Normal People by Sally Rooney: On Pretty Girl Woes, Limerence, Performativity and Literature
Is Marianne Sheridan an insufferable protagonist?
Is she a mere armchair philosopher and a pretentious snob?
Are all her strongly-held beliefs merely performative?
In light of the the other guys that Marianne dated,
does Connell belong on a pedestal?
Does he somehow have the upper hand in the relationship
despite his class difference with Marianne?
And the yearning. Gosh, so much of it!
The brewing high-school romance between a highly popular protagonist and his introverted, wallflower of a love interest is neither an unheard-of pairing nor a brand-new trope, however, Sally Rooney brings an unmatched intensity with an assortment of emotional dimensions to the tempestuous dynamic of Connell Waldron (school’s golden boy and star athlete) and Marianne Sheridan (intelligent, but an outcast).
Connell is petrified of the potential loss of social capital, that could occur by making his fascination with Marianne known at school, so he keeps his relationship with her like a salacious secret; other people’s unsolicited opinions are enormously consequential for Connell whilst the precocious and brooding Marianne wholly situates herself outside of the stratified societal context, that he cares so profoundly for.  Connell’s furtiveness is floating ominously over their newly-formed bond, however, Marianne, owing to her sheer adoration for Connell, in her usual derisory fashion, looks past the absurdity of it all.
Situated far away from the voyeuristic eyes of his classmates, Connell holds the confidentiality between him and Marianne sacred. The impenetrable atmosphere of privacy between Marianne and Connell is extremely well-woven, as a reader it almost feels tactile, like a thick veil that shields their clandestine conversations. With Connell, Marianne becomes vulnerable: a contrast to her quotidian standoffish attitude, which melts away at the slightest of his touch.
Connell’s subconscious attraction to Marianne nudges him to unravel her enigma, despite the gaping chasm in between their respective social standings at school, while she feels uncannily in sync with him, both physically and emotionally.
The conventionally beautiful Marianne, often painfully insecure, is somehow wearing both an iron-clad self-assurance and a fragile demeanour: Connell lovingly panders to both of these shades of her personality, albeit in secret. Marianne is standoffish: she is jostling with an innate feeling of inferiority but, she also places herself on an intellectual pedestal that is beyond the comprehension and reach of her shallow schoolmates, except for Connell, of course.
The core of Connell and Marianne’s relationship is their eloquent ability to communicate with each other, whether it is with words or touch. Ideological debates and critical discussions about films, novels and politics are a significant part of the storyline: Connell and Marianne share a spark of brilliance that leads them both on the path of academic excellence and intellectual inquisitiveness as they indulge in eclectic tête-à -têtes with each other, often shaping up as lengthy email exchanges.
Sally Rooney juxtaposes Connell and Marianne’s socioeconomic backgrounds to propel socially conscientious conversations, although, in parts, the characters’ evaluation of socialism feels only half-formed and some topics of importance are lightly brushed upon, never to be fleshed out wholly.
The prose does not have to be complex for Normal People to be deemed a seminal work of literature; the seemingly simple language of the novel buttresses the complications of the coming-of-age of Marianne and Connell, wherein they both are just learning where they belong. Connell seems like an outlier to Marianne’s elitist social sphere while she felt the same about herself amongst his school friends, and yet, they are inexplicably drawn to each other and Sally Rooney demonstrates the chemistry between them artfully.
Normal People is a classic for people who possess a palate for long-drawn emotional tensions and yearning: people who attach several meanings to a single glance, although many readers might end up resenting the fact that the Marianne and Connell, bedevilled with misunderstandings, almost always end up being lovelorn despite the perpetual mutual coveting of each other.
Although the book seems like more of a psychological exploration than a romance to me, I am an unlikely fan of the somewhat hackneyed narrative that it is the vanilla love of Connell Waldron that could ultimately save the waify, haughtily too-cool-for-you girl Marianne, despite both of them having a slew of internal emotional problems: all-consuming love being the cure-all.
Or was it Connell that needed the saving?
Was Marianne in need of a rescue from her perceived inferiority?
Can socio-economic integration be equated with conquering emotional struggles?
Marianne Sheridan is for people who have felt perpetually excluded yet ineluctably superior from the crowd.
Normal People, a fervent bildungsroman, left an indelible impression on me.
