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
Last spring, Connell had intended to stay in Dublin over the summer. But then the restaurant he was working at went out of business, and it was too late for him to find another job in the city. He knew he wouldn’t be able to pay for the room he shared with Niall and that he’d have to move out, but he figured it wouldn’t be a big deal—he could just stay with Marianne for the summer. He slept there almost every night anyway. But for some reason, he kept putting off asking her. They never talked about money or about how her family’s rich and his isn’t.
The previous chapter outlined how Marianne perceived her and Connell’s breakup—this one outlines Connell’s perception of the same thing. It becomes clear that he didn’t want to leave Dublin, but that he had trouble working up the nerve to ask Marianne if he could stay with her. Part of his hesitancy has to do with his inability to articulate his feelings, but it also has to do with the class disparity at play in their relationship. Because they never talk about how they’re from different economic backgrounds, though, it’s even harder for him to bring up the fact that he needs to stay with her out of financial necessity.
Themes
The night he and Marianne went to the pool party, nothing felt like “real life” to Connell. He felt like he didn’t really know or identify with anyone around him. But then he kissed Marianne, which made her happy, and he decided he would ask later that night to move in with her for the summer. After the party, though, they had sex and Marianne fell asleep. Time was running out for him to make plans. Two days later, he went to her place and quickly said he had to move out of Niall’s apartment. Her face went expressionless, and then she said, “You’ll be going home, then.” Surprised, he said that was true—he was going home.
Once again, Connell’s struggle to clearly talk about his emotions creates trouble in his relationship with Marianne. Instead of simply asking if he can stay with Marianne for the summer, he begins by saying that he has to move out of Niall’s apartment. He most likely hopes that Marianne will respond by immediately saying that he can stay with her, thus helping him avoid asking the question he’s been putting off for so long. But because he doesn’t say anything other than that he needs to move out of Niall’s apartment, Marianne thinks he’s already decided to leave Dublin, and once she voices this assumption, he can’t bring himself to correct her. In a way, they each assume that the other doesn’t want to stay together, and they base their interaction on these assumptions; it’s as if neither of them can bring themselves to show their emotional investment in the relationship.
Themes
Connell didn’t know how he’d lost control of the conversation. He found himself saying that he assumed Marianne would want to see other people, and she said, “Sure.” He only started crying once he’d left her apartment. A few weeks later, Marianne started dating Jamie, a rich kid whose father was involved in creating the financial crisis in Ireland. Connell figured that Marianne had always wanted to see other people and must have been glad he was leaving for the summer—now she could spend her time with rich guys like Jamie.
When Connell asks if Marianne wants to see other people, he’s not saying that this is what he wants—he’s just making an assumption. But Marianne takes his question to mean that he wants to see other people. Therefore, although neither of them wants to see other people, that’s exactly what they end up agreeing on. And once their relationship starts to crumble, Connell’s insecurities creep in, as he tells himself that Marianne probably doesn’t want to be with a working-class person like him anyway.
Themes
Now it’s September, and Connell and Marianne are friends again, though she’s still dating Jamie. They meet for coffee in Dublin, and Marianne says she hopes that Jamie and Connell can get to know each other. But she’s worried that Connell will intimidate Jamie, not just because Connell is bigger, but because he used to be with Marianne. During their conversation, Connell can’t help but wonder if they’re supposed to no longer be attracted to each other—he’s still attracted to her and doesn’t know what to do with that fact.
Even though they’re no longer together in a romantic capacity, Connell and Marianne’s relationship still seems to have hints of attraction—this, at least, is the case for Connell. What’s more, the fact that Marianne is with Jamie possibly confirms Connell’s insecure thought that she would prefer to have a wealthy boyfriend, though Marianne herself has never said or done anything to indicate such a thing.
Themes
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After attending the Mass for Marianne’s father in July, Connell had gone drinking with his friends and encountered Miss Neary, the economics teacher who’d always had a thing for him. He was extremely drunk and found himself in her house, not remembering how, exactly, he got there. She started kissing him. At first, he let it happen, but then he started pulling away—but every time he leaned back, she followed, until he wasn’t even sure which way was up and which was down. He tried to push her off but couldn’t. When she unbuttoned his pants and reached inside, he said he was going to throw up. Finally, she leaned back, giving him an opportunity to stand. He woke up the next day on his own living-room floor.
Needless to say, Miss Neary took advantage of Connell, who was too drunk to give proper sexual consent. What’s more, even in his drunken state he didn’t consent to her sexual advances, but she ignored him until the last minute (and only, it seems, because she didn’t want him to throw up on her). Such an encounter would be deeply troubling and even traumatizing for anyone, let alone someone like Connell, who is sensitive and often has trouble articulating his emotions, making it that much harder for him to assert himself by refusing Miss Neary’s advances.
Themes
As they have coffee, Marianne tells Connell that Jamie is a “sadist.” He likes to get rough with her during sex. Connell feels overwhelmed and disoriented when he hears this, but Marianne just tries to laugh about it, though the laugh is unconvincing and wrong. He asks if Marianne likes it when Jamie hits her during sex. She’s not sure, she replies, prompting Connell to ask why she lets it happen. But Marianne says it was her idea in the first place. She doesn’t necessarily like being “degraded,” but she does like knowing that she’d be willing to degrade herself for someone else. When she suggested the idea to Jamie, he really went for it, since he likes that sort of thing.
Marianne’s sex life with Jamie plays on everything Connell feared about their own relationship. He felt overwhelmed and even frightened by how willing Marianne was to do whatever he wanted, something that made him feel like he had an uncomfortable amount of power. With Jamie, Marianne seems to re-create this dynamic, though what’s odd is that she doesn’t actually seem to like it all that much—she just likes doing it for Jamie’s sake, perhaps as a way of exhibiting a sense of selflessness in their relationship.
Themes
Connell hates hearing that Jamie beats Marianne up during sex. She explains that sometimes Jamie hits her with a belt or chokes her, and though she doesn’t enjoy it, that’s the whole point: she thinks it wouldn’t really be submissive if she liked it. She also wonders if maybe she wants to be treated poorly because she thinks she deserves it. Connell is disturbed. When they used to have sex, it was easy and natural, and they’d often fall asleep holding each other. He asks why Marianne didn’t want to have rough sex with him, and she admits it’s because she didn’t need to—it was “real” with Connell, so it wasn’t necessary to do anything but have sex. She was already fully under Connell’s power, whereas with Jamie she only pretends to be.
By suggesting that she didn’t need to have rough sex with Connell because she was already under his power, Marianne confirms something that bothered him when they were together: she would gladly do anything he wanted. With Jamie, though, it’s a little different. She doesn’t actually feel like he has any sway over her, so she goes out of her way to prioritize his sexual desires over her own. It’s a complicated matter. The novel doesn’t necessarily condemn sexual kinks having to do with sadism, but it does use Marianne’s willingness to submit to her lovers as a way of hinting at her own insecurities or lack of self-worth. It’s therefore rather troubling that she engages in rough sex without genuinely wanting to.
Themes
Changing the subject, Marianne asks how Connell has been. He realizes that she actually wants to know. She’s the only person in his life he can speak to openly and honestly, and for this reason he feels as if he genuinely “needs” her. Thinking this way, he starts to tell her about what Miss Neary did to him over the summer.
Even though Marianne and Connell often have trouble effectively communicating their feelings, they’re also extremely close. They can’t always speak with much clarity about their relationship, but they do talk pretty openly about other aspects of their lives, so they’ve come to see each other as sources of emotional support. As such, Connell confides in Marianne about Miss Neary and, in doing so, builds on their close emotional bond.
Themes
