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 isn’t sure how he feels. He didn’t think before telling Marianne that he loved her—he just said it. Now he doesn’t know if it’s true, though it is the case that he can’t stop thinking about her. He thinks in particular about her telling him that he’s kind and that everyone likes him. He enjoys that she thinks he turned out well, and he finds himself wanting to repeat the idea to Lorraine, though he doesn’t know why. Nonetheless, he’s unsure if he actually loves Marianne. He wishes he could somehow find out how other people lead their internal, emotional lives and then just copy them.
Once again, Connell lacks a sense of emotional clarity. Even though he told Marianne that he loves her, he can’t help but second-guess himself. It’s possible that he only expressed his love for her because he wanted to make her feel better. It’s also possible, though, that he really does love her and that he simply wasn’t prepared to say so. Either way, it’s evident that the conversation they had in his bed that night was quite intense, suggesting that he was most likely overwhelmed by their staggering emotional intimacy—a closeness that ultimately made it hard for him to sort out his feelings.
Themes
The night Connell told Marianne that he loved her, she fell asleep in his bed. They didn’t wake up until they heard Lorraine downstairs. Marianne scrambled and made her way to the front door, apologizing to Lorraine on her way, though Lorraine didn’t actually care—she just laughed at Connell once Marianne had left. She told him that she really likes Marianne and that they don’t have to keep sneaking around. In fact, she already had a sense that something was going on between them. But Connell rejected the idea that Marianne is his girlfriend. When Lorraine tried to discern what, exactly, they are to each other, Connell tried to avoid the question.
Lorraine has no problem with Connell sleeping with Marianne, as long as they practice safe sex. What does seem to give her pause, though, is Connell’s strange inability to call Marianne his girlfriend. Whereas Connell doesn’t mind letting his relationship with Marianne remain vague and undefined, Lorraine seems to sense that the lack of clarity might lead to trouble.
Themes
Lorraine asked if Connell is hesitant to call Marianne his girlfriend because he’s afraid that Denise—Marianne’s mother—would look down on him. Connell was caught off guard, but Lorraine admitted that Denise probably would look down on him. Connell hated this idea and tried to laugh it off, though it obviously bothered him. Still dodging Lorraine’s questions, he made her promise not to tell anyone that he and Marianne are sleeping with each other. Lorraine was hesitant at first, but he eventually convinced her by insisting that it would make things very hard for him—and Marianne, he claimed—if word got out.
Lorraine touches on an unspoken tension in Connell and Marianne’s relationship: namely, that Marianne comes from a wealthy family and Connell comes from a working-class family. Even though they don’t seem to talk about money very much, Connell’s obvious discomfort when Lorraine brings this up suggests that he doesn’t like the thought that Denise might see their family as better than his own.
Themes
The next day, Connell went to school and listened to his friends Rob and Eric tease him about taking Marianne home from the fundraiser. They asked if anything happened between them, but Connell tried to ignore them. Still, they insisted that he must have secretly slept with her, noting that they wouldn’t blame him—she’s actually attractive, they said, when she “makes an effort,” though they still think she’s “mentally deranged.” Some of the girls in their group weakly stood up for Marianne, saying that Rob and Eric were being mean, but the boys didn’t listen. Instead, they jokingly suggested that Connell should take Marianne to the Debs, and everyone burst into laughter.
Even though Connell stood up for Marianne at the fundraiser, he’s still unable—or, more accurately, unwilling—to publicly acknowledge their relationship. Rob and Eric’s taunting only exacerbates the issue, making it that much harder for Connell to wrap his head around finally being honest about his feelings for Marianne. The way Rob and Eric mock him makes it seem like he would lose face with his friends. At the same time, though, it also seems like Rob and Eric are just giving him a hard time. They would probably find something to joke about even if Connell had nothing to do with Marianne, but Connell is so afraid of losing his social status that he doesn’t recognize the difference between playful (albeit mean-spirited) teasing and genuine animosity.
Themes
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It has been two days since Connell told 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 tells Connell to pull off to the side. When he does, she looks at him and asks who Marianne’s going to the Debs with. Connell is confused about why Lorraine wanted him to stop so they could have this conversation, but it soon becomes clear that she’s enraged that he didn’t ask Marianne to the dance. She accuses him of simply “using” Marianne for sex, and then she calls Connell a “disgrace.” She decides to take the bus home because she doesn’t want to stay in the car—she might say something she won’t be able to take back.
Connell’s decision to take Rachel to the dance instead of Marianne is selfish and unfair. He recently told Marianne that he loves her, but he’s still unwilling to publicly acknowledge their relationship. As a result, it really does look like he’s just “using” Marianne without caring about her feelings. But Connell doesn’t think of it this way, apparently thinking it’s no big deal for him to go to the Debs with Rachel, who—to make matters worse—is outwardly hostile toward Marianne. Of course, Lorraine recognizes just how insensitive her son’s behavior is, which is why she boldly renounces his decision, clearly trying to teach him that it’s not acceptable to treat people so carelessly.
Themes
