In the movie antichrist why did the mother put nic's shoes on backwards?

Answer 1

It is not revealed per se, but I would say it is one of three things or a combo:

1. It's an allusion to the idea of the antichrist being cloven hooved- perhaps in all her studies of evil Charlotte Gainsborough's character has decided that her child is evil and cloven hooved, hence needing a different shoe orientation.

2. She is doing it to prevent the child from running around- she claims that he "leaves her" when she needs him, and there is a scene where he is running around in the forest at night, so maybe she wants to make him stay put as she does with her husband later.

3. It is just an example of her complete loss of any connection with reality. She seemed really surprised when her husband pointed it out, so perhaps she is just really that confused and mentally unstable that she doesn't know what she's doing.