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IRISH BEGRUDGERY AS REFLECTED IN SALLY ROONEY’S NORMAL PEOPLE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By ARDELIA KARISA Student Number: 174214097
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2021
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IRISH BEGRUDGERY AS REFLECTED IN SALLY ROONEY’S NORMAL PEOPLE TITLE PAGE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By ARDELIA KARISA Student Number: 174214097
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2021
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A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis APPROVAL PAGE IRISH BEGRUDGERY AS REFLECTED IN SALLY ROONEY’S NORMAL PEOPLE
By ARDELIA KARISA Student Number: 174214097
Approved by
Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. May 28, 2021 Advisor
Epata Puji Astuti, S.S., M.A May 28, 2021 Co-Advisor
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A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis ACCEPTANCE PAGE IRISH BEGRUDGERY AS REFLECTED IN SALLY ROONEY’S NORMAL PEOPLE
By ARDELIA KARISA Student Number: 174214097
Defended before the Board of Examiners on June 19, 2021 and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS NAME SIGNATURE Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, Chairperson : ______M.Hum. Secretary : Epata Puji Astuti, S.S., M.A ______
Member 1 : Sri Mulyani Ph.D. ______Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, Member 2 : ______M.Hum. Member 3 : Epata Puji Astuti, S.S., M.A ______
Yogyakarta, June 30, 2021 Faculty of Letters Universitas Sanata Dharma Dean
Dr. Tatang Iskarna
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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text of the undergraduate thesis.
May 10, 2021
Ardelia Karisa
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma
Nama : Ardelia Karisa Nomor Mahasiswa : 174214097
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul
IRISH BEGRUDGREY AS REFLECTED IN SALLY ROONEY’S NORMAL PEOPLE beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal 10 Mei 2021
Yang menyatakan,
Ardelia Karisa
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my deepest gratitude toward my thesis advisor, Drs.
Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum., for his guidance and effort in helping me write this thesis, and my thesis co-advisor, Epata Puji Astuti, S.S., M.A., for the helpful feedback. I am also thankful to the other lecturers of the English Letters Department for the knowledge and insights they have given me during my time studying at the university.
Finally, this thesis would not have been possible without the help and support from my family; my close friends, Kikik, Nanak, Tami, Ichak, and Ufi.
Lastly, I would forever be grateful for my friendship with Arin, Elin, Fira, Lieie, and Nandha. Without their constant support, I am sure I would not have been able to finish my study.
Ardelia Karisa
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ...... ii APPROVAL PAGE ...... iii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ...... iv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ...... v LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS ...... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... viii ABSTRACT ...... x ABSTRAK ...... xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...... 12 A. Background of the Study ...... 12 B. Problem Formulation ...... 14 C. Objectives of the Study ...... 14 D. Definition of Terms ...... 14
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 16 A. Review of Related Studies ...... 16 1. The Persistence of Passivity as Foundational Myth in Women Writing Women in Ireland: A Thread Between Mid-20th Century Repression and Cutting Edge Millennialism (2020) ...... 17 2. Reconfiguring Irish Identity After the Celtic Tiger in Post-Crash Novels by Anne Enright, Sally Rooney and Caoilinn Hughes (2019) ...... 20 3. Begrudgery & Brehon Law: A Literary Examination of the Roots of Resentment in Pre-Modern Ireland (2016) ...... 22 4. Beckett and Begrudgery: The Concept of Resentment in Samuel Beckett’s Molloy (2015) ...... 25 B. Review of Related Theories ...... 27 1. Theory of Setting ...... 27 2. Theory of Characterization ...... 28 C. History of Irish Society ...... 29 D. Review of Begrudgery in Irish Society ...... 37
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E. Theoretical Framework ...... 40
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...... 41 A. Object of the Study ...... 41 B. Approach of the Study ...... 42 C. Method of the Study ...... 43
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ...... 45 A. Description of the Characters and Society in Normal People ...... 45 1. The Characters ...... 45 2. The Society ...... 53 B. Depiction of Irish Begrudgery Through Characters in Normal People ...... 58 1. Depiction of Begrudgery in Marianne Sheridan’s Character ...... 58 2. Depiction of Begrudgery in Connell Waldron’s Character ...... 65
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...... 75 REFERENCES ...... 79
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ABSTRACT
KARISA, ARDELIA. (2021). Irish Begrudgery as Reflected in Sally Rooney’s Normal People. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
The feeling of envy of someone’s success and superiority may result in resentment. This phenomenon can be found in any people in any society. Yet, in Ireland, this phenomenon becomes pervasive given its history of long colonialism and economic disparity within its society. According to Lee (1989) the phenomenon is a central character to the Irish people that the term begrudgery is exclusively coined to identify this tendency. Begrudgery has been depicted in many Irish literatures, including the recent popular novel titled Normal People. The novel tells a story of an on-off relationship between Connell and Marianne. Of the two settings in which the story is taken place, Marianne and Connell’s hometown, Carricklea, serves as a place where most of the characters shown is seen to have the attribute of begrudgery. Whereas, when the story moves to Dublin, no traces of begrudgery can be found in other characters, but Connell is gradually growing the mentality of becoming a begrudger. This study has two objectives. First, to describe the characters and society in Normal People. Second, to see the depiction of Irish begrudgery through the main characters in Normal People. The study utilizes library research method. The approach used in this study is socio-historical approach. The novel of Normal People is the primary source of this study. In addressing the first objective, the theory of setting is applied. In answering the last objective, the theory of characterization is used along with the information about the Irish begrudgery gathered previously. This study concludes that in Carricklea, the society values people who can blend in. In Dublin, they are more acceptable to anyone who shows their superiority. Thus, people in Carricklea project their begrudgery mentality to Marianne since she is characterized as an intelligent person who often shows it by arguing. This resentment projected to Marianne exacerbates her lack of self-worth as she believes that she is a bad person. Connell’s shyness, in the other hand, is the reason people like him in Carricklea. Yet, it becomes the root of his inability to adapt in Dublin. Hence, he resents people in Dublin and is gradually embedding some features of begrudgery himself. The actual reason for Connell’s problem, however, is his fixation on being well-liked. Connell fears that once he adjusts himself in Dublin, people in Carricklea would change their opinion about him. Keywords: characters, begrudgery, Irish society
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ABSTRAK
KARISA, ARDELIA. (2021). Irish Begrudgery as Reflected in Sally Rooney’s Normal People. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Perasaan iri atas kesuksesan dan keunggulan seseorang dapat menyebabkan kebencian. Fenomena ini dapat ditemukan pada setiap orang di masyarakat mana pun. Namun, di Irlandia, fenomena ini meluas mengingat sejarah panjang kolonialisme dan disparitas ekonomi dalam masyarakatnya. Menurut Lee (1989) fenomena tersebut merupakan karakter sentral masyarakat Irlandia sehingga istilah begrudgery diciptakan khusus untuk mengidentifikasi sifat tersebut. Begrudgery dapat ditemukan dalam banyak cerita di kesusastraan Irlandia, termasuk novel baru yang sedang terkenal berjudul Normal People. Novel ini bercerita tentang hubungan putus nyambung antara Connell dan Marianne. Kota kelahiran Marianne dan Connell, Carricklea, yang merupakan satu dari dua latar tempat yang digunakan dalam cerita, menunjukkan sebagian besar tokoh yang muncul memiliki karakter begrudgery. Namun, ketika latar cerita berpindah ke Dublin, tidak ada jejak begrudgery yang dapat ditemukan pada tokoh lain, tetapi mentalitas menjadi seorang begrudger tumbuh perlahan pada Connell. Penelitian ini memiliki dua tujuan. Pertama, mendeskripsikan karakter dan masyarakat di Normal People. Kedua, melihat penggambaran begrudgery yang ada pada masyarakat Irlandia melalui tokoh utama dalam Normal People. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian pustaka. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan sosio-historis. Objek kajian utama dalam penelitian ini adalah novel Normal People. Teori latar digunakan untuk menjawab tujuan pertama penelitian. Teori karakterisasi bersama dengan informasi tentang begrudgery pada masyarakat Irlandia yang telah dikumpulkan sebelumnya digunakan dalam menjawab tujuan terakhir penelitian. Kesimpulan penelitian ini adalah masyarakat di Carricklea menghargai orang-orang yang bisa berbaur. Di Dublin, masyarakatnya menerima orang-orang yang menunjukkan kelebihan mereka. Oleh karena itu, orang-orang di Carricklea memproyeksikan mentalitas begrudgery kepada Marianne karena dia digambarkan sebagai orang yang sering menunjukkan kecerdasannya dengan berdebat. Kebencian yang diproyeksikan pada Marianne membuat harga dirinya terpuruk karena dia percaya bahwa dirinya adalah orang tidak baik. Sebaliknya, sifat pemalu Connell adalah alasan orang menyukainya di Carricklea. Namun, itu menjadi akar ketidakmampuannya beradaptasi di Dublin. Alasan tersebut membuat dia benci orang-orang di Dublin dan secara bertahap, beberapa ciri begrugdery tertanam pada dirinya. Padahal, penyebab dari masalah Connell sebenarnya adalah keinginan untuk disukai. Connell khawatir ketika dia mampu menyesuaikan diri di Dublin, orang-orang di Carricklea akan mengubah opini tentang dirinya. Kata kunci: characters, begrudgery, Irish society
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The fictional story conveyed by literature often mirrors to or derives from factual occurrence. This documentary aspect of literature provides a reflection toward the social world which stems from the historical condition (Laurenson &
Swingewood, 1972, pp. 12–15). Hence, according to Rohrberger and Woods
(1971), the critic should “investigate the social milieu in which a work was created and which it necessary reflected” (p. 9).
Galens (2002) states that in the eighteenth century, literature is “used to denote a quality of poems, plays, and fiction” (p. xi). Nowadays, the word is associated with serious novel; thus, it excludes popular novels like romance. Yet,
Normal People which tells a story about an on-off relationship between two young people in Ireland, crosses this boundary. It has been praised for its complexity of theme but somehow approachable for any kind of readers as popular novels do
(Cain, 2019, para. 6).
Sally Rooney’s Normal People has two central characters; each has given voice to narrate the story from their own perspective. Both characters, Connell
Waldron and Marianne Sheridan spend their adolescent years in a small town in
Sligo. Although they are students in the same school, the interaction between
Connell and Marianne mostly takes place when Connell picks up his mom who works in Marianne’s house as a cleaner. At school, Connell and Marianne remain
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stranger. The novel shows the contradiction of the notion that wealth is an important quality to place people on the social ladder in high school which generally embodies in other teen fictions (Chaney, 2020, para. 1). Marianne is still being bullied even though people are aware of her wealth. Connell does not hide the fact that his mother cleans Marianne’s house for a living, yet he is the popular one.
Two major settings in Normal People feature two different locations in
Ireland. The main characters’ hometown is a small town in West Ireland, precisely located in the County Sligo. Another setting used by Rooney in Normal People is
Dublin. The capital of Ireland becomes the place in which the social circumstances changed. Marianne, as then a pariah at school, now has friends and popular. On the contrary, Connell is struggling to adapt and make friends. The small town of
Carricklea showcases the phenomenon of resentment occurred to Marianne from her peers. The novel portrays Marianne as superior in wealth and intelligence compared to her peers. They put her as an object of ridicule as she is deemed as arrogant and, therefore, seems to struggle in social life. This resentment is in fact, the attribute of Irish begrudgery (Masterson, 1979, p. 157).
Although resentment is not uniquely associated to Irish society, Lee (1989) remarks “the role of spite in individuals and institutions is a patent and a potent fact of Irish life” (p. 647). Irish begrudgery had been depicted in many literary works in the past since it was “a major element of Irish sociology in that era” (Graf, 2015, p.
8). However, Normal People, which is first published in 2018, shows that the phenomenon is still apparent in today’s Irish society.
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Therefore, this study focuses on seeing the depiction of Irish begrudgery in
Normal People. On scrutinizing the novel, it is necessary to use the theory of setting and theory of characterization. Furthermore, the socio-historical approach is applied in this study to dissect the root of begrudgery in Irish society.
B. Problem Formulation
The following questions have been formulated in order to make a clear and organized discussion:
1. How are the characters and society described in the novel?
2. How is Irish begrudgery depicted through characters in the novel?
C. Objectives of the Study
In accordance with the problems mentioned, this study aims to describe the characters and society in Normal People. Moreover, this study also pursues to show the way Irish begrudgery is depicted in the novel. The process of identifying the characters and society to unveil the portrayal of Irish begrudgery is essential in this research.
D. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misunderstanding in this study, the definition of terms is needed. The term Irish begrudgery used by the researcher should be understood.
Joseph J. Lee, an Irish historian and politician, writes:
If begrudgery is rampant in contemporary Ireland, it is a direct inheritance from, not a perversion of, traditional Ireland. There is no reason to posit that
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the present generation of Irishmen, by no means forgetting Irish women, is more naturally corroded by envy than any earlier generation. (Lee, 1989, p. 647)
As suggested by Lee, Irish begrudgery is a phenomenon which derived from the feeling of envy resulted from the condition of Irish society. Whilst following the definition, it is also important to note that begrudgery is not merely stereotypical trait for the Irish. Lee (1989) also adds that:
The inter-related combination of economic, marital and mobility patterns means that Ireland had more than her fair share of individual suffering from thwarted ambition (p. 647).
Therefore, it can be concluded that the raise of begrudgery is deeply related to the social and economy disparity occurred in Ireland.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter covers five sections: review of related studies, review of related theories, history of Irish society, review of begrudgery in Irish society, and theoretical framework. The review of related studies discusses research with the same object of study or a similar topic. This section also identifies the position of the present study compared to the research done previously. The review of related theories covers the theory of setting and the theory of characterization. Moreover, the history of Irish society and the review of begrudgery in Irish society are required to be examined in this section in order to get an understanding of the topic discussed. The last section covers the theoretical framework that explains the contribution of each theory in analyzing and solving the problem that has been formulated.
A. Review of Related Studies
This section discusses four research titles that are related to the present study. The first research is a journal article written by Olga Cox Cameron. Besides practicing as a private psychoanalyst in Dublin for the past thirty-two years,
Cameron was once a lecturer at St. Vincent’s University Hospital and Trinity
College from 1991 to 2013, teaching Psychoanalytic Theory and Psychoanalysis and Literature. Cameron also a founder of the Irish Psychoanalysis and Cinema
Festival that is held annually from 2008 to the present time.
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The second research is a master thesis written by Adam Duke, a former student at Utrectht University. The third and fourth researches are written by the same author, Stephen Graf. Graf is a teaching staff at Robert Morris University in
Pittsburgh and has published several journal articles, including two articles discussing Irish begrudgrey that this present study tries to review.
1. The Persistence of Passivity as Foundational Myth in Women Writing
Women in Ireland: A Thread Between Mid-20th Century Repression and
Cutting Edge Millennialism (2020)
The first related study to be reviewed is a journal article published by
Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society in September 2020. The study observes both
Sally Rooney’s novel titled Conversation with Friends (2017) and Normal People
(2018) to see how fiction is substantial to examine the Irish identity—particularly the feminine identity- and find how it is depicted in Rooney’s novel. Hence, this article is chosen since it discusses the same object of study: Sally Rooney’s novel and Irish society. Unlike the present study, in deconstructing the novels, this article uses psychoanalysis to contextualize Rooney’s works and compares it to other works by mid-twentieth century Irish female writers.
This study argues that in a love story, which shares a resemblance to the heroic myth in regards to the fantasy brought by “an experience of utter helplessness, pitched close to the pain of existence, and as such, easily colonized by masochism” (Lacan as cited in Cox Cameron, 2020, p. 413), the idea of a woman being a passive and a subject has to be saved is sustained; thus the heroic identity belongs only to men. This dominant identity is also reflected in how Ireland sees
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itself “as a victimized woman, passively suffering at the hands of a brutal oppressor and in need of rescue by her brave son” (Cox Cameron, 2020, p. 409). In this iconography, the counterpart of this forbearing mother is “the hyper-masculine Irish rebel, or more ominously, the weak and drunken Irish father” (Cox Cameron, 2020, p. 416).
Both the literature and Ireland’s national image feature the feminine identity comprised by surrender, submissiveness, and passivity. This shows in the mid- twentieth century Irish female authors' works, namely, Mary Lavin, Kate O’Brien, and Edna O’Brien. Their works present “more or less predicated on a submissiveness bordering on masochism” (Cox Cameron, 2020, p. 420). In recent times, Sally Rooney’s novels also depict similar ideas that may contradict the feminist agenda in repealing the passivity that defines the feminine identity.
However, the masochism and the passivity portrayed in Sally Rooney’s novels are different from those depicted in the aforementioned novels. Rather than encapsulated in the women character, in Conversation with Friends, the passivity is seen in the men character with whom the main character, Frances, has an affair with “he is at all times the passive partner and much of Frances’ sexual pleasure is engendered by this situation” (Cox Cameron, 2020, p. 421).
In discussing Normal People, this study points out that, albeit there is some degree of similarity in the depiction of masochism and passivity to Rooney’s previous novel, Normal People conveys “not so much in the risky self-loss of sexual rapture, as in the almost unconscious depth of wordless sexual connection. This connection is the heart of the story” (Cox Cameron, 2020, p. 423). Masochism has
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usually been perceived as something dangerous, mysterious, and incomprehensible.
Normal People shows that one of the main characters, Connell, goes along with that idea. The other main character, Marianne, grows up in an abusive family, and as a consequence, she seeks a sadomasochistic sexual practice. The study posits that
“part of their story, a part that references the title of the novel, involves him trying to pull free of this orbit, to take refuge in being “a normal guy,” and to relegate
Marianne’s proclivities as evidence of damage” (Cox Cameron, 2020, p. 424).
As their relationship deepens throughout the story, Connell finally understands that their dynamic is not about him being a normal guy and Marianne is the masochist. This acceptance of Marianne’s passivity, which is closely linked to how women are perceived in post-revolutionary Ireland, is what makes the novel different. Cox Cameron (2020) insists that “Marianne’s masochism, while perhaps set in motion by a father’s brutality, is who she is, how she loves, a part of her not to be excised” (p. 425). Thus, from both Rooney’s novel, the study concludes that the feminine identity, in which women is portrayed as suffering and needs to be rescued, appears in both novels. Yet, Rooney’s narratives are different from what the great mid-century Irish writers have depicted in the past since “the masochistic underlay of this fiction functions less a corollary to patriarchy and more as its disturbing outcrop” (Cox Cameron, 2020, p. 426).
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2. Reconfiguring Irish Identity After the Celtic Tiger in Post-Crash Novels
by Anne Enright, Sally Rooney and Caoilinn Hughes (2019)
The following related study is taken from Adam Duke’s master thesis published by Utrectht University in 2019. This thesis discusses the Celtic Tiger's impact on the configuration of Ireland’s identity by examining three different literary works. All these novels are chosen not merely because these are written after the collapse of Celtic Tiger, but also because of the focus that is “intently on
Ireland during the years of economic affluence and concerned with the tensions that emerged in Ireland” (Duke, 2019, p. 7). Alongside Anne Enright’s The Green Road
(2015) and Caoilinn Hughes’ Orchid and the Wasp (2018), the study also scrutinizes Sally Rooney’s Conversation with Friends (2017).
Celtic Tiger is a term introduced by Kevin Gardiner to define the rapid growth of the Irish economy in the 1990s. This economic growth, initially, is seen as “an opportunity to bring about real change to a country that largely seemed to be imprisoned by its own past” (Duke, 2019, p. 6). The Celtic Tiger started in the year of 1995 and ended in 2008. During that time, Ireland aims to reduce the unemployment rate by pushing multinational investment and raising its status to become an English-speaking nation with high-quality human resources. Yet, Duke
(2019) asserts that by 2001, economic growth has slowed down and leaves numerous problems such as the rise of the suicidal rate, which implies the suffering of society (pp. 15–16). The study also adds that this quick change in Ireland makes
“configuring Ireland’s identity an increasingly challenging prospect” (Duke, 2019,
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p. 18) since it seems to alienate their history in order to create a façade that represents the new powerful and modern state.
The 2008 global recession leads to the collapse of the Celtic Tiger. The policies carried out by the government to save the economic condition affect the
Irish, particularly the youths. The collapse of Celtic Tiger not only becomes another failure in Ireland’s history, but it also indicates the loss of the nation’s identity, which makes “configuring and understand Irish identity after the crash a particularly complicated subject” (Duke, 2019, p. 48).
Relating the Celtic Tiger, which in a relatively short period of time has transformed Ireland entirely from a religious and conservative nation into a modern state, the study finds that The Green Road that is published seven years after the collapse of Celtic Tiger gives the insight of the tensions aroused by the Celtic Tiger in the society as stated by Duke (2019) “this sense of alienation from each other and uncertainty as to how to behave around one another extends beyond the immediate family and to their village at large” (p. 35).
Meanwhile, Rooney’s Conversation with Friends and Hughes’ Orchid and the Wasp are announced as a Bildungsroman which is very useful to explore the configuration of identity in post-crash Irish writing. The study further compares and contrasts these two novels. It is found that the two novels share a similarity in the
“accounts of young women attempting to find their place in post-crash Irish society”
(Duke, 2019, p. 50). Moreover, the conflicts of each main character in the novels come from the financial turmoil that happened in the family because the fathers left the family just before the economic crash. The study also points out that the main
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character in Conversation with Friends, Frances, bears a resemblance to Gael, the main character in Orchid and the Wasp. They are, as the study identifies, blank protagonists.
In a study on Bildungsroman written during late-stage capitalism, Caren Irr describes their protagonists often being “functionally a social orphan” (222) with consumerism being a more powerful force of identity configuration than tradition. (Irr as cited in Duke, 2019, p. 54)
However, it is found that Gael is a more adaptable character who “accepts the flawed moral landscape of post-crash Ireland and seeks to use it to her advantage” (Duke, 2019, p. 57) rather than Frances. In addition to that, art exists in both novels as one of the significant roles in the protagonists' development. The study insists “this work of art gives the character a voice and also presents them with an opportunity to understand, or even transcend, the workings of society”
(Duke, 2019, p. 59).
The similarities of this thesis and the current study are that both researchers use Sally Rooney’s novel and discuss Irish society. However, in comparison to the present study, Duke’s thesis is different since the focus is to reveal the Celtic Tiger
“as being a force that imposed new restrictions on the configuration of Irish identity” (Duke, 2019, p. 3). Furthermore, rather than dissecting through a socio- historical approach, Duke dug deeper into relating the literary works discussed to the Irish culture.
3. Begrudgery & Brehon Law: A Literary Examination of the Roots of
Resentment in Pre-Modern Ireland (2016)
The topic of begrudgery discussed in this related study is the same as the present study. World Journal of Social Science Research publishes the journal
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article written by Stephen Graf in 2016. In order to find out why begrudgery becomes pervasive in Ireland, the researcher conducted this study by “examining the history of begrudgery in Ireland, and the sentiments that compose it” (Graf,
2016, p. 63). The main focus of the article is to trace the roots of resentment as the aspect of Irish begrudgery which is shown through ancient Irish literature.
The result of this study shows that the seeds of begrudgery, which include envy, spite, and resentment, have already been shown in pre-modern Irish literature.
Despite the fact that the term begrudgery itself has not existed, one of the aspects of begrudgery can be found as far back as pre-colonial Ireland. The most famous
Irish literary work during the medieval era titled Táin Bó Cúailnge places important roles on satire and satirist which the study describes: “for the ancient Irish, satire did not consist solely of lampooning or ironic ridicule, it could also pack a supernatural wallop against its intended victim” (Graf, 2016, p. 64). In addition to that, the begrudger archetype is also depicted in ancient Irish mythology’s characters, such as Dubthach Dóeltenga and Bricriu.
The Irish discern words as something that can injure people which is also depicted in Táin Bó Cúailnge. According to this study, the epic also shows another major aspect of begrudgery, which is envy. It also shows in Iris myths such as The
Exile of the Sons of Uisliu and The Destruction of Dinn Rig. It is inevitable for the
Irish to grow this sentiment since they have cultures of limited good. This culture believes that the amount of wealth and land is not infinite; thus, people cannot create their own wealth. Therefore, Graf (2016) asserts that “the limited amount of
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prosperity that existed in ancient Irish society had to be guarded jealously; because if it were lost, the only way to regain it would be to take someone else’s” (p. 67).
However, although begrudgery has come into sight since way before British colonialism, the study emphasizes that when the British arrived and eliminated the
Irish Brehon Law, the sentiment became a social phenomenon in Ireland. Brehon
Law is “the oldest documented legal systems in all of Europe” (Graf, 2016, p. 67), which actually has no legislative power, but the Irish view it as something that protects society. It is after the English Parliament prohibits the use of Brehon Law and changes it into the Penal laws that begrudgery flourishes in Ireland. Graf insists:
While the elimination of Brehon law cannot be tied directly to the rise in begrudgery in Ireland, the two events emerged from the same historical conditions. It was British colonialism that removed Brehon law from Irish society, just as the long colonial period offered a perfect environment for a sentiment like begrudgery to flourish as a widespread social phenomenon. (Graf, 2016, p. 69)
As stated in this study “begrudgery and ressentiment are both distinguished primarily by a concern and involvement with power” (Graf, 2016, p. 71).
Therefore, it is concluded that the feeling of powerlessness resulting from the colonial situation offers a period for begrudgery to become pervasive in Ireland.
Begrudgery allows the Irish to vent their frustration and helplessness since Graf
(2016) describes it as “a defensive mechanism employed ameliorate perceived disparities” (p. 72).
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4. Beckett and Begrudgery: The Concept of Resentment in Samuel Beckett’s
Molloy (2015)
Sage publishes this article written by Stephen Graf in 2015. It shares a similarity to the present study in the topic discussed, which is begrudgery. In this study, the researcher explored begrudgery in the English translation version of
Samuel Beckett’s Molloy (1955). In conducting this study, the researcher establishes what begrudgery is, then using the socio-philosophical approach, the novel is probed.
The critics have long overlooked the Irish details in the work of Nobel Prize winning author Samuel Beckett. However, there are shreds of evidence that
Beckett’s writings continue to be influenced by Ireland, though he has already moved to France. For instance, in the novel Molloy, the characters’ names are Irish.
In addition to that, the characterization of the main character, Moran, shows a character trait of begrudgery that exists as a national phenomenon in Ireland as it is noted: “a close reading of Molloy with an eye toward Irish characterizations reveals a vivid depiction of a sociological concept familiar to all Irish people of this period—begrudgery” (Graf, 2015, p. 2).
According to this study, it is essential to note that begrudgery has existed prior to the arrival of British colonialism, “yet the long years of colonial oppression under which the Irish suffered powerlessly served to acerbate these conditions”
(Graf, 2015, p. 2). Ireland’s independence from the British, however, does not make begrudgery disappear. Begrudgery is still found in every aspect of life in Ireland.
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What makes begrudgery continue to permeate in Ireland is “the oppressive social atmosphere as much as the lack of opportunity” (Graf, 2015, p. 4).
This study relates begrudgery to Nietzsche’s theory of ressentiment as they share the same driving force, which is power. Moran, as the protagonist and the narrator of the novel Molloy, manifests all the aspects of the Irish begrudger.
Moran’s character is filled with resentment, envy, and the difficulties of letting go of the past, which is also included in the feature of ressentiment. Aside from that, the novel also posits how begrudgery is manifesting in interpersonal relations as well as the belief to conform to the moralities that is followed by the feeling of superiority (Graf, 2015, p. 5). All these characteristics of begrudgery stemmed in
Moran comes from the feeling of victimized by the condition of his presumably hopeless life. The study also notes that “like a true begrudger, Moran cannot simply accept what he cannot control and try to make the best of it; he has to assign blame”
(Graf, 2015, p. 6), which also aligns to Nietzsche’s theory of ressentiment.
Furthermore, the study argues that the begrudgery, which is seen in Moran, may conceive his antipathy behavior. In addition to that, the study claims: “what makes the syndrome so circular and pernicious is that the begrudger is not even aware that he is a begrudger, and therefore can feel fully justified in condemning others for their begrudgery” (Graf, 2015, p. 7).
The study concludes that the characteristics of Irish begrudger are all present in Moran's character in Molloy. In addition to that, the study argues that “the Irish people may not have achieved a final defunctus from begrudgery in Beckett’s lifetime… Even today, begrudgery is still alive and well in Ireland” (Graf, 2015, p.
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8). Following the statement, the researcher stated that begrudgery is a topic that needs to be further dissected and explained in academic work. Therefore, in response to this statement, the present study is conducted to discover the embodiment of Irish begrudgery in recent Irish literary work.
B. Review of Related Theories
This part elaborates on two theories that are used in this study. The first one is the theory of setting. This theory helps the researcher identifies the characters' social setting and describes Irish society. The theory of setting used in this study is taken from Richard Gill.
The second theory is the theory of characters and characterization, which is taken from Richard Taylor. This theory is used to disclose the relationship of the setting described in depicting Irish begrudgery through the characters in the novel.
1. Theory of Setting
Setting has a broad meaning. It not only refers to the place or environment in which the story takes place in the novel, setting can be used to cover:
a. the places in which characters appear, b. the social context of characters, such as their families, friends and class, c. the customs, beliefs and rules of behavior that give identity to a society, d. the atmosphere, mood and feel that all the above elements are created. (Gill, 1996, p. 148)
As mentioned above, the setting not only provides environmental background for the story. The characters’ family and friends, even the class they are born into, serves as a social setting that is prominent in shaping and reflecting the characters’ feelings. Moreover, this theory also able to identify the identity of
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society through the set of customs, beliefs, and rules of behavior described in the novel.
2. Theory of Characterization
Characters are the creation of the author to give an illusion of reality in the story. Built by words, characters are intended to express ideas or experiences. The existence of characters is related to other features of novels, namely action and setting (Taylor, 1981, p. 62).
In forming the characters, the author uses some methods of characterization.
Taylor (1981) argues that the most effective method to render a character is the indirect method (p. 63). Unlike the direct method that involves description and dialogue either from the character itself or other characters, the indirect method allows the reader to do it by “direct observation of people in real life, self- observation and also knowledge of inherited or traditional literary types” (Taylor,
1981, p. 63).
Name and mannerism are also included in the way the author characterizes the characters. It is stated that “oddities of speech and movement or an obsession which is peculiar to one figure alone, also tend to characterise people as do their clothes or possessions” (Taylor, 1981, p. 63). Taylor also adds:
Dialogue and conduct, whether directly presented or reported through another consciousness, is most powerful technique for characterization, but here again it is not merely the fact or detail that is effective, but rather the deductions that the reader comes to concerning the unspoken and unseen well-springs of character. (Taylor, 1981, p. 63)
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Various methods are available to render the inner life of the characters.
According to Taylor (1981), setting is one of the possible methods to see how the character analyzes their thoughts (p. 65).
C. History of Irish Society
First emerged in the pre-Christian era, the Gaelic society was known for its belief in superstition, legend, and dreams. Led by kings, the kings had two primary functions: leading people in war and practicing governmental roles such as raising taxes and enforcing laws (State, 2009, p. 14). During this time, conflicts, which were often suffused by violence was inevitable when a group of people wanted to expand territory beyond its border. The land became the basis of wealth and the society regarded the kinship group called derbfhine, which was consisted of an extended family of male lineage as its central social institution. In maintaining law and order, a system called Brehon Law was created. According to State (2009) the
Brehon Law system “was based on negotiated justice, in which families were held responsible for the misdeeds of group members” (p. 17). Thus, the law precisely categorized people by their social class as status was the basis measurement of legal rights and powers.
In the early 15th century, Christianity came into Ireland peacefully as there was no evidence of people who were killed because of the religious conversion
(State, 2009, p. 25). Christianity tolerated the pagan culture and yet, they successfully transformed Ireland by eradicating human sacrifice, looking unfavorable on slavery, and discouraging warfare (State, 2009, p. 25). Life in
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Ireland during this era was rural since there were no towns and villages as well as the practice of farming became a means of economy. Although kings still had the power to govern the land, monasteries now served as institutions that had their own power ruled by clerical aristocrats.
By the early 16th century, following England’s break from Roman Catholic
Church in 1534, Henry VIII had the ambition to become the only ruler in Ireland.
The arrival House of Tudor remarked the separate societies in Ireland. Three different societies lived side by side in Ireland: Gaelic Irish, Anglo-Irish, and
Anglo-Norman.
The Gaelic Irish was viewed as enemies by England. Comprised by people whose descendants were the provincial kings, the Gaelic Irish was completely independent. They maintained to follow their old tradition and practiced the ancient
Irish system of laws. Living in the rural area by adopting communal systems, the native Irish still practiced semi-nomadic pastoral farming. Considering their constant warfare, this farming method was deemed effective.
Meanwhile, the Anglo-Irish lived in a permanent village with shops, markets, and churches. They used more advanced agricultural practices which allowed them to cultivate the full range of cereal crops (State, 2009, p. 96). England saw the Anglo-Irish, who were the descendants of the early Norman settlers, as the rebel. Since they had assimilated by intermarrying and followed the Irish legal and dynastic tradition, England perceived that they had become Gaelicized. Although the Anglo-Irish never wanted to completely break free with the English crown, the
Anglo-Irish society still wanted maximum autonomy.
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The Anglo-Normans, on the other hand, were the representatives of the
English crown. They wanted to impose royal authorities and opposed the Gaelic
Irish as well as the Anglo-Irish way of life. They had the privilege of commercial life in towns and handled overseas trade (State, 2009, p. 96).
During the reign of Henry VIII, the Surrender and Regrant Policy was issued by which he persuaded “the Irish lords to give up their lands to the Crown on the guarantee that Henry would give them back again as feudal fiefs” (State, 2009, p.
98). Following her father, Queen Elizabeth aggressively sought religious uniformity and declared herself as the head of the Church of Ireland in 1560. She required
English to be used as a language in the prayer book and “made attendance at the state of Church of Ireland mandatory on pain of a fine” (State, 2009, p. 101). In addition to that, a new policy called plantation was created, which allowed England to transfer the confiscated property from the Catholic landowner to the English settlers, specifically Protestant English.
In the early 16th century, many Protestants arrived in Ireland because of the promise of land by the English government. This occurrence marked the rise of another society called New English. Sentiments were grown in the Catholic
English, or it was now called Old English, for fear of persecution of faith. Therefore, in the following century, the Old English, who shared the same common fear of losing their land as the Gaelic Irish, joined the alliance. According to State (2009), this marked “the first appearance of Irish nationalism in its sectarian form” (p. 112).
However, at that time, England was so powerful that the Catholics were no longer able to keep their landowning aristocracy as their properties were transferred to the
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Protestant upper classes. By 1607, England succeeded in proscribing the Brehon
Law and changing it with English customary law and court system (State, 2009, p.
114).
At the turn of the 18th century, the distinctive feature of Irish society was that unlike “other western European societies, here landowners and senior ruling officials were of a different ethnic background and practiced a different religion from the majority population” (State, 2009, p. 129). In order to maintain Protestant supremacy, Penal Laws was created by the Irish parliament that, as of now, the members were all Protestant. This law made the Catholics lost their rights to participate in most public affairs, such as the right to sit in parliament, to vote and to buy land, to name a few. To promote conversion into Protestants, the government used the education system. The pressure to converse into Protestantism was too great that by the early 18th century, many Catholics converted to the established church.
When the industrial revolution took off in Britain following the invention of steam power, Britain became the world’s first industrial nation in the 1760s. This also affected Ireland’s economy as the demand for Irish grains, dairy products, beef, pork, and mutton were incredibly higher than before. As it is cited:
Irish society became increasingly anglicized, and its economy largely commercialized. Integrated into the developing world of English merchant capitalism, the country experienced economic and demographic expansion, which wrought great changes in the physical landscape of both rural and urban Ireland and in the lifestyle of many, but not all, people. (State, 2009, p. 134)
It was in Ulster that many changes had taken place. Ulster became the most populated place as well as the most prosperous region in Ireland. Dublin was no
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longer become the center of commercial replaced by Belfast. Yet, as mentioned, not all people could enjoy these great changes as stated “throughout the century, the tiny, overwhelmingly Protestant landowning aristocracy remained at the pinnacle of society” (State, 2009, p. 137). Poverty spread especially in the area where the native Irish lived. The only way for them to survive was by planting potatoes and keeping pigs. This condition led them to emigration as there were no other choices for them to gain capital. For the Catholics, the situation was more unpleasant since they had to face Protestant prejudice. However, Catholics who remained in Ireland believed that they had to survive as leaving would mean
“abandonment of one’s family and surrender to greed for material gain” (State,
2009, p. 141). By the end of the 18th century, however, the evidence of communal culture in Ireland began to disappear. English became the standard language alongside Irish which according to State (2009) “paradoxically, help to nurture a rise of pride of Irishness that transcended economic and religious divides” (p. 143).
Unlike the Protestants who lived comfortably in Ireland as the middle- and upper-class, the Irish society in the 19th century was still “based on strong family and local community ties, reflecting a societal characteristic dating back to before the English conquest” (State, 2009, p. 169). They continued to be in warfare, for which they gained their notoriety. This disparity was the basis of the battle between the majority of Catholics to weaken Protestants-based and to break free from
England altogether (State, 2009, p. 166). Yet, the Protestants supported the idea of union with Britain which then was followed by their efforts to convert Catholics by showing that the Catholic’s beliefs were inferior compared to theirs. The campaign
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did not attain success; it had only intensified the prejudice that the Catholics had against the Protestants for wanting to take over their land.
Ireland went through economic hardship that the poor had to survive solely on the potato for food. This became a major issue when the potato failures occurred.
In 1846, the crisis had gone worse and led to a massive exodus which State (2009) noted that “by June 1847, approximately 300,000 destitute people had landed, straining the city’s poor relief facilities” (p. 189). The potato famine changed the perspective of Catholics who were once reluctant to leave Ireland; thus, the population drastically declined and people blamed the British government for not handling the crisis very well. Yet, emigration as pointed out by State (2009) was “a great “safety valve,” siphoning off surplus population” (p. 194). It reduced population pressure which made the country “an unusual and highly stable demographic pattern while eliminating potential sources of social unrest” (State,
2009, p. 194).
Considering the unstable condition of the political and economic situation, since the 17th-century, emigration became a part of the lives of Irish people. By the year 1890, there were as many as 3 million Irish people who lived abroad (State,
2009, p. 194). In Ireland itself, the conditions after the potato famine drove many people from rural to urban areas; therefore, many considered to conform the English language as opposed to Irish. In the 19th century, Ireland finally could taste the technological innovations that dramatically changed the society into the modern industrial one. However, this was only occurred in the north, while people in the south, as cited by State (2009) “remained essentially what it had always been, a
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society in which most laborers were engaged in agriculture or casual rural work”
(p. 204).
Meanwhile, the Irish who lived abroad never forgot their sense of nationalism which was aroused by their hatred toward the English government which had always been oppressive and made them suffer from poverty. The Irish
Republican Brotherhood (IRB) was established in Dublin in March 1859 as well as in New York City in April 1859 (State, 2009, p. 198). IRB would continually propose independence. They strove for the creation of a republic and wanted to get rid of the English government.
At the start of the World War, they found an opportunity to launch a riot against the English government. On the morning of April 24, the Easter Rising took off. Initially, the public did not seem amused by this action. However, when the
English government began arresting and killing people who they assumed were involved without strong evidence, the public’s opinion changed. Fueled by this resentment, the efforts to be free from England's governments continued after
World War ended. Finally, on December 6, 1921, the Irish Free State was created, which divided Ireland into two separate governments. The South was granted more freedom from the English government and the one in the North, which went by the name of Northern Ireland and was comprised by the majority of Protestants, was still under the rule of the Crown.
This separation, however, did not meet the expectation of both sides. The
Anglo-Irish Treaty was issued in 1921, which granted far more freedom for the
South (State, 2009, p. 246). The North’s government, on the other hand, made sure
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to make the Catholic unionist remained a minority, thus as stated “sectarian violence, especially in Belfast, swelled and subsided, but it was never altogether absent” (State, 2009, p. 274). There was still hope from the Catholics in the North that this separation would end and Ireland became one country.
The South’s government strove to create an identity to distance themselves from England. They made Irish an official language which became a compulsory subject in school; hence the Irish-language literature emerged as the effect of this encouragement from the government. However, their attempt to break free completely from England proved impossible as their economy was still linked closely to the Britain market. In fact, the South struggled in economic as they tried
“cherishing a backward-looking, conservative image of Ireland rooted in a rural, peasant-based way of life” (State, 2009, p. 247). The society, as asserted by State
(2009), remained “staid, conventionally conservative, and poor” (p. 282). Economy stagnation was proved by the high number of Irish who emigrated and also the population number that remained the same.
In 1949 the South now finally be called as Republic of Ireland (State, 2009, p. 247). Struggling to grow its economy, the government eventually launched a policy to attract investment from foreign countries. Starting from the 1960s, Ireland experienced massive economic growth. The number of emigration began to slow and the population began to grow. The gap in living standards between the South and the North started to narrow and the opportunity to get an education was high.
As television arrived, it signified that the society now changed into a consumer society (State, 2009, p. 284). However, facing the fears of social and cultural
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changes, the Catholic Church that still heavily influencing the government, sought out censorship which they believed would maintain the country’s conservative values. Although devotion to Catholicism remained strong, in the 1970s to 1980s, the conservative values began to decrease as Ireland's society was more progressive following other Western European countries.
In the 21st century, both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland made rapid development. After years of sectarian conflict between Protestants and
Catholics, The Good Friday agreement issued in 1998 gave hope for a better society that had mutual respect for one another (State, 2009, p. 345). The Republic of
Ireland faced another economic boom in the late 1990s which gained them a name as “Celtic Tiger”. Their attempt to pull away from the United Kingdom was granted when they joined the European Union. Society was no longer rooted in “a solid sense of place that is localized and family based” (State, 2009, p. 342). The globalization affected the Irish views that Catholic Church eventually could no longer be authoritative in controlling the moral issues in the country. The ban on getting abortion, contraceptives, and divorce, as well as persecution on being homosexual, were all being challenged and eventually were eliminated.
D. Review of Begrudgery in Irish Society
Begrudgery is a character that is central to people in Ireland; thus, the term begrudger is coined exclusively to identify this tendency of the Irish people (Lee,
1989, pp. 645–646). According to Masterson (1979) the distinctive feature of this quality is resentment (p. 157). In discussing the character of begrudger, the French
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word ressentiment borrowed from the work of Nietzsche is used in order to have a better understanding. The aspects of ressentiment include thirst for revenge and the feeling of envy.
Ressentiment can only arise if these emotions are particularly powerful and yet must be suppressed because they are coupled with the feeling that one is unable to act them out – either because of weakness, physical or mental, or because of fear. (Scheler as cited in Masterson, 1979, p. 158)
The unresolved feeling of impotence, fear, anxiety and intimidation are seen as the main reason ressentiment appears. In response to this, begrudgers tend to look out for something negative from people who presumably are more successful compared to them. This tendency has always been a character that is inevitably innate for the Irish. However, following the arrival of television in the 1960s and therefore the changing of society from agricultural to consumerism society makes begrudgery more apparent than before.
As stated by Lee (1989) the Irish government have been clung to build
Ireland based on the sense of community in which the roles of each person in the society are set and it is proved to be successful in making people have the feeling of belonging in society (p. 643). Yet, in the 1960s, this image of traditional Ireland is challenged as “men no longer look to the warmth of fellowship, but seek all the time to acquire good, to compete for success, to appear dominant” (McCarthy as cited in Lee, 1989, p. 644). In the rise of those needs, the economic stagnation in
Ireland becomes the place for begrudgers to flourish. Government cannot provide jobs for people to strive and fulfill their dreams. In the workplace, promotion is given according to seniority rather than capability. This may seem to work in
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dampening jealousy, but it also means that there is a lack of mobility. Thus, in this stunted society, the society will see any successful person as a rival.
In a stunted society, one man’s gain did tend to be another man’s loss. Winners could flourish only at the expense of losers. Status depended not only on rising oneself, but on preventing others from rising. For many, keeping the other fellow down offered the surest defence of their own position. (Lee, 1989, p. 646)
The high number of emigration in Ireland also plays a part for begrudgery to rapidly develop in Ireland. The image of traditional Ireland society, as mentioned before, can also be described as an attempt for the government “to skillfully socialising the emigrants into mute resignation to their fate” (Lee, 1989, p. 644).
Emigration postulates as a means to balance the number of people in the country by which the government comfort anyone staying in the country that they can provide a good life for its people. The Church helps establish morality that emphasizes the perils of sex (Lee, 1989, p. 645) from which the control of the population can be handled and therefore, the government can keep the natural order of things in place.
However, at another glance, emigration gives a rather complication when the people staying in the country have to face economic sluggishness which becomes the very reason others want to go abroad. As the society depends on inheritance pattern, there is no way for people remained in the country to strive for their own success “the begrudger mentality did derive fairly rationally from a mercantilist concept of the size of the status cake. The size of the cake was more or less fixed in more or less stagnating communities and in small institutions” (Lee,
1989, p. 646). This affects the Irish people's behavior to accept the success of other
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Irish abroad, but when it comes to the local Irish, they would see the success as a danger that could disturb the order of things.
E. Theoretical Framework
This thesis, titled Irish Begrudgery as Reflected in Sally Rooney’s Normal
People, focuses on solving two problems that previously have been formulated. The first problem is how the characters and society are described in the novel. The second one is how Irish begrudgery is depicted in the novel through the characters.
In answering the problems, the researcher uses the theory of setting by
Richard Gill and the theory of characterization by Richard Taylor. The theory of setting is used to describe the main characters’ social setting, such as the families, friends, and class in the novel as well as to reveal the customs, beliefs and rules of behavior that show the identity of the Irish society. The theory of characterization is used to unveil the characteristics of the main characters that depict begrudgery in the novel. The researcher traces the history of Irish society, particularly about begrudgery prior to answering the problem formulation. Thus, the researcher has sufficient information regarding the topic discussed to support the analysis.
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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object analyzed in this study is Sally Rooney’s novel titled Normal
People. Normal People was first published by Faber & Faber in 2018. This 266- pages novel is the second novel written by Rooney following her successful debut in 2017. Rooney, who currently lives in Dublin, portrays present-day Ireland in both of her novels. She is proclaimed as a gifted literary voice in this generation.
The publication of Normal People is followed by ton of praises by the critics. The novel is said to be the next classic literary work as it portrays precisely the problems of the young generation in the present day. The novel also has been longlisted for The Man Booker Prize in 2018 and declared as the novel of the year by British Book Awards in 2020 (The British Book Awards 2020, 2020; The Man
Booker Prize 2018, 2020). In 2020, Normal People is adapted into an Emmy nominated series by BBC (Normal People’s Awards & Nominations, 2020).
Normal People is a story of an on-off relationship between the two main characters, Connell Waldron and Marianne Sheridan. Rooney first sets the story in a small town named Carricklea, County Sligo. The relationship starts when Connell picks up her mother, who cleans Marianne’s house for a living. Yet, Connell insists that they pretend not knowing each other at school. The reason is simply that
Connell, who is way more popular than Marianne, does not want to be
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seen having any relationship with her. The relationship ends when they graduate from high school.
Connell and Marianne both move to Dublin to attend university at Trinity
College. In Dublin, the condition is reversed. Marianne, who used to be a school’s pariah, now has friends and popular among the guys. On the contrary, Connell, who was once liked by everyone, struggles to adapt. As they help each other overcome the hardship in life, the romance between them grows back. In the end, Normal
People also highlights how the existence of Connell and Marianne in each other’s life can change them into a better version of themselves.
B. Approach of the Study
Rohrberger & Woods (1971) states that the socio-historical approach concerns how literature reflects the attitudes and actions of the society that produced it. Hence, there is a necessity to conduct an investigation toward the social milieu represented in the works created (p. 9). In understanding the social milieu in the literary work, the critics should have historical knowledge about the society itself.
The major ideas discussed in this study are the identity of society, which is reflected in the novel, and its effect on the attitude and the way of thinking of the characters. As mentioned before, historical information is needed in order to understand the novel better. Therefore, the socio-historical approach is the most appropriate to be used in analyzing the novel.
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C. Method of the Study
In conducting this study, the researcher used library research to gather information from books that provided reliable resources to analyze the object of study. The researcher also made use of the internet to find other sources, such as journal articles written by experts. Rooney’s novel titled Normal People is the primary source of this study. The secondary sources are books covering the theories used in this study, namely Gill’s Mastering English Literature (1996) and Taylor’s
Understanding the Elements of Literature: Its Forms, Techniques and Cultural
Conventions (1981). In addition to that, this research used Reading and Writing
About Literature (1971) written by Rohrberger and Woods as well as State’s A Brief
History of Ireland (2009), Lee’s Ireland, 1912-1985: Politics and Society (1989), and a journal article by Masterson titled The Concept of Resentment (1979). All these sources helped the researcher in answering the problems that had been formulated before.
Since the novel Normal People is the primary source in this study, the researcher read it several times. This way, the researcher had better understandings to analyze the novel. Then, the researcher specified the topic and organized the problem formulation. After formulating the problems, the researchers searched for books and journal articles that were needed to solve the problems. The next step was collecting the data to support the analysis.
Lastly, the researcher started to analyze the novel by examining all the data and information gathered using the theory of setting and theory of characterization.
The socio-historical approach was applied to help the researcher scrutinized the
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condition of Irish society and the historical background that the roots of begrudgery were stemmed from. All these steps taken were then followed by drawing a conclusion in order to complete the research.
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter comprises of two parts. The first part answers the first research question by analyzing the social context of the main characters that are deemed important such as the families, friends, and class, as well as the customs, beliefs and rules in the society (Gill, 1996, p. 148). The last part examines how begrudgery is represented through the characters by applying the theory of characterization
(Taylor, 1981, p. 62).
A. Description of the Characters and Society in Normal People
By applying the theory of setting, it is found that the social context of the two main characters, such as the families and friends, has significant differences.
Whilst, the class in which the characters are born helps in revealing the values that the society has.
1. The Characters
Connell grows up with a loving and doting mother, Lorraine. She gave birth to Connell while still in high school and gave up her education in order to raise
Connell by herself. His father is once mentioned in the novel but is never discussed or shown as a character, as stated “no one except Lorraine knows who Connell’s father is. She says he can ask any time he wants to know, but he really doesn’t care to” (Rooney, 2019, p. 46).
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The Sheridan hires Lorraine to clean their mansion. Although she is just an employee in Marianne’s house, Lorraine has a close relationship with Marianne as she often tries to persuade Connell to be more friendly to Marianne whenever he comes to pick her up from work: “you could be a bit nicer to her, she says. She doesn’t exactly have an easy time of it in school” (Rooney, 2019, p. 8). Later in the story, Lorraine leaves her job in Sheridan’s house and makes money as a full-time cleaner in a hotel, yet she remains very caring to Marianne whenever she bumps into her in public and even welcomes her to stay during Christmas.
Lorraine is depicted as a good mother, despite being a single parent. Connell and Lorraine have a very healthy mother and son relationship. She is caring, empathetic, and has an open-minded view about life, as seen when she warns
Connell to use protection whenever he engages in sexual intercourse rather than completely against it (Rooney, 2019, p. 22) and lets Connell picks whatever major he wants to study in university (Rooney, 2019, p. 48). Though she makes sure to have her son’s back, she does not hold back to tell Connell when he makes a wrong decision. She is furious with Connell when she knows that he sleeps with Marianne but does not ask her to the school’s Debs.
People in school doesn’t like her, do they? says Lorraine. So I suppose you were afraid of what they would say about you, if they found out. He doesn’t respond. Well, I’ll tell you what I have to say about you, Lorraine says. I think you’re a disgrace. I’m ashamed of you. (Rooney, 2019, p. 56)
Marianne, on the other hand, has a relatively distant relationship with her mother, Denise. Denise is illustrated in the story as a cold and dismissive mother.
She never praises Marianne’s good grade and rather acts as if Marianne does not
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deserve to be praised for it, as shown when Marianne is being spitted on by her older brother after a big family dinner where she receives compliments over her perfect exam results by the other members of the family:
Denise gave a tight-lipped smile. If you can’t handle a little sibling rivalry, I don’t know you’re going to manage adult life, darling, she said. Let’s see how it goes. At this, Denise struck the kitchen table with her open palm. Marianne flinched, but didn’t look up, didn’t let go of the envelope. You think you’re special, do you? said Denise. Marianne let her eyes close. No, she said. I don’t. (Rooney, 2019, p. 143)
The evidence also shows that Denise is permissive on how Marianne’s older brother, Alan, behaves toward Marianne. As opposed to Marianne, Alan is fairly popular. He has social life and friends. Marianne is, in fact, often mocked by him because of her lack of friends. Alan is very abusive, verbally and physically, toward
Marianne, which resembles their late father behavior as mentioned by Marianne:
My dad used to hit my mum, she says. For a few seconds, which seems like an unbelievably long time, Connell says nothing. Then he says: Jesus. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that. It’s okay, she says. Did he ever hit you? Sometimes. (Rooney, 2019, p. 43)
As it is said earlier, by acting dismissive, Denise makes the situation worse since her action is perceived to imply that Marianne deserves to be treated that way by Alan: “Denise decided a long time ago that it is acceptable for men to use aggression towards Marianne as a way of expressing themselves” (Rooney, 2019, p. 65). However, there is an interesting remark coming from Lorraine, who describes Alan as someone who has a weak personality. It is shown when Connell confronts Alan after he hurts Marianne. At first, Alan denies that he has hurt
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Marianne, but when Connell corners him and threatens to kill him if he lays his hand on Marianne again, he begins to cry (Rooney, 2019, pp. 251–252).
Despite these facts, it is stated in the novel that Connell’s big family, the
Waldrons, has a notorious image in Carricklea. His mother had him when she was still in her teenage years, one of his uncles has been in prison, and another one has almost died because of a motorcycle crash; Marianne’s family, on the other hand, is seen as a respectable and wealthy family (Rooney, 2019, p. 32).
The differences between Connell Waldron and Marianne Sheridan also shows in their social life. Back in their hometown, Carricklea, Connell has a group of friends in high school. The group consists of two boys named Rob and Eric as well as three girls Rachel, Karen, and Lisa. Rob and Eric are characterized as typical boys in high school who enjoy chatting about sports and girls. At first glance,
Connell can seemingly blend in with the group in which he is regarded as a good guy. Even Rachel, who is considered the most popular girl in school, is attracted to him.
However, the story reveals that Connell actually feels that he cannot be himself around his friends, as implied “I would say in school I sometimes had that feeling of isolation or whatever” (Rooney, 2019, p. 216). Rob and Eric are depicted as an airhead, which is denoted by the conversation between Marianne and Connell as follows:
She sat behind him and asked him if his friends Eric and Rob knew that he read so much outside school. They wouldn’t be interested in that stuff, he said. You mean they’re not interested in the world around them.
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Connell made the face he always made when she criticised his friends, an inexpressive frown. Not in the same way, he said. They have their own interests. I don’t think they’d be reading books about racism and all that. Right, they’re too busy bragging about who they’re having sex with, she said. (Rooney, 2019, p. 14)
Marianne becomes an easy target for bullying by Connell’s friends as she does not have any friends at all in school. Eric goes as far as making fun of
Marianne’s appearance in public (Rooney, 2019, p. 36). In addition to that, the most disturbing act that one of these boys makes is when Rob shows a naked picture of
Lisa on his phone to Eric and Connell in which Eric reacts as disturbing by enjoying looking at the picture (Rooney, 2019, p. 76).
Among the girls in the group, Karen and Lisa are considerably friendly toward Marianne. They do neither hang out with her inside nor outside of school, but Lisa expresses disapproval of the mean behaviors which are often addressed to
Marianne (Rooney, 2019, p. 53), while Karen invites Marianne to a party and dances with her (Rooney, 2019, p. 37). Rachel, on the other hand, acts the meanest.
During the aforementioned party, in which Marianne happens to be molested by a guy at the bar, Rachel acts indifferent toward her. She behaves as if Marianne is being dramatic over a joke (Rooney, 2019, pp. 40–41). The hate that Rachel projects to Marianne can be seen as jealousy since she notices that Connell has feelings for
Marianne instead of her. Though at the end of high school Connell and Rachel finally become a pair, the relationship does not last long.
Struggling to make friends in high school, Marianne becomes popular once she enters university (Rooney, 2019, p. 72). The first Marianne’s boyfriend that is introduced in the story is Gareth. Gareth is characterized as a smart and popular
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guy, as stated in the novel “everyone seems to know him... He’s extroverted. He’s one of these campus celebrities” (Rooney, 2019, p. 73). Gareth enjoys talking about politics and even becomes a host of a college party where Connell is also invited and meets Marianne for the first time after graduating from high school. Marianne becomes close to some of the girls in the university; the most mentioned are Peggy and Joanna.
Joanna is depicted as a serious, bright and ambitious person, given that in the story, it is said that she already planned her final-year thesis though she just entered the university (Rooney, 2019, p. 84). In contrast to Joanna, Peggy is portrayed as a more relaxed and wild person. There is no description of her intelligence in the story, though Joanna once remarks about Peggy having an “idle mind” (Rooney, 2019, p. 108). Unlike Joanna, Peggy pictures her future as follows
“she said she would be married to a Russian oligarch by then anyway and she didn’t care how many girlfriends he had” (Rooney, 2019, p. 85). Peggy can be perceived as straightforward and ignorant, which is shown twice in the novel. First, when she comments on Connell’s boring outfit despite having an awareness of Connell’s economic background (Rooney, 2019, p. 85). Second, when she makes Connell uncomfortable by asking him to involve in a threesome with her and Marianne
(Rooney, 2019, p. 100).
After breaking up with Gareth, Marianne forms a romantic relationship with one of his male friends, Jamie. Throughout the story, Jamie is intimidated by
Connell and jealous of Connell’s closeness to Marianne. Jamie is the first guy that
Marianne has a sadistic relationship with. He enjoys being the person in charge and
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puts Marianne as a submissive (Rooney, 2019, p. 131). Jamie also displays a pompous character, as shown in the novel:
Jamie didn’t sit the exams because he knew he wouldn’t pass them if he did. Everyone in the room knows this also. He’s trying to brag, but he lacks the self-awareness to understand that what he’s saying is legible as bragging, and that no one believes the brag anyway. (Rooney, 2019, p. 138)
Furthermore, this character of Jamie also appears when Connell is being robbed and he comments on the robbery as such:
Fucking lowlife scum, says Jamie. Who, me? Connell says. That’s not very nice. We can’t all go to private school, you know. … I was talking about the guy that robbed you, says Jamie. And he was probably stealing to buy drugs, by the way, that’s what most of them do. … Oh well, he says. It’s not an easy life out there for a drug addict. No, indeed, says Joanna. They could always try, I don’t know, giving up drugs? says Jamie. Connell laughs and says: Yeah, I’m sure they’ve just never thought of that. (Rooney, 2019, p. 145)
Just before the relationship ends, Jamie’s temperamental personality shows in the story as he intentionally drops a glass during a fight with Marianne and mockingly says that she has a mental condition that needs to be helped (Rooney,
2019, p. 179). After that, not only Marianne’s relationship with Jamie falls off, but also her friendship with Peggy, who actually has feelings for Jamie and decides to side with him (Rooney, 2019, p. 193).
Joanna is the only one who sticks around even after other people seem reluctant to befriend Marianne because there is a rumor about Marianne’s odd sexual behavior (Rooney, 2019, p. 215). In a conversation between Joanna and
Marianne, Joanna even says:
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You were the only one I got on with. Frankly, I don’t think Jamie or Peggy are particularly good people. It’s not my business if you want to be friends with them, that’s just my opinion. … Yeah. I think in your better judgement you did realise how obnoxious they were. But it was easier for me because they never really liked me that much. (Rooney, 2019, p. 194)
As opposed to Marianne, Connell does not have anyone with whom he feels connected with. The only friend he has is his roommate, Niall. Niall comes from
Belfast and shares the same view about how they perceive Dublin’s people, particularly those who get into Trinity, as weird (Rooney, 2019, p. 70). Niall also the one who later helps Connell to overcome his depression by suggesting to talk with a college counselor (Rooney, 2019, p. 201 and p. 215). During his college years, Connell dates few girls. The last relationship that he has in college is with a girl named Helen Brophy. Helen is said to be popular in high school like Connell
(Rooney, 2019, p. 164), though her popularity in university is never explained. She is caring and nice, but she is not as open-minded and sometimes can be a little bit judgmental, as shown in her opinion about Marianne:
Every time we see her at a party she’s always flirting with like ten different guys, said Helen. Talk about craving male approval. … Connell smiled and said: Yeah. She wasn’t like that in school at all. You mean she didn’t act so slutty? said Helen. … He knew that Helen was a nice person, but he forgot sometimes how old- fashioned her values were. (Rooney, 2019, p. 168)
When she is asked to accompany Connell to Rob’s funeral in Carricklea, as they are preparing to go to the church, Helen compliments Connell’s look, which he finds very insensitive at times like that (Rooney, 2019, p. 209). After the funeral, she confronts Connell about him staring at Marianne and her feeling of being left out as she feels that Connell does not introduce her to any of his friends (Rooney,
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2019, p. 213). Throughout the story, Helen is shown acting very jealous of
Marianne.
To sum up, the discussion above shows that Connell grows up in a relatively ideal home. Despite Lorraine is a single mother and has to abandon her education and works as a cleaner, she is more than capable of raising Connell on her own.
Meanwhile, in contrast to the good reputation people give to Marianne’s family,
Marianne has to endure living surrounded by abusive people at home. Denise is dismissive toward Marianne, while Alan constantly abuses Marianne both through his words and aggressive physical acts.
Moreover, as mentioned in the discussion, Connell appears to have many friends at school. He has a circle of friends that he always hangs out with, though it consists of people he cannot fully relate to or talk with. Yet, moving to Dublin, he has not been able to have as many friends like he used to. Whereas in Marianne’s case, it is only when she finally moves to Dublin that she can meet someone whose interests and views are similar to her.
2. The Society
The society in which Connell and Marianne spend most of their adolescent years is portrayed with some distinguishable characters compared to Dublin. In
Carricklea, the community can be classified as a close-knit community, as implied when Marianne describes that people in Carricklea are aware of her family’s reputation as well as Connell’s (Rooney, 2019, p. 32). As the only breadwinner,
Lorraine works as a cleaner for Marianne’s family. Nevertheless, no one at school
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really makes these facts a big deal. One of Connell’s friends, Rob, once raises this topic in their conversation:
… Rob started asking questions about Connell’s mother working in Marianne’s house... Would you ever go in there yourself? Rob said. Into the mansion. … I’ve been in there few times, yeah, he said. What’s it like inside? He shrugged. I don’t know, he said. Big, obviously. What’s she like in her natural habitat? Rob said. I don’t know. I’d say she thinks of you as her butler, does she? … I doubt it, Connell said. But your mam is her housemaid, isn’t she? Well, she’s just a cleaner. She’s only there like twice a week, I don’t think they interact much. Does Marianne not have a little bell she would ring to get her attention, no? Rob said. (Rooney, 2019, pp. 22–23)
The conversation above infers that Rob is more interested in knowing how
Marianne behaves rather than making fun of Connell. In addition to that, this evidence also shows how people describe Marianne’s house as a mansion which signifies to emphasize how grand it is. Marianne’s parents work as a solicitor
(Rooney, 2019, p. 32); hence they can afford to live more comfortably.
There is no direct description that explains others’ economic backgrounds.
However, it is conveyed in the story that others, such as Rob and Eric, are more well-off by how they dress up for a party, as described by Marianne when comparing Connell’s look to the other guys: “he’s dressed in a white button-down shirt, the same Adidas sneakers he wears everywhere. The other boys are wearing shirts too, but more formal-looking, shinier, and worn with leather dress shoes”
(Rooney, 2019, p. 37). Moreover, when Connell goes to the school’s Debs with
Rachel, he gives a detail about the dress that Rachel wears as “an extravagantly
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expensive dress” (Rooney, 2019, p. 76). Nonetheless, none of these matter in placing someone on the social ladder at school. Connell, who comes from a relatively poor economic background, is on the top of this social ladder, while
Marianne, as quoted, “sees herself at the very bottom of the ladder” (Rooney, 2019, p. 29). The story even mentions that nobody ever claims to be the most or less popular in the school. Rachel, as said the most popular one, is never seen to brag or even mention it.
Everyone knows that Rachel is the most popular girl in school, but no one is allowed to say this. Instead everyone has to pretend not to notice that their social lives are arranged hierarchically, with certain people at the top, some jostling at mid-level, and others lower down. (Rooney, 2019, p. 29)
Likewise, Marianne’s older brother, Alan, never boasts his family’s wealth.
On the contrary, Alan is described as acting “cringing and sycophantic” (Rooney,
2019, p. 59) around other people, which implies that he wants to blend in with the crowd, not stand out. Alan also does not show any problem with befriending his cleaning lady’s son. In fact, albeit there is no evidence that shows Alan and Connell have ever talked, Alan insists that he is a friend of Connell (Rooney, 2019, p. 59).
The reason Marianne becomes an object of resentment in school, as asserted in the story, is that no one really knows Marianne (Rooney, 2019, p. 6).
She is deemed a stranger since no one has ever been friends with her. Thus, with the knowledge of Marianne’s family economic background and her superior intelligence, other students make her the pariah at school.
At home, the same situation occurs to Marianne. Her mother, Denise, does not understand her and even utters the word ‘special’ to describe Marianne and believes that Marianne “lacks ‘warmth’, by which she means the ability to beg for
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love from people who hate her” (Rooney, 2019, p. 65). At the same time, Alan seems to hide the fact that he is intimidated by Marianne’s intelligence by acting abusive and constantly making fun of her not having a social life.
Moving to Dublin, there is a great shift in how people around Connell and
Marianne behave and act. The society is more diverse, as it is shown by the appearances of Connell’s roommate, Niall, who comes from Belfast and two
Portuguese students whom Connell shares the home with (Rooney, 2019, p. 70).
Back at home in Carricklea, Connell is not conscious of the difference between his economic background to his friends. However, in Dublin, Connell is fully aware of this as everyone is nicely dressed. Thus, as quoted, “it forces him to acknowledge that his own clothes are cheap and unfashionable” (Rooney, 2019, p. 70). One of
Marianne’s friends, Peggy, once brings up this subject into a conversation:
He wears nice clothes, volunteered Joanna. Not really, said Peggy. I mean, he has a look, but it’s just tracksuits most of the time. I doubt he even owns a suit. … Well, isn’t he from a fairly working-class background? said Joanna. That’s so oversensitive, Peggy said. I can’t criticise someone’s dress because of their socio-economic status? Come on. No, that’s not what she meant, said Marianne. Because you know, we’re all actually very nice to him, said Peggy. (Rooney, 2019, pp. 85–86)
As implied in the quotation above, Marianne is seemingly succeeded in making friends who also happen to come from an affluent family. Yet, as Connell describes his classmates who are mostly opinionated and vocal, “it’s easy for them to have opinions, and to express them with confidence. They don’t worry about appearing ignorant or conceited” (Rooney, 2019, p. 68), it also applies to define people who are in Marianne’s inner circle, such as Jamie and Peggy. Regardless,
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when Connell hangs out with Marianne’s friends, his economic background does not become a big issue; they even help Connell find jobs in Dublin. Instead, they find that Connell’s silence bothers them. As Connell is “stubbornly quiet …, and not interested in showing off how many books he has read or how many wars he knows about” (Rooney, 2019, p. 89), Marianne’s friends assume that Connell is not interesting and smart.
When both Connell and Marianne are granted a scholarship from the university, for Connell, the money and accommodation that the scholarship provides is his ticket to more secure life in Dublin (Rooney, 2019, p. 159). Whereas
Marianne uses it rather for a “self-esteem boost, a happy confirmation of what she has always believed about herself anyway: that she’s special” (Rooney, 2019, p.
159). For Marianne and her friends like Jamie, whose father is described as a very important person in Ireland who is also infamous for causing a financial crisis
(Rooney, 2019, p. 124), the scholarship is a matter of reputation for which they can affirm their superior intelligence.
From all the evidence mentioned, it is concluded that both people in
Carricklea and Dublin try to look over someone’s economic background as a means to value people or put them on the social ladder. Yet, in Carricklea, people rather keep their heads low to not direct attention to their superiority which is shown in
Rachel and Alan’s case. Whether it is popularity, wealth, or intelligence, the one who owns it does not boast it. The people themselves ignore that there is a visible social ladder which implies that the society values people who can blend in.
Whereas, in Dublin, the people accept anyone who voices their opinion rather than
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be silent, though the people can also seem to be arrogant and ignorant. Bragging about their wealth as well as intelligence is all tolerable. Albeit the social ladder is also nonexistent, people still openly show their superiority.
B. Depiction of Irish Begrudgery through Characters of Normal People
The social context that is previously analyzed determines the mindset and attitude of the characters (Taylor, 1981, p. 62). Therefore, in this part, the researcher elaborates the analysis from the first research question and the information of Irish begrudgery gathered previously. By doing that and applying the theory of characterization, the research finds that through Marianne Sheridan’s character, begrudgery that is projected by others to her heavily affects Marianne’s way of behaving and seeing herself. Whereby in Connell Waldron’s character, begrudgery does not only take effect in his behavior, but through certain circumstances, some aspects of begrudgery appear in himself.
1. Depiction of Begrudgery in Marianne Sheridan
Marianne is depicted as a very bright student. At home, she is more reserved and quiet. However, at school, she acts noncompliance to school’s rules as implied when she challenges a History teacher at class: “You’re not learning if you’re staring out the window daydreaming, Mr Kerrigan said. Marianne, who had lost her temper by then, snapped back: Don’t delude yourself, I have nothing to learn from you” (Rooney, 2019, p. 13). She enjoys involving herself in arguments with her friends and is aware that she is “smarter than everyone” (Rooney, 2019, p. 2) at
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school. Therefore, people at school do not like her very much as she is considered obnoxious and self-righteous.
Being very hard to befriend, Marianne has never had friends at school. For this reason, Alan always makes Marianne an object of ridicule as she does not have a social life. Alan is aware of Marianne’s intelligence and actually is intimidated by it, as shown in the quotation below:
One night, after their aunt and uncle left, Alan followed Marianne down to the kitchen, where she had taken their empty cups of tea. State of you, he said. Bragging about your exam results. … I didn’t bring it up, she said. They did. If that’s all you have to brag about in your life I feel sorry for you, said Alan. … Are you listening to me? said Alan. Yes, you feel sorry for me, I’m listening. You’re fucking pathetic, so you are. Message received, she said. … Do you think you’re smarter than me? he said. She ran the wet sponge around the inside of the teacup. That’s a strange question, she said. I don’t know, I’ve never thought about it. Well, you’re not, he said. Okay, fair enough. Okay, fair enough, he repeated in a cringing, girlish voice. No wonder you have no friends, you can’t even have a normal conversation. (Rooney, 2019, pp. 141–142)
As the closest and the most intimate people in someone’s life, the family unfortunately also provides a fertile place in which begrudgery can flourish
(Masterson, 1979, p. 161). It is shown that Alan tries to regard himself as superior since he has more friends; hence he always brings up the fact that Marianne has no one to befriend whenever he starts an argument with her. This evidence coincides with Masterson’s statement that begrudgery is closely linked to constant comparison from which people like Alan are inevitably haunted by their own
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inferiority (Masterson, 1979, pp. 159–160). Alan creates this obscure achievement that having as many friends is more important than having a good grade. Though this does not necessarily wrong, Alan projected attitude to Marianne reflects the mentality of begrudger. Lee (1989) suggests that “winners could only flourish only at the expense of losers. Status depended not only rising oneself, but on preventing others from rising. For many, keeping other fellow down offered the surest defence of their own position” (p. 646). To sustain his status as the winner in the family, he always drags Marianne down whenever there is a chance, which he eventually attained since Marianne thinks of herself as a loser (Rooney, 2019, p. 148).
Moreover, despite the fact that Marianne is smart and most of the time achieves the best grade at school, her mom, Denise, does not seem to be proud or even puts a slight effort to recognize it. Whenever Alan and Marianne have arguments in front of Denise, she responses nonchalantly. Denise indicates that even if Marianne has not done anything remotely wrong, while Alan is always reacting aggressively with no apparent reason, Marianne is the more troubled one.
She goes as far as to point out that Marianne may not be able to survive in real life since she has not been able to survive a sibling rivalry and when Alan tells Marianne to kill herself in front of Denise, she responds with “… oh, don’t encourage her”
(Rooney, 2019, p. 182).
In response to these behaviors she received at home, Marianne develops a feeling of being unworthy as she believes that her family hates her (Rooney, 2019, p. 181). Throughout her childhood and early adolescent years, she has been trying to avoid any hostile situations by becoming more accepting of and not confronting
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whatever Alan or Denise says or do to her. However, in contrast to what she aims to, none of those attempts seem to work out but rather puts her in a much worse place.
She spent much of her childhood and adolescence planning elaborate schemes to remove herself from family conflict: staying completely silent, keeping her face and body expressionless and immobile, wordlessly leaving the room and making her way to her bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her. Locking herself in the toilet. Leaving the house for an indefinite number of hours and sitting in the school car park by herself. None of these strategies had ever proven successful. In fact, her tactics only seemed to increase the possibility that she would be punished as the primary instigator. (Rooney, 2019, p. 195)
As begrudgery can make the perception of what good and bad reflected in society distorted (Masterson, 1979, p. 162), Marianne believes that she is a bad person; thus, she deserves to be treated badly by others, as quoted: “Maybe I want to be treated badly, she says. I don’t know. Sometimes I think I deserve bad things because I’m a bad person” (Rooney, 2019, p. 133). It is mentioned earlier that the reason why people at school seem reluctant to befriend Marianne is that she is likely to be perceived as arrogant. Marianne simply does not bother to what other people think about her. Therefore, she is not afraid to voice her opinion as she considers that people at school are ignorant. In addition to that, Marianne also justifies her behavior by thinking that school is actually making her feeling imprisoned.
Marianne’s classmates all seem to like school so much and find it normal. To dress in the same uniform every day, to comply at all times with the arbitrary rules, to be scrutinised and have no sense of the school as an oppressive environment. (Rooney, 2019, p. 12)
It is interesting to see that at first, people see her as an “object of disgust”
(Rooney, 2019, p. 3) when Marianne wears a uniform. Yet, as Marianne dons a dress to attend a school fundraising party, people instantly recognize her beauty.
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Even Eric, who has mocked her appearance in front of everyone before, is seen to appreciate and compliment her look, which makes Marianne the center of attention as everyone else notices it.
Look at you, Marianne, says Eric. She can’t tell immediately whether he’s being sincere or mocking. All the boys are looking at her now except Connell. I’m serious, Eric says. Great dress, very sexy. (Rooney, 2019, p. 37)
This signifies that Marianne’s appearance is actually not that bad to earn the title of “the ugliest girl in school” (Rooney, 2019, p. 24). At that party, Connell cannot hide his attraction toward Marianne as he watches her dancing all night; hence Rachel is jealous and acts horribly to Marianne. Scheler posits that people with ressentiment, by which begrudgery can also be identified to, express themselves as follows: “A is affirmed, valued and praised not for its own intrinsic quality, but with unverbalised intention of denying, devaluating and denigrating B.
A is “played off” against B” (Scheler as cited in Masterson, 1979, p. 161). Since there is no apparent social ladder at school, Rachel cannot explicitly say that she is the most popular girl and compares herself to Marianne. Thus, after the party, it is seen that she does not deny that Marianne looks pretty, but she is also trying to put off the topic regarding Marianne’s appearance by saying that she has a mental illness. This behavior exhibits a tendency in which people with a begrudgery mentality do not deny the eminent values of other people, yet they try to assure themselves that by lacking other alleged important values, the earlier values are not worthy of being appraised (Masterson, 1979, p. 162).
According to Graf (2015) begrudgery is driven by power (p. 2). In accordance with that, since Connell is the object that Rachel and Marianne both are
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trying to be closed with, Rachel, who previously has the upper hand to win Connell, is intimidated by the sudden turning of events that makes Marianne an eligible opponent or, as Graf (2015) puts it: “it is the feeling that arises when the smaller fish begin to resent the slightly larger fish that dominate their tiny pond” (p. 3). For
Marianne’s superiority in wealth as well as intelligence are already well known by people at school, Rachel picks out Marianne’s mental being to be the feature that is intended to humiliate her. With no one can verify either the rumor about Marianne’s mental health is true or not, this evidence, in fact, matches how begrudgery tends to show itself in the form of verbal accusation or gossip (Graf, 2016, p. 64).
Albeit Marianne can appear as a strong individual at school, she is actually very vulnerable. Since she believes that everyone around her in Carricklea hates her, she perceives herself as an outcast and finds that she may not belong there, as it is stated in the following quotation: “Marianne wonders what it would be like to belong here, to walk down the street greeting people and smiling. To feel that life was happening here, in this place, and not somewhere else far away” (Rooney,
2019, p. 64). Marianne’s lack of self-worth worsens by how people at school behave toward her, which is encapsulated in how easy it is for her to agree when Connell asks to remain a stranger despite the fact that they have been hanging out outside the school. Marianne even feels that “she would do anything to make him like her, to make him say out loud that he liked her” (Rooney, 2019, p. 18) which unfortunately is the seed of masochism that later develops during her time in college.
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Her relationship with Connell eventually ends, for she realizes the way
Connell treats her is wrong and degrading. However, this understanding does not stop her from being involved in a much destructive relationship with two guys she goes out with during college. In her relationship with Jamie, Marianne submits herself to be beaten up during their sexual intercourse. She does not feel good about it, but she remains in the relationship despite that.
Early in their relationship, without any apparent forethought, she told him she was ‘a submissive’. She was surprised even hearing herself say it: maybe she did it to shock him. … When she thinks about how little she respects him, she feels disgusting and begins to hate herself, and these feelings trigger in her an overwhelming desire to be subjugated and in a way broken. When it happens her brain simply goes empty, like a room with the light turned off, and she shudders into orgasm without any perceptible joy. (Rooney, 2019, pp. 138–139)
A similar occurrence happens when she is dating Lukas, a guy she meets during her study in Sweden. This relationship is more unpleasant as Marianne does not only receive physical violence during sex, but Lukas also tells horrible things about her as such: “You’re worthless, Lukas likes to tell her. You’re nothing. And she feels like nothing, an absence to be forcibly filled in. It isn’t that she likes the feeling, but it relieves her somehow” (Rooney, 2019, p. 190).
Throughout the story, the character of Marianne has been portrayed to be vulnerable. Particularly in Carricklea, Marianne is surrounded by people who treat her badly because they project their begrudgery mentality toward her. Therefore, she eventually believes that she is somewhat damaged and has an unlovable side that she thinks would be hard to be liked by others, as cited: “I don’t know why I can’t make people love me. I think there was something wrong with me when I was
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born” (Rooney, 2019, p. 181). On the contrary, Marianne’s intelligence as well as her good looks make her popular in Dublin and thus, she feels more accepted.
She felt happy to be surrounded by people she liked, who liked her. She knew that if she wanted to speak, everyone would probably turn around and listen out of sincere interest, and that made her happy too, although she had nothing at all to say. (Rooney, 2019, p. 115)
Regardless, Marianne’s vulnerability with the addition of feeling unworthy exacerbated as she meets Jamie and Lukas, with whom she forms a sadistic relationship with. By the end of the story, Marianne finally starts to detach herself from her lack of self-worth. With the help of Connell, who provides a safe space for Marianne to become herself and not to be resented, Marianne finds that her personality and intelligence do not make her a bad person.
2. Depiction of Begrudgery in Connell Waldron
As discussed earlier, people in Carricklea, such as Alan and Rachel, for instance, are prone to have a begrudgery mentality. The society accepts people who are not showing their superiority which can be related to the fact that Carricklea is a small town in West Ireland. Graf (2015) asserts that “the smaller and more isolated the community was, the more pronounced its begrudgery tended to be” (p. 3).
Therefore, it is compelling to see that despite Connell Waldron’s character in the novel is depicted as a shy and quiet person, this does not affect his popularity at school but rather boosts his place on the social ladder. Against his notorious family background, the portrayal of Connell in the novel is striking as he is described to be “quite a catch” (Rooney, 2019, p. 32). Connell plays football, has a good manner toward girls, and is also very intelligent compared to Rob and Eric.
These traits, combined with his good looks, make him popular. However, as people
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in Carricklea tend to overly criticize and resent someone who set themselves up as superior, Connell has not been able to express or even to believe his positive traits himself. As a response to this, he constantly worries about what others think of him and seeks for other’s acceptance to be considered good and normal: “He was trapped by various considerations. He cared what people thought of him” (Rooney,
2019, p. 25).
In order to be accepted, Connell has to repress himself. He hides the fact that he spends most of his time reading as it is not the way how his friends usually use their free time. Though he sometimes gets irritated by how his friends behave,
Connell acts cool about it. Also, when she is seeing Marianne outside the school, he cares too much about what people at school would react if he is seen to have any kind of relationship with Marianne, who is considered to be the school’s pariah; hence he asks her not to tell anyone at school about the relationship.
Of course, he pretends not to know Marianne in school, but he didn’t mean to bring that up. That’s just the way it has to be. If people found out what he has been doing with Marianne, in secret, while ignoring her every day in school, his life would be over. (Rooney, 2019, p. 27)
The story shows that Connell feels as if his personality is something that people create based on how they perceive Connell, rather than something he decides to show to the people as conveyed in the following quotation: “If anything, his personality seemed like something external to himself, managed by the opinions of others, rather than anything he individually did or produced” (Rooney, 2019, p. 70).
As a result, he feels trapped between two worlds. One that he perceives as a normal world which consists of his friends. Another world in which he can talk about things
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that he does not normally reveal to his friends and where Marianne is the only person who inhabited it.
When he talks to Marianne he has a sense of total privacy between them. He could tell her anything about himself, even weird things, and she would never repeat them, he knows that. Being alone with her is like opening a door away from normal life and then closing it behind him. … he fears being around her, because of the confusing way he finds himself behaving, the things he says that he would never ordinarily say. (Rooney, 2019, pp. 6–7)
Having two different separate worlds to live in, Connell thinks that he can manage to be well-liked at school and at the same time satisfies his need for real communication with Marianne. As a consequence, however, he becomes very anxious, for he does not want his friends to know about this ‘other’ Connell. He is so scared that people at school would notice his other personality, as shown when he needs to hide the fact that he has been hanging out with Marianne outside the school: “In school on Monday he had to avoid looking at Marianne or interacting with her in any way. He carried the secret around like something large and hot, like an overfull tray of hot drinks that he had to carry everywhere and never spill”
(Rooney, 2019, p. 22).
His anxiety results in a panic attack when people at school starting picking on about the night at the school’s fundraising party in which he acts hostile toward
Rachel and has to drive Marianne home after she is being molested by a guy in the bar.
They all erupted in laughter. Connell closed his locker and walked out of the room carrying his schoolbag limply in his right hand. He heard the others calling after him, but he didn’t turn around. When he got to the bathroom he locked himself in a cubicle. The yellow walls bore down on him and his face was slick with sweat. … He took one deep uncomfortable breath and then threw up. (Rooney, 2019, p. 54)
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After which, instead of asking Marianne to the school’s Debs as everyone has already suggested, he decides to ask Rachel (Rooney, 2019, p. 54). Since no one likes Marianne, Connell worries if he asks Marianne, it will make a greater fuss for people to talk about and, therefore, affects his reputation. Thus, for Connell, asking Rachel to the party is seen as the most sensible decision. Though in the end, it is revealed that everyone already knows that he has been hanging out with
Marianne and nobody really cares about it.
Do you think we don’t know you were riding her? He said. Sure everyone knows. Connell paused and took another drag on his cigarette. This was probably the most horrifying thing Eric could have said to him, not because it ended his life, but because it didn’t. He knew then that the secret for which he had sacrificed his own happiness and the happiness of another person had been trivial all along, and worthless. (Rooney, 2019, p. 77)
If Carricklea represents the traditional Ireland society in which people are easily consumed with their feeling of envy (Lee, 1989, p. 647), Dublin exhibits a more contemporary society which is described as follows: “With a wider range of goods now available to be flaunted, petty personal rivalries could flourish at every level over a variety of consumer goods, from clothes to cars, to other consumer durables, to foreign holidays” (Lee, 1989, pp. 647–648). The novel shows that
Connell has a hard time adjusting to his life in Dublin. He was once a popular guy in Carricklea, but coming to Dublin, the problem which stems from his shyness arises. He does not know how to make friends and his good looks as well as other qualities that make him admirable and well-liked in Carricklea cease to be visible, as implied when Helen perceives him as uncool which is one of the reason she is attracted to him (Rooney, 2019, p. 165). Moreover, it is the first time he thinks of
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his untrendy clothes and the fact that he comes from a fairly working-class background, as it is indicated in the novel:
Though his physical appearance has not changed, he feels objectively worse-looking than he used to be. He has become self-conscious about his clothes. All the guys in his class wear the same waxed hunting jackets and plum-coloured chinos, not that Connell has a problem with people dressing how they want, but he would feel like a complete prick wearing that stuff. At the same time, it forces him to acknowledge that his own clothes are cheap and unfashionable. (Rooney, 2019, p. 70)
The quotation above also denotes that, unlike people in Carricklea, people in Dublin are comfortable in showing their superiority, whether it is shown intentionally from how they dress or how they deliberately contribute during the class with their opinions. These behaviors are the basis that makes Connell feels alienated in Dublin. He even compares people back in Carricklea with people in
Dublin and expresses, “the people here are a lot worse than the people I knew in school. I mean everyone here just goes around comparing how much money their parents make” (Rooney, 2019, p. 217). In this quotation, his aversion toward people in Dublin may seem to derive from the differences of wealth. However, there is no further evidence provided to conclude this matter.
As discussed previously in the first research question, the society in Dublin does not mind anyone’s economic background; Connell’s is no exception. It is proved by the fact that Connell finds himself most of the time hangs out with
Marianne’s friends who come from an affluent family. Though he is from a different economic background, almost no one cares about it. Connell is perfectly accepted by Marianne’s friends, but there is one piece of evidence that unveils that not all people are welcome toward Connell.
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He always comes to her parties, though he says he doesn’t really understand her friendship group. Her female friends like him a lot, and for some reason feel very comfortable sitting on his lap during conversations and tousling his hair fondly. The men have not warmed to him in the same way. He is tolerated through his association with Marianne, but he’s not considered in his own right particularly interesting. (Rooney, 2019, p. 89)
Connell’s shyness takes part to which some people feel do not particularly fond of him. In contrast to Marianne’s friends, who like to show off their knowledge, Connell is quiet and never involves in their intellectual discussion; therefore, some even think he is not adequately intelligent compared to them
(Rooney, 2019, p. 89). This issue aligns with Connell’s habit of repressing his opinions back in Carricklea. He never reads in public because he fears that his friends will know about his interest in other things besides girls or sports. In Dublin, people do not care very much about such things. These become major issues
Connell has to face the first time he arrives in Dublin.
Connell has imagined that people in Dublin would be different: “he would start going to dinner parties and having conversations about the Greek bailout. …
I’ve read The Golden Notebook, he could tell them” (Rooney, 2019, p. 26). What he does not realize is that his shyness becomes the root of his growing sense of inferiority as he notices people in his class openly debate and voice their views or judgement. Evidently, it is true that people are relatively more well-off by the description that they “carry the same size Macbook under their arms” (Rooney,
2019, p. 67), yet his vexation on others’ privilege in wealth is deceiving.
As mentioned earlier, the begrudgery mentality derives from a constant comparison that results in the feeling of inferiority. In addition to that, it is asserted that this tendency is inclined to people who have not been able to identify their own
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capability but rather making themselves superior by comparing their values to others (Masterson, 1979, p. 159). In Carricklea, it is known that he is one of the smartest people at school without him having to involve in intellectual discussion or challenge others’ opinions. Marianne, whose intelligence is also known by others, serves a perfect antithesis by which he believes that he is, to some extent, better than her since she is considered as the pariah at school. Connell feels that how he has been acting in Carricklea is normal, but moving to Dublin, this belief is challenged since what others perceive as the normality changes.
He understands now that his classmates are not like him. … They are not stupid people, but they’re not so much smarter than him either. They just move through the world in a different way, and he’ll probably never really understand them, and he knows they will never understand him, or even try. (Rooney, 2019, p. 68)
This evidence presents that initially, Connell feels as if he is not smart enough since he cannot form any opinion. However, eventually, he notices that what differentiates him to other classmates is that, unlike him, they are more self- assured; hence they do not bother others’ people's views of themselves. It is tough for Connell to follow this new normality in which he has to show his thoughts as depicted by his anxiety when he has to do a presentation in front of the class: “and while he spoke his hands were shaking… His voice wavered several times and he had the sense that if he hadn’t been seated, he would have fallen to the ground”
(Rooney, 2019, p. 99). Connell is fully aware of his inadequacy in forming and presenting his views to other people that takes effect in him for feeling out of place in Dublin. This feeling adheres to the feeling of people with begrudgery mentality tend to have: “this experience is characterized by a sense of not being at home in
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the world, notwithstanding and indeed even partly because of our unprecedented technical control of the world” (Masterson, 1979, p. 168).
Because of the scholarship and the status of being a genius gained after his impressive presentation in the class, he finds that he actually likes to be known as a smart person. It allows him to interact with other people easier.
He likes when someone is struggling to remember the name of a book or an author, and he can provide it for them readily, not showing off, just remembering it. He likes when Marianne tells her friends — people whose fathers are judges and government ministers, people who went to inordinately expensive school — that Connell is the smartest person they will ‘ever meet’. (Rooney, 2019, pp. 99–100)
This attests that Connell actually shares some qualities to people he projects his hatred to. He likes to be put as a superior in intelligence by displaying it either through other’s flattering remarks of him or the scholarship. Connell enjoys the privileges he acquired from being intelligent, yet, he is also dissatisfied with himself since he turns into someone that people in Carricklea would not have approved, as suggested in Connell’s remark in the novel: “I’m just looking at all this scholarship stuff thinking, Jesus, what would people in school say?” (Rooney, 2019, p. 175). In fact, begrudgery rises as a representation of someone who is not happy with himself, which he tries to project into the world (Kaufmann as cited in Graf, 2015, p. 7).
Connell’s fixation on being well-liked by hiding his superiority is no longer withstanding with the person he becomes into.
The feeling of envy, as a source of begrudgery, is powerful but has to be suppressed by the feeling of impotence, fear, anxiety, and intimidation (Masterson,
1979, p. 159). In Connell’s case, it is shown that he has anxiety in letting people know about his view or opinion. He is still haunted by his fixation in being socially
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acceptable in Carricklea. He worries that he becomes someone he used to think has a bad quality as people back in Carricklea do not appreciate someone who is opinionated. Thus, his resentment to people in Dublin can be read as a manifestation of his repressed envy of people in Dublin who has the self-assure to form or give an opinion. Moreover, the feeling of resentment in begrudgery tends to “radiate out in all directions attaching itself to anything in any way associated with the original cause of hatred such as his class, his religion or his views” (Masterson, 1979, p.
159). Hence, when Connell tries to elaborate why he does not feel accepted in
Dublin, he blames people in Dublin for their arrogance which he thinks stem from having privilege in wealth.
To sum up, it is necessary to relate the above discussion with the statement in the following citation:
When this type of value-experience dominates a whole society, the system of free competition will be its guiding ethos. Not everyone animated by this form of value experience will succumb to ressentiment. There will be those who accept the rules of the value game and work energetically to establish their relative worth in the various fields of human endeavor. (Masterson, 1979, p. 160)
Particularly in Dublin, Connell is seen to have the tendency to grow a begrudgery mentality. At the end of the story, however, he can disassociate himself from all these attributes of the begrudgers. It is Rob’s suicide that becomes the pivotal point that helps Connell in gradually overcoming his anxiety to become socially accepted.
Nothing had meant more to Rob than the approval of others; to be thought well of, to be a person of status. He would have betrayed any confidence, any kindness, for the promise of social acceptance. Connell couldn’t judge him for that. He’d been the same way himself, or worse. He had just wanted to be normal, to conceal the parts of himself that he found shameful and
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confusing. It was Marianne who had shown him other things were possible. (Rooney, 2019, p. 212)
After Rob’s suicide, his anxiety becomes worse and he falls into depression.
It is implied that Rob’s suicide gives light to the actual problem of his inability to make friends in Dublin. His view of people in Dublin that is not as good as people in Carricklea is actually just a way for him to justify his feeling of inferiority. Since begrudgery appears in Connell’s situation because of the suppression feeling of envy by his fear and anxiety of not being accepted, as mentioned in the quotation,
Marianne’s help is important to remind himself that becoming someone that is well- liked and acceptable by Carricklea people’s standard is not the only way for him to live. Therefore, in the end, he allows himself to grow and pursues his career in writing as suggested when he applies and gets accepted for the master's degree program in creative writing in New York (Rooney, 2019, p. 263).
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
This chapter concludes the discussion from all the questions formulated before. The first one describes the characters and society in the novel. The second problem formulation discusses the depiction of begrudgery shown in the main characters.
In the first problem formulation, the researcher uses the theory of setting by
Gill to examine the social context of the main characters, namely: family, friends, class, and society. The discussion is separated into two points. The first section discusses the characters comprised of the main characters’ family and friends. It is found in the novel that Connell and Marianne grow up in a very different environment. Connell is raised by a single mother, Lorraine. Despite having to leave school in order to work to raise Connell, Lorraine is depicted as a very good and ideal mother to Connell. At school, Connell has many friends, though he has not been able to relate or connect with them. The fact that he is accepted and well-liked by them is enough reason to befriend them. However, as he struggles to adjust to
Dublin’s life, he does not have as many friends like he used to. He befriends his roommate, Niall, and has a relationship with few girls, including Helen. Other than that, Connell occasionally enjoys hanging out with Marianne’s friends whose company he can endure, though he does not necessarily feel in sync with them. On the other hand, Marianne has to grow up in a rather unloving home since she constantly has to face the abusive behavior from his older brother, Alan. In addition
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to that, Marianne also receives cold treatment from her mother, Denise, who neither praises her for her excellent grade nor is supportive of any of her decisions. As opposed to Connell, in Carricklea, Marianne has never had any friends. Marianne’s peers put her as an object of disgust; she has no social life. However, moving to
Dublin, the situation changes. Marianne finally can have her own little group of friends with whom she can communicate. She also has a couple of boyfriends, though none of the relationships lasts long.
The second section focuses on the difference of class that Connell and
Marianne are born into and the custom, belief, and rules that the society have. It is revealed that in Carricklea, everyone knows that Connell is the son of a cleaning lady. Nonetheless, that does not affect how his friends regard Connell as a good guy and attractive. Whereas despite everyone knows that Marianne comes from a wealthy family, she is still put at the bottom of the social ladder. People at school describe her as ugly, though, after the school’s fundraising party in which she gathers some attention from her looks, people at school change their opinion and say that she is actually a decent-looking girl. Yet, they shift their vexation on her mental condition. This concludes that people in Carricklea never think of someone’s economic background in order to put them on the social ladder. Instead, the evidence indicates that people who hide or suppress their superiority are much more appreciated. It is shown by the fact that both Connell and Marianne are known for their intelligence, yet, Connell never shows off his intelligence by arguing or confronting any of his friends’ questionable behaviors, unlike Marianne. Thus, he is more accepted by people. On the contrary, Marianne is being bullied by her peers
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and harassed by her family because she never hides or pretends that she is not smart.
Marianne even challenges the authority if necessary. In Dublin, however, Connell is more aware of the gap of his economic background against others. People in
Dublin do not make someone’s economy become such an issue. Nevertheless, in contrast to people in Carricklea, they are more comfortable showing their superiority, such as their wealth or intelligence. This condition, however, helps
Marianne to blend in easier and find people to befriend with.
In the second problem formulation, the researcher uses the theory of characterization by Taylor. In seeing the depiction of the characters of Connell and
Marianne, the researcher elaborates the answer of the first problem formulation and relates it to the information of begrudgery gathered previously. The researcher finds the values that people in Carricklea hold resembles the values that the traditional
Ireland society had. They both show the tendency to resent someone that is deemed superior, which aligns with the character of begrudgery. This behavior affects
Marianne’s character. She grows up in an abusive family with a brother who projects his feeling of inferiority to her by physically and verbally abusing her.
Alan’s behavior is aligned with the mentality of a begrudger. In response to this,
Marianne is characterized as someone who lacks self-worth. This leads Marianne to believe that she is a bad person; thus she deserves to be treated badly by other people. Marianne’s belief has been distorted since the society is seen to have the tendency to have begrudgery characters. Her lack of self-worth only worsens when she moves to Dublin since she meets guys who take benefit of Marianne's personality to abuse her. On the other hand, the society in Carricklea makes Connell
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believe that having people’s acceptance is the only thing that matters. Moving to
Dublin, he encounters challenges in adapting. Dublin represents Ireland after the separation from England and has bloomed to be a prosperous nation since the economic boom. As they have more modern values, people in Dublin less care about the way they are behaving. They show their superiority nonchalantly, without caring about what other people would think of it. Therefore, with Connell’s belief and not to mention a very apparent disparity in wealth, it is hard for him to adapt to
Dublin’s way of living. As a consequence, he is seen to gradually embedding the characters of begrudgers. He is crushed by his inferiority and with his tendency to find someone’s acceptance, he projects these problems to the people in Dublin by labeling them bad compared to people in Carricklea. It is only when he finally lets his fixation on being well-liked go and grows confidence in himself that the traits of begrudgery are seen to slowly diminish.
In conclusion, Marianne’s characterizations are heavily affected by the begrudgery stemmed in the Irish society, while Connell inclines to behave like a begrudger. This also implies that, although begrudgery is seen to be a character that someone from the old Irish society has, the current generation still carries the tendency of this mentality. Thus, begrudgery still exists in today’s Irish society, though it is not as obtrusive as the way it did in the past.
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