In one scene, Johan describes murdering a boy. Professor Irving Singer wrote that it is ambiguous whether Johan's story is real or imagined. According to Young, Bergman had said the boy represents his own internal "demon" and the boy's struggle with Johan is meant to look "orgasmic". Gado connects the boy to Johan's recollection of his childhood, when he was locked in a closet as a punishment, and believed a little person lived in the closet. Thomas suggests the boy is "the imp of id, an inverse incubus, or a vision of regressive sexuality", and that the murder does not resolve Johan's issues, as after he throws the body into the waters the body floats back to the surface.