“He was really laughing then. Marianne, he said, I’m not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.” In the novel, Normal People, Sally Rooney depicts how raw a relationship can be. The authenticity of Connel’s and Marianne’s relationship is what drives readers in. Whether you believe in soulmates or not, throughout the novel it is clear that Marianne and Connell have a connection that is hard to come by. The ups and downs presented throughout the novel is not a result from a lack of love but the presence of human nature. 

Throughout the novel, Connell struggles with his mental well being. He suffers with anxiety, and it often affects the things he does. In high school Connell often got anxious about the way people perceived him. He threw up in the bathroom because of the stress he had built up from keeping his relationship a secret from his classmates. Marianne was widely disliked amongst her peers and Connell was popular. He loved Marianne but he was embarrassed of her friends finding out. Connell's social anxiety heightened when he went to university. He was no longer the popular football player everyone effortlessly adored. Connell’s ashamed of his personality, he finds himself boring. He finds it impossible to talk to people and worse to connect with them. This is true for everyone except Mariane. Marianne is the only person that Connell feels that he can be truly himself with. She was the first person to make him feel as though he could be himself and that was enough. No matter how mentally drained Connell is, Mariane is the only person he can always be around with and feel like himself. Later on in the book Connell enters a deep depressive episode after his friend dies. Connell has a hard time doing anything and begins to see a therapist. Even though he and this friend never had a deep connection, his death impacted him so much. This was because he was an important person in Connell’s life when he felt like he belonged. He can never go back to the life he had and he is further reminded of this after his friend's passing. When Connell sees Mariane at the funeral he gives her a hug, one in which he has never given before. This is because he knows that Marrianne knows exactly what he is going through. Connell and Marianne  see the world in the same way and this gives him a comfort that is beyond words. They both know this connection without having to say it.       

Marianne is a girl with a troubled family life. She struggles internally with what she believes she deserves. She believes that she does not deserve to be loved and oftentimes finds herself dating inadequate men. She has let the men in her life treat her with low respect because she is accustomed to that treatment. Her brother mentally and physically abuses Marianne without cause. Marianne endures this abuse and believes that she is the root of his anger. Marriann’s mom leads her to believe that she is provoking her brother's anger with her intelligence. Marianne’s brother feels inferior to her because she is so intelligent. This is seen in her relationship with Jamie, as he constantly makes her feel inferior to him, due to his jealousy. When Connell constantly reminds Marianne just how wonderful and amazing he thinks she is, she takes it as a surprise. She finds it difficult to believe that anyone could feel such a way towards her. Connell continuously says that Marianne  is the smartest person he knows and he thinks highly of her. He views Marianne  as the best person he knows.

Sally Rooney does a phenomenal job at capturing the human nature that causes people to act the way they do. Connell and Marianne  are flawed individuals and emphasize just how difficult our daily lives can be and the toll that comes with them. Marianne and Connell contain a genuine and unconditional love for each, despite their flaws and mistakes.