do with her rebellion, a broken and bloody nail is hardly fixed and unacceptable for a ballerina, I guess. God, I hated that movie….

I saw it as her rebellion against being kept helpless, dependent and babied by her mother. You clip a babies nails with scissors instead of clippers so they don’t scratch themselves. I saw the character as a confused, sheltered and awkward teen not knowing how to grow without hurting.

I would never had known that you cut babies’ nails with scissors. Now I see that scene quite differently.

@tinyfaery: I’ve never understood cutting babies’ nails with scissors instead of clippers but every household I know has had “baby scissors” with rounded tips. It was the first thing that struck me but I have no idea if that’s what’s behind the imagery. Funny, I didn’t give it much thought when I watched the movie but now I’m curious to find out.