Amanda Lane



Amanda Lane is an artist specialising mainly in ceramic sculptures, wife of Vincent Lane and the mother of Summer, Wind, Penny, Trent and Jane Lane.

Character overview
Amanda has only two speaking appearances, in episodes "Lane Miserables" and "Art Burn", often being absent from Lawndale. In fact, Vicent and Amanda's constant absence from the Lane household, a recurring theme in Daria, is often mentioned in passing during some episodes by Jane, though she does not seem too upset by it. In one episode, Jane herself describes Amanda and Vicent's parenting as "benign neglect".

Amanda is seen working in her workshop with a kiln and a potter's wheel when she is at home. In the broadcast episodes, it appears that her workshop is in the basement of the Lane house (though the map of Lawndale in "The Daria Diaries" indicates it is in an old bomb shelter).

From her appearance in Lane Miserables, Amanda seems a very mellow and relaxed woman, maintaining a extremely laid back attitude regarding parenthood, ignoring the problems and confusion around her and being somewhat lax in enforcing rules around her house. This behavior eventually turns agaist her in Lane Miserables, when the sudden concentration of the Lane family members in her house overwhelms her and she has to go ask help to Helen in ways to get her own house back.

Later in the episode, Vincent comments to Wind that Amanda and himself try to work their marriage issues by role-playing and hitting each other with foam rubber bats.

Trivia
Regarding raising children, Amanda seems to like to quote the proverb of holding a butterfly in one's hand as her motto, a proverb which Jane detests.

In Fanfiction
In Daria Fanfiction, Amanda is usually portrayed as an absent mother, similar to her canon characterization, with Jane or Trent saying in passing that their mother is somewhere far away from Lawndale (usually outside the USA) or that they do not know his whereabouts at all.

Stories or series in which Amanda notably appears or is mentioned include:


 * The John Lane series, by Richard Lobinske, starts by Vicent and Amanda being found to be unsuitable parents and relinquish their parental rights to the Morgendorffers, thus setting the premise of the series. Amanda is characterised as being even more aloof than in canon. Amanda appears in John and Retouched Parents.


 * In the Last Summer and Falling into College series, by Richard Lobinske, Amanda makes guest appearances in It Was Your Idea, Lane Closure and Lindy Lane.
 * Amanda plays a relatively large role in Wouter's Dariarotica comic Growing Pains where she unsuccesfully tries to give her old hand-me-downs to Jane. Amanda is depicted as having a zaney but surprisingly sharp character. The comic also show Amanda bonding with Jane.