Normal People Is Very Much About The Lives of Ordinary People

The adaption of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People, recently hit the small screen with all twelve episodes available to binge on BBC iPlayer. The series centres around Irish teenagers, Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal), as they navigate through their lives and early adulthood; moving in different directions, yet always circling back to each other.

The series is very much a bittersweet tale; it is raw, honest and provides viewers with an emotional roller-coaster of a ride as we follow these two 'fractured' human beings. Marianne and Connell are forever growing and evolving throughout the episodes; the young people grow, and break, and grow; constantly picking and putting each other back together again.

When we meet these two individuals, we are aware that both have their own emotional complexities.

Marianne is a young woman who finds it difficult to form relationships in school, and hides her problems with an attitude that suggests she does not care about what people think of her. Throughout the episodes, she attends college and progresses into a studious young woman. However, her childhood, in which she witnessed her Father abusing her Mother, has deeply affected her emotionally and psychologically. Fueled by the fact that her brother also abuses her, Marianne is full of self-loathing and the belief that she is unlovable. She chooses to punish herself in this regard, by immersing herself in rough sex - the outcome of her psyche leaving her unable to form healthy relationships.

Connell, however, struggles to openly convey his emotions and to show any form of affection in public. His anxiety leaves him with the fear of being judged, so in school, he chooses to model himself and the way that he should behave, on his school friends. This leaves him deeply hurting Marianne until they meet again in college. Connell slowly develops into a young man who is emotionally sensitive, yet grows into himself and begins to publicly display affection and care. However, he also struggles to make friends and to form a connection with other people.

Both characters support each other on their emotional journeys; Connell reminds Marianne of her self-worth and Marianne teaches Connell that it is okay, as a male, to struggle with his emotions. They, slowly but surely, try to piece and mend each other back together, because they struggle to heal themselves.

In Japan, Kintsugi is the art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold - the idea being that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger and beautiful piece of art. Marianne and Connell definitely strive to fix each other; their relationship being the gold that weaves them together.

Normal People, is very much about the lives of ordinary people; providing viewers with an honest and relatable story that we are all living.
Each episode softly touches upon prominent topics like;

• Bullying
• Sexual Harassment
• Consent
• Domestic Abuse
• Anxiety / Depression 
• Suicide
• Class
• Loneliness
• Miscommunication in relationships

 It is very much our story as it is Marianne and Connell's and that is the raw beauty of this modern tale.