Lorraine (Connell’s Mother) Character Analysis in Normal People

Lorraine is Connell’s mother. A kind and caring person, she has a casual but close relationship with her son. Part of their closeness might have to do with the fact that she’s quite young—she had Connell when she was just 17 and didn’t involve his father in their life. She works as a housecleaner for Marianne’s family and is very fond of Marianne herself, so she’s happy when she discovers that Connell and Marianne are together. However, Connell makes it clear that they’re not officially together, which concerns Lorraine because she doesn’t want her son to “use” Marianne for sex. Similarly, she’s incensed when he tells her that he asked someone else to the end-of-year dance instead of Marianne—so incensed that she forces him to pull the car over in the pouring rain and decides to walk home because she doesn’t want to say something to him that she might regret. Throughout the rest of Connell and Marianne’s tumultuous relationship, Lorraine supports Connell emotionally while gently urging him to be forthright about his feelings for Marianne.

Lorraine (Connell’s Mother) Quotes in Normal People

The Normal People quotes below are all either spoken by Lorraine (Connell’s Mother) or refer to Lorraine (Connell’s Mother). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Love, Inexperience, and Emotional Intensity Theme Icon

Well, you're smarter than me.

Don't feel bad. I'm smarter than everyone.

Marianne is grinning now. She exercises an open contempt for people in school. She has no friends and spends her lunch-times alone reading novels. A lot of people really hate her. Her father died when she was thirteen and Connell has heard she has a mental illness now or something. It’s true she is the smartest person in school. He dreads being left alone with her like this, but he also finds himself fantasizing about things he could say to impress her.

Related Characters: Marianne (speaker), Connell (speaker), Lorraine (Connell’s Mother)

Page Number and Citation: 2

Explanation and Analysis:

Miss Neary teaches Economics. His supposed feelings for her are widely discussed in school. Some people are even saying that he tried to add her on Facebook, which he didn't and would never do. Actually he doesn't do or say anything to her, he just sits there quietly while she does and says things to him. She keeps him back after class sometimes to talk about his life direction, and once she actually touched the knot of his school tie. He can't tell people about the way she acts because they'll think he's trying to brag about it.

Related Characters: Marianne, Connell, Lorraine (Connell’s Mother), Miss Neary

Page Number and Citation: 4

Explanation and Analysis:

He could just tell her about the situation and ask if he could stay in her place until September. He knew she would say yes. He thought she would say yes, it was hard to imagine her not saying yes. But he found himself putting off the conversation, putting off Niall’s enquiries about it, planning to bring it up with her and then at the last minute failing to. It just felt too much like asking her for money. He and Marianne never talked about money. They had never talked, for example, about the fact that her mother paid his mother money to scrub their floors and hang their laundry, or about the fact that this money circulated indirectly to Connell, who spent it, as often as not, on Marianne. He hated having to think about things like that. He knew Marianne never thought that way. She bought him things all the time, dinner, theatre tickets, things she would pay for and then instantly, permanently, forget about.

Related Characters: Marianne, Connell, Lorraine (Connell’s Mother), Denise (Marianne’s Mother), Niall

Page Number and Citation: 127

Explanation and Analysis:

Lorraine (Connell’s Mother) Character Timeline in Normal People

The timeline below shows where the character Lorraine (Connell’s Mother) appears in Normal People. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Identity, Insecurity, and Social Status Theme Icon

Money, Class, and Entitlement Theme Icon

...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... (full context)

Nobody in school knows that Lorraine is Marianne’s house cleaner, so it’s a secret that Connell and Marianne have these fleeting... (full context)

Miscommunication and Assumptions Theme Icon

...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... (full context)

...him, he has been coming to the house more often, arriving early to pick up Lorraine. They usually talk about books and joke with each other, though he’s still pretty shy. ... (full context)

...house for several days after they kissed. When he finally arrived early to pick up Lorraine one day, Marianne let him in and then went upstairs, too embarrassed to face him.... (full context)

...and put the bedsheets in the washing machine before his mother came home. But when Lorraine returned, she saw the sheets in the machine and knew what had happened. Laughing, she... (full context)

...which ones aren’t—though she does know that she’s from a “good” family and Connell isn’t. Lorraine got pregnant at 17, and one of her brothers is in prison. But Connell is... (full context)

...asks if Marianne wants to come over. His mother might be home, but she won’t care—Lorraine doesn’t mind that sort of thing. Marianne realizes that he doesn’t mind if Lorraine knows... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...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... (full context)

Lorraine asked if Connell is hesitant to call Marianne his girlfriend because he’s afraid that Denise—Marianne’s... (full context)

...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... (full context)

...she had helped organize it but wouldn’t be able to attend. One day she encountered Lorraine in the kitchen. Lorraine said she had heard from Connell that Marianne had been ignoring... (full context)

...anywhere, so he wanders through the party feeling awkward. He didn’t want to go, but Lorraine urged him on the phone, saying it would be a good opportunity to meet people.... (full context)

...they started talking about what it would be like if she were to get pregnant. Lorraine, for her part, would be mad at Connell, though not because she dislikes Marianne. To... (full context)

...just something to do. When she goes to pay for a few snacks, she sees Lorraine and Connell. They make small talk, with Connell saying that he didn’t know she was... (full context)

...around and tries to get into arguments. Sometimes, Marianne spends her time doing housework because Lorraine no longer works for her family. She also spends time with Connell. They were driving... (full context)

Connell sits in the kitchen drinking a beer. Lorraine comes home and tells him that someone he went to school with is pregnant. He... (full context)

Connell’s phone starts ringing. Lorraine has just gone to bed, and he’s still sitting in the kitchen. When he picks... (full context)