Claire Bartel

Claire Bartel is the main protagonist in the 1992 thriller The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.

She is portrayed by actress Annabella Sciorra.

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Claire Bartel is pregnant with her second child and is having a routine check by the film's second antagonist Dr. Mott but things go terribly wrong during the check up, as he's doing the check up? Dr. Mott sexually molest her. Traumatized? Claire tells her husband Michael what happened.

Claire tells the police what happened to her and then files a complaint against Dr. Mott, after she filed the complaint? other women came forward claiming that they too were victims of Dr. Victor Mott and file complaints about him too and because of it? He commits suicide.

Leaving behind his wife, the film's main antagonist Peyton Mott and because of the stress of losing her husband, their money and their home? she goes into early labor and was rushed into the emergency room but the doctor's after emergency hysterectomy? couldn't save their child!

After the tragedy of both the deaths of her husband and unborn child? she learns about Claire and the cases that were filed against her late husband by former female patients on tv on a news program while in the hospital recovering from the hysterctomy.

Meanwhile Claire has given birth to her second child, a boy named Joey and publishes an ad for an nanny and Peyton who has changed her last name from Mott to Flanders? tricks The Bartels into hiring her and she sets out to make Claire's life a living hell as she and other women did her late husband's.

Things began to go wrong for Claire as soon as she hires Flanders, she began to go against Claire wishes. By breastfeeding Joey which lead the baby not to drink her breast milk, encourages her daughter Emma to keep secrets from her, destroys her husband Michael's office prospal then hits on him leading Claire to believe he and her friend Marlene.

Are having affair but she didn't approach Michael with her accusations until she finds a cigarette lighter in his pants' pocket at a landury mat due he and Marlene was at a resturant, planning her suprise birthday party which was Peyton's ideal and then Flanders set up The Bartels' mentally disabled handyman Solomon.

By putting Emma's panties in his draw because she didn't want him telling Claire about Flanders breast feeding her son without permission which lead to Claire as soon as she found out? it lead her to believe that he was molesting Emma forcing her and Michael to fire him, as everything in her home goes terribly wrong? she begans to DOUBT Preyton.

She shares her doubts about Flanders to Michael but Flanders hears her in the kitchen while listening for Joey and because of that? she sets up a trap for Claire by rigging her greenhouse but as soon as Marlene finds out her true identity and threatens to tell Claire her dirty little secret?

She tricks Marlene into her trap by telling her Claire was in the greenhouse, Marlene pushes the greenhouse door open but is she is killed by the falling glass from the roof, meanwhile Peyton uses Claire's inhalers for household chores as attempt to kill Claire before she finds out who she really is.

Claire finds Marlene's dead body in the greenhouse and because of it and Peyton emptying her inhalers? she suffers a severe asthma attack but she recovers from it and is released from the hospital, she begans her investigation on Marlene's death and discovers Peyton's secret.

She confronts her then punches her in the face causing her to fall over the kitchen table, Peyton tells Claire that she and Michael were having affair but Michael denies it and ask her to leave, but unfortunately for them? Peyton breaks into the house and attacks Michael with a shovel.

With his legs broken due to the attack? he warns Claire to hide the kids and call the police, Mott haunts down her and the children and attacks Claire, she knocks her down the shovel as well and attempt to take Emma and Joe with her to leave the house to start a new life with them but Emma? after she has seen Mrs. Mott attack and knock her mother unconscious?

Turned against her and locked her in the nursery but Peyton escapes by using a fire poker, she hears Joey in the attic and enters only to find Solomon holding Joey in 1 hand and Emma's hand in another, she threatens Solomon but Claire comes in with a knife, ready to kill Mrs. Mott.

But she fakes a asthma attack, only to see Peyton attacking Solomon with the fire poker while Joey was in his arms and she finally pushes Mrs. Mott out the window causing her body to land on the gates that Solomon built, killing her, she, Solomon and the children leave the basement as the police arrive in front of her home at the end of the film.