Money, Class, and Entitlement Theme Analysis

Normal People highlights the relational tensions that often arise as a result of class disparity. Connell comes from a working-class background and is very conscious of his modest upbringing, especially since his mother works as a housecleaner for Marianne’s family, who are very wealthy. Marianne and Connell tend to avoid the subject of money when possible, and though Connell doesn’t necessarily hold Marianne’s wealth against her, he can’t help but notice the many ways in which she takes her own privilege for granted. The difference in their economic backgrounds becomes especially pronounced when they go to college at Trinity in Dublin, where Connell has a hard time fitting in because so many of the students are wealthy. Marianne, on the other hand, finds it easy to make friends. She also does a number of things that underscore her lack of awareness surrounding her own privilege, like apply for a scholarship simply to demonstrate her intellectual abilities. Whereas Connell (who receives the same scholarship as Marianne) feels as if his entire life changes once he receives the money, nothing about Marianne’s daily life shifts at all. Connell notices Marianne’s entitlement and the different way she approaches money, but what’s notable about this unequal element of their relationship isn’t necessarily that it pushes them apart, but that it doesn’t. It’s true that Connell and Marianne are from different economic backgrounds, but the novel doesn’t suggest that this class disparity creates an insurmountable problem in their relationship—rather, Normal People simply acknowledges the subtle ways in which things like money and class can gently weigh on relationships.

Even though Connell’s not hostile about the fact that Marianne is wealthy, it’s undeniable that the difference in their backgrounds creates a certain imbalance in their relationship. This imbalance is perhaps most glaring when they first get to know each other, since Connell has to pick his mother up from cleaning Marianne’s house. Consequently, the first formative conversations of their relationship take place in Marianne’s mansion, making it hard for Connell to overlook not just the difference in their lifestyles, but also the fact that his mother works for her family. Even other people recognize the class disparity between Connell and Marianne, as Rob teases Connell by suggesting that Marianne must see him as her “butler.” For the most part, Connell shrugs off such thoughts, but he does get upset when his mother suggests at one point that Marianne’s mother might not like the idea of him dating her—he has never fully thought about the possibility that Marianne’s family might look down on him, and he’s surprised to find that it makes him “furious.” The implication, then, is that he has no problem with the class disparity between him and Marianne but does have a problem with the notion that her mother might feel “superior.” His concern therefore has little to do with money and everything to do with dignity and respect.

It is perhaps because Connell cares more about respect than money that he’s able to ignore Marianne’s occasional entitled comments and behavior—after all, he knows that she respects him. Her admiration for him is obvious, as she goes around college telling people nice things about him, like that he’s the smartest person she’s ever met. In fact, he gets a special thrill out of hearing her say this to rich students whose parents are successful, influential figures in society. That he derives pleasure from outsmarting students with more financial privilege than him suggests that he does have some animosity toward the rich, at least on a certain level. This animosity might have to do with the trouble he has fitting in at Trinity, since he feels like everyone around him lives in a different world—a world in which opportunity and possibility appear out of nowhere. That’s also the world Marianne is used to, and though she doesn’t necessarily flaunt her wealth, Connell is very aware of how unconcerned she is about money. Unlike him, she doesn’t have to work her way through college, nor does she have to pay for her own housing. When they both receive prestigious scholarships that pay for school, lodging, and meals, Connell knows that Marianne only took the scholarship exams to distinguish herself as intelligent, focusing on prestige without considering that the scholarship could have gone to someone who actually needed assistance—someone just like Connell.

Despite passing moments of tension surrounding Marianne’s privilege, though, Normal People isn’t a novel about how class disparity ruins relationships. Instead, the book merely uses Connell and Marianne’s contrasting economic backgrounds to illustrate a simple idea: namely, that some people can afford to never think about money while others cannot. And while this distinction doesn’t always wreak havoc on romantic connections, it’s hard to keep it from bringing itself to bear on a relationship in at least some ways.