Rachel is the most popular girl at Connell and Marianne’s secondary school. Everybody knows she has a crush on Connell, but Connell is uninterested in her in a romantic way. She’s especially mean to Marianne, which makes it that much worse that Connell decides to ask her to the end-of-year dance instead of Marianne—a decision that temporarily ends his and Marianne’s secret relationship.
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Rachel Character Timeline in Normal People
The timeline below shows where the character Rachel appears in Normal People. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
4. Six Weeks Later (April 2011)
...to raise money for the Debs. Marianne is dressed up nicely. Karen compliments her, but Rachel doesn’t say anything. Rachel is the most popular girl in school and has no interest...
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...she doesn’t usually have alcohol, and the girls stand around waiting for people to arrive. Rachel says she’ll kill Connell if he and his friends don’t show up—he specifically told her...
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...from drinking, but now they’re on their way. She’d like nothing more than to tell Rachel and the others that the boys will be there soon. Just saying it would suddenly...
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...look at Marianne, but Eric notices her and tells her she’s wearing a sexy dress. Rachel laughs and goes to whisper something in Connell’s ear, but he looks away and doesn’t...
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...and eventually sees that Connell is watching—something Karen has also noticed. “Now you see why Rachel’s in a bad mood with you,” she says. Not much later, Rachel comes over and...
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...the door shutting behind her. Drunk and disoriented, she slumps to the floor. Karen, Eric, Rachel, and Connell soon run after her, and though Karen kneels down and asks if she’s...
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Eric claims that the man who grabbed Marianne’s breast is actually a good guy, and Rachel claims that everyone was laughing at the time. Finally, Connell speaks up and says that...
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5. Two Days Later (April 2011)
...Marianne he loves her. Driving in the car with Lorraine, he says that he asked Rachel to go to the Debs with him. They’re speeding along the road, but Lorraine quickly...
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6. Four Months Later (August 2011)
When Connell told Marianne that he had asked Rachel to the Debs last April, he assured her that he and Rachel weren’t romantically involved....
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Marianne stopped going to school after Connell asked Rachel to the dance. It was pointless anyway: she was better off studying for the Leaving...
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7. Three Months Later (November 2011)
...she’s missed him, and he says the same. She then asks if he’s still with Rachel, and he tells her that they broke up over the summer. When she says she’s...
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...but he found these things depressing. Then, in the middle of the summer, he and Rachel started dating. She would talk to him while they got ready to go out with...
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...would have happened. Connell left the dance after this conversation, failing to say goodbye to Rachel, who broke up with him not long after the dance. People went off to college,...
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...and Marianne continue their conversation at the party in Dublin. He admits that he and Rachel weren’t suited for each other, and Marianne teases him by saying that she could have...
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