Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Normal People, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love, Inexperience, and Emotional Intensity
Identity, Insecurity, and Social Status
Miscommunication and Assumptions
Money, Class, and Entitlement
Summary
Analysis
Connell arrives at Marianne’s house, which is actually a mansion. Although they’re classmates, Connell and Marianne never interact at school. In fact, Connell’s only at her house to pick up his mother, Lorraine, who works as a cleaner for Marianne’s family. He tries not to say much, not wanting to engage in conversation, but his mother is still finishing up the cleaning, so he has no choice but to talk to Marianne. As Lorraine leaves the room to change the laundry, Marianne and Connell talk about grades, each of them subtly complimenting the other for being quite smart.
The first scene of Normal People establishes the strange circumstances surrounding the beginning of Connell and Marianne’s relationship. The fact that they compliment each other for being smart suggests that they have a mutual respect for one another—and yet, they don’t interact in public, hinting that there’s something keeping them from fully leaning into their friendship. The opening scene also establishes the class disparity between Marianne and Connell, since Connell’s mother works for Marianne’s family. As they grow closer throughout the novel, the difference in their economic circumstances that is evident here will continue to hover in the background of their relationship.
Themes
Nobody in school knows that Lorraine is Marianne’s house cleaner, so it’s a secret that Connell and Marianne have these fleeting interactions. Still waiting for his mother, Connell suggests that Marianne is smarter than him, and she teasingly says that he shouldn’t feel bad, since she’s smarter than everyone. And Connell thinks that’s probably true—Marianne spends all of her time reading because she doesn’t have any friends.
The reason Marianne and Connell don’t interact in school becomes clear: Marianne is unpopular. The fact that Connell goes out of his way to avoid her in public suggests that he lets popular opinion dictate his life. Because everyone at school dislikes Marianne, he only feels as if he can talk to her in private, even if he respects her. It’s clear, then, that he’s insecure about his public image and doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize his social status. At the same time, their conversation has a friendly, almost flirtatious quality, since they underhandedly compliment and tease each other, indicating that, despite Connell’s hesitancy to be friends with her, there’s an undeniable attraction between them.
Themes
All of Marianne’s fellow students show her outright contempt. They spread rumors about her and talk about how she developed a mental illness after her father died when she was 13. They also say that she doesn’t shave her legs and that once she spilled ice cream on herself and took off her entire shirt in the bathroom to wash it. For some reason, this story is very popular—everyone talks about it. Connell knows she could easily humiliate him by talking to him in school, but she never does. He’s thankful for that, but he still doesn’t like having to talk to her while he waits for his mother. And yet, he also finds himself trying to think of things to say that might impress her.
The stories about Marianne are gossipy and scandalous, but they don’t have much to do with who she is as a person—they’re just stories. Connell seems to sense the discrepancy between her public image and her actual identity, considering that he finds himself wanting to talk to her and even impress her, essentially suggesting that there’s something about her that he finds appealing. And yet, he can’t quite ignore the fact that she’s considered a social outcast. He therefore experiences some cognitive dissonance: he thinks he shouldn’t enjoy talking to her, but he clearly does.
Themes
The only subject Marianne isn’t better than Connell in is English. She jokingly suggests that he should tutor her, and the comment unsettles Connell—is she just teasing him, or is she hinting at something suggestive about their relationship? The conversation soon moves to their economics teacher, Miss Neary, whom everyone says Connell could sleep with if he wanted. Marianne makes a joke about Connell having an affair with her, but he doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t think it’s funny to joke about that, so she quickly apologizes. After a moment, he admits that Miss Neary does treat him in a way that makes him uncomfortable, and Marianne agrees that Neary is openly flirtatious with him in class.
The flirtatious side of Marianne and Connell’s relationship brings itself to bear on their conversation when Marianne teases Connell by asking him to tutor her—something that would require them to spend even more time alone with each other. But Connell doesn’t like the suggestive nature of this comment because it subtly hints that they’re closer to each other than he’d like to think. What he says about Miss Neary making him uncomfortable also implies that he’s not like his friends at school, who think it’s funny to joke about students having affairs with teachers; Connell is more sensitive than that, and though Marianne makes fun of him at first, she clearly realizes her mistake and, instead of continuing to poke fun, validates his feelings as a way of emotionally supporting him with what she can see is a troubling topic for him.
Themes
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Everyone in school talks about how Connell wants to sleep with Miss Neary. Some people even say that he tried to add her as a friend on Facebook, which is untrue. He actively tries to avoid her attention, but she singles him out and often tells him to stay after class to talk about his future. Once, she even touched his tie in a way that made him uncomfortable, but he can’t tell anyone about this because they’ll think he’s bragging. He also worries that maybe, on some level, he’s inviting Miss Neary’s attention. He asks Marianne if it seems like he actually likes Miss Neary, and she assures him that it doesn’t.
Connell’s discomfort about the way Miss Neary treats him provides insight into the way he views his own emotions—although he doesn’t like the inappropriate attention she gives him, he wonders if he’s somehow encouraging her to treat him the way she does. In other words, he doesn’t think he’s interested in Miss Neary, but because everyone says he is, he second-guesses himself. It thus becomes clear that he struggles to achieve a sense of emotional clarity, even when it’s rather obvious what he truly feels.
Themes
Even if Connell did want to sleep with Miss Neary, he wouldn’t even know what that kind of sexual desire feels like. Every time he’s had sex, he has felt anxious and awkward. He worries there must be something wrong with him, thinking he’s somehow incapable of intimacy.
Even though Connell is well-liked and considered quite popular, he isn’t a very confident person. In particular, his insecurities seem to revolve around issues related to romance and intimacy. The fact that he doesn’t know what true sexual desire feels like serves as an important reminder that he’s still quite young and, as such, has yet to figure out how to navigate certain complex and mature aspects of adult life.
Themes
Marianne offers to secretly report that Miss Neary acts inappropriately toward Connell. He’s horrified by this idea and tells her not to say anything. Even though Marianne assures him that how Miss Neary treats him isn’t his fault, he quietly wonders aloud why everyone thinks he likes her. Marianne then suggests that it must be because he blushes when she speaks to him—but that doesn’t mean anything, she adds, because he always blushes. He’s even blushing right now.
Marianne’s offer to report Miss Neary is supportive and kind. It’s also significant that she offers to stand up for him while everyone else in school—including his friends—just make jokes about the matter. In a way, then, Marianne is more emotionally in touch with Connell than any of his actual friends, even if he refuses to acknowledge her in public.
Themes
Marianne’s comment about Connell blushing puts him on edge, so he looks out the window in silence. He thinks about the story of Marianne washing her shirt in the bathroom. The only reason people repeat the story, he thinks, is because they’re morbidly interested in her life, which she keeps private. Nobody even knows if she likes boys or girls, and Connell thinks people resent her for this secrecy. Marianne tries to apologize for offending him, saying that she doesn’t want to fight with him because, although he probably hates her, he’s the only person who ever talks to her. He tells her that he doesn’t hate her, causing her to suddenly look up at him.
Even though everyone at school ostracizes Marianne and makes fun of her, Connell recognizes that her mistreatment comes with a certain fascination: she’s mysterious to Connell’s friends, largely because she doesn’t follow social norms for the sake of pleasing others. In a way, then, she represents the kind of confidence and independence that Connell himself seems to lack, since she’s unapologetically herself, whereas he polices himself to make sure he remains popular. Still, he’s at least willing to show her kindness (albeit in private), and this is a big deal for her, since everyone is usually so mean to her.
Themes
Connell finds it confusing to be around Marianne. There’s a deep sense of privacy in their conversations. He knows that he could tell her anything—even really weird thoughts—and she wouldn’t repeat them to anyone. It flusters him to know this. He stands in silence as she looks at him now, and there’s something intense about the moment. In response to him saying that he doesn’t hate her, she says that she likes him. Then Lorraine comes back and asks if he’s ready to go, and he quickly makes for the door. He only says goodbye when his mother reminds him to. In the car, Lorraine tells him to be nicer to Marianne because she’s a “sensitive person,” but he’s eager to change the subject.
Connell isn’t used to having deep conversations, nor is he used to the emotional intimacy that comes along with those conversations. The sense of privacy between him and Marianne is disarming to him, and her directness when she says that she likes him is even more overwhelming. That he gets so flustered when she says that she likes him indicates that he’s quite shy. Moreover, his discomfort around having such a frank conversation with Marianne highlights how hard it is for him to reach a place of emotional clarity—unlike Marianne, who doesn’t mind speaking her feelings in this moment, he remains guarded and reserved.
Themes
