Daria Morgendorffer: Difference between revisions

|firstappearance=[[Scientific Stuff]] (''Beavis and Butt-head'')

|lastappearance=[[Is It College Yet?]]

|episodecount= 16 (''Beavis and Butt-head'') <br/> 65 (''Daria'') <br/> 2 ''Daria'' TV movies <br/> 2 ''Beavis and Butt-head'' TV movies (one non-speaking) <br/>

|gender=Female

|occupation= Student at [[Highland High]] (''Beavis and Butt-head'') <br/> Student at [[Lawndale High]]<br/> Student at [[Raft College]] (by the end of the show)

|family=[[Jake Morgendorffer]] (father) <br/> [[Helen Morgendorffer]] (mother) <br/> [[Quinn Morgendorffer]] (sister) <br/> [[Amy Barksdale]] (aunt) <br/> [[Rita Barksdale]] (aunt) <br/> [[Erin Chambers]] (cousin) <br/> [[Ruth Morgendorffer]] (paternal grandmother) <br/> [["Mad Dog" Morgendorffer]] (paternal grandfather, deceased) <br/> [[Grandma Barksdale]] (maternal grandmother, name unknown)

 

'''Daria Morgendorffer''' is a fictional animated character from two of MTV's animated series: ''[[Beavis and Butt-head]]'' and ''[[Daria (TV series)|Daria]]''. In 2002, Daria placed at number 41 on TV Guide's list of the ''[http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/30/cartoon.characters.list/index.html Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time]'' for her role in the two shows. She was voiced in both incarnations by [[Tracy Grandstaff]].

 

{{quote|I don't have low self esteem ... I have low esteem for everyone ''else''.|[[Esteemsters]]}}

 

==Character Overview==

She has described [[Jane Lane]] as basically the only real friend she's ever had. "[[The Daria Diaries]]" states she was "always invited to slumber parties" as a pre-teen, but only because she had an adult library card and could bring along sex-filled romance books.

 

 

Daria has a high intelligence for her age group, knowing about a wide variety of subjects and noted to be both at the top of many classes and getting repeated A grades. Daria is also shown to be quite lazy and apathetic: she manages to get her high grades despite, as far as we can see, not working that hard.

Her experience with romance appears to have been limited for most of her teenage life, until [[Tom Sloane]] consisting largely of a few dates and odd flirtations (see [[Robert]], [[Ted DeWitt-Clinton]], and [[Trent Lane]]).

 

 

 

She is often viewed as miserable and gloomy by her peers and by adults, something she states annoys her in "[[The Misery Chick]]": "I'm not miserable! I'm just not ''like them.''"

 

[[image:babydaria.jpg|frame|right|D'awwww]]

 

Sources like "[[The Daria Diaries]]", "[[Cafe Disaffecto]]", and "[[Camp Fear]]" have established the following about Daria's pre-[[Highland High]] life:

 

 

 

 

* Daria found it hard to fit in at school and early on decided to stop bothering. Her parents would be called in to school time and again over this. ("[[Boxing Daria]]")

 

 

* She was sent to [[Camp Dragonfly]] and [[Camp Grizzly]] during the summer holidays. Grizzly in particular was hell for her, causing her to be trapped with the bullying [[Skip Stevens]] and sycophantic [[Amelia]] in close contact.

 

 

 

==''Beavis and Butt-Head''==

''See also [[Character design of Daria]]''

[[Image:Dariabb.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Daria Morgendorffer, as depicted in later episodes of ''Beavis and Butt-head'']]

 

 

 

''[[Beavis and Butt-head (TV series)|Beavis and Butt-head]]'' took place in a small town called [[Highland]] in Texas, where Daria, Beavis, and Butt-head were in the ninth grade at [[Highland High]].

[[Tracy Grandstaff]]'s voice for Daria starts off sounding normal and gradually become deeper and flatter, though the full monotone version from her own series would not be completed until "[[Esteemsters]]".

 

 

This early version of Daria was not as sarcastic or cutting (at least not to the lads) as she would be in ''Daria'', and in a number of episodes would be shown trying to explain simple concepts or solutions to them, sometimes without any jokes at their expense at all. This side of Daria would be played down in her own show. (In the ''Beavis and Butt-head'' comic book, Daria was more prone to sarcastic remarks.) Butt-head was more willing to listen to her (and usually called her by her real name to her face), while Beavis appeared to irritate her more than Butt-head.

 

In an [[off-canon canon]] interview on the ''CBS Early Show'' (January 2002), Daria was asked whether she still keeps in touch with the duo, and replied: "I'd like to but first, they have to figure out that when the telephone makes that funny sound, you're supposed to pick it up and say hello."

 

===Daria at Highland High school===

 

However, in other situations, she was taking part on her own initiative:

 

* She gave a seminar about her report on Urban myths and legends, for which she interviewed Beavis and Butt-Head, in the school auditorium.

[[Image:Daria_Jane.gif|thumb|250px|right|Daria and Jane in ''Is It College Yet?'']]

 

 

According to the episode "[[Lane Miserables]]," her height is 5'2". Her eyes are brown, per an interview with Glenn Eichler and general implications made in "[[Through a Lens Darkly]]."

{{quote|I come off as a cranky, know-it-all curmudgeon. Distant, aloof and arrogant. Cynical, negative and smug. And -- as bizarre as this may sound -- some people apparently feel this is a bad thing.|Daria on herself, in "[http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/worldaccording/spindoctor.jhtml Is There A Spin Doctor In The House?]"}}

 

 

[[Image:Daria_annoyed_ONeill.jpg|thumb|left|240px|An annoyed Daria, forced to deal with people she'd rather not ("The Misery Chick")]]

[[Image:AmyDaria2.jpg|right|thumb|150px|(Which is which?!)]]

 

 

In "Aunt Nauseum", however, Daria was disillusioned to find Amy was just as flawed as her mother and Aunt Rita, and was only ''contributing'' to a problem. Daria and Quinn had to solve it themselves, and Amy recognized that fact.

 

==Daria and Jane==

{{quote|Hi, I'm Daria, go to hell.|Jane imitating Daria in "[[The Invitation]]"}}

 

An absence of Jane, and the fear it'd be permanent, in "[[See Jane Run]]" saw Daria begin to talk to herself. (Even she was bemused by this)

* [[Kevin Thompson]]: A popular football player and Brittany's boyfriend. Daria enjoys manipulating his stupidity like she did Beavis and Butt-head, and often insults him: he doesn't understand most of her insults. Despite this, as with Brittany, he seems to view her as a friend: often seeking her advice ("The Misery Chick", "[[Too Cute]]") while unthinkingly bringing up her unpopularity at the same time, and in "[[The Big House]]" and "[[Ill]]", being concerned for her welfare. In "Partner's Complaint" though, he panicked at the idea of hanging out with Daria for any length of time. He once thought Tom was joking when he said he was Daria's date. ("[[Is It Fall Yet?]]")

 

 

* [[Upchuck]]: The school's horn-dog. He first met her in "[[The Invitation]]" and has repeatedly crossed paths with her ever since, nearly always trying to flirt and get a date. Daria responds to this with horror and put-downs; Upchuck views her as "''fi''esty!", and in "[[The Daria Diaries]]" we find out he has included an unnamed outline of Daria in his website's "Gallery of Feisty Babes", implying a genuine crush.

 

 

 

 

 

Outside of Jane and (briefly) Ted, Daria never had any real contact or attempts at contact with the other outcast students at Lawndale. ([[Glenn Eichler]] has [http://www.the-wildone.com/dvdaria/glenninterviewsfull.html stated] this was deliberate: "[we didn't want to] create a comfortable alternative world where Daria and Jane could be stars among their misfit peers... to do a show about the misfits finding happiness through solidarity.")

* [[Angela Li|Principal Li]] is Daria's other main foe and, unlike O'Neill, deliberately malevolent: the two have clashed, both verbally and all-out, on occasions. Li is eager to use Daria's academic achievements for the benefit of the school and, along with every other student, force and threaten her into "volunteering" and schemes. Daria will sometimes push back and sometimes brings down Li's schemes outright ("[[This Year's Model]]") and a number of times has had to clear up or navigate a mess Li's made ("[[Just Add Water]]", "[[Antisocial Climbers]]"). The principal had to begrudgingly give Daria an award for academic achievement at graduation and was ''very'' unhappy about it, while Jane was surprised Daria didn't assault Li with the award.

 

 

While Daria doesn't think much of any of her teachers, at least during S1 - in "The Daria Diaries" she says she respects her superiors "if only I could find any", in regards to the faculty - the ''teachers'' often seem to think a lot of ''her'', with a few exceptions (Morris and Li) who are corrupt and powerful figures.

==Daria and Romance==

 

 

While a simplistic view of Daria's personal view of relationships with boys can be seen as being summed up in a single line, spoken to Jane in [[Dye! Dye! My Darling]]: "Can you picture me making out with anyone? ''Ever?''" (this view made even more so when taking [[Trent Lane]] into the picture from his very first appearance in the series) - an in-depth observation of the character reveals her to genuinely be interested in romance. However, she's:

 

b) Unwilling to open up emotionally, and possesses a fear of physical intimacy

 

Her crush on Trent was never acted upon, even though Trent was aware of it and would sometimes gently play up to it; this was most notable in "[[Pierce Me]]", where he told her how "hot" a piercing would make her and in a clearly flirtatious way. She'd try to cover up her crush but sudden loss of speech ("[[This Year's Model]]") or outright blushing ("[[Pierce Me]]") made it obvious. "Pierce Me" showed a dream about Trent, which turned into a nightmare when she dreamt Trent would have no interest in her at all and find the very idea laughable. MTV's [http://www.mtv.com/onair/daria/chapter2/tangle.jhtml "It Takes Two to Tangle"] described the situation as: "Quite a bit of sublimation and projection going on here, and not much action. Here is a rare example of passive-passive behavior."

 

 

She would eventually realize they just wouldn't be compatible ("[[Jane's Addition]]"), thought she'd realized before that he would make for an unreliable partner and what made him seem cool now would be pathetic in later: when trying to visualize their future together, her first vision was Trent as an unemployed, lazy failure whom she had to support ("[[Lane Miserables]]"). After the end of the crush, her relationship with Trent developed into a good friendship with a lot of trust; Trent even came to her aid with some well placed advice in "[[Fire!]]", showing that he isn't as oblivious as he puts on, and was still friendly and helpful towards her even after she was on the odds with Jane.

 

Tom Sloane was her first real boyfriend and she initially tried to push him away, as with Ted; while guilt over betraying Jane played a part, Daria was clearly rattled by Tom's angry point that she was afraid to have a relationship in case it made her "vulnerable". Tom's different class would go on to cause problems, as would her recurring inability to verbalize any problems she had (such as her concerns he was taking her for granted, "[[Sappy Anniversary]]"); Daria tended to have a ''lot'' of problems, being nervous and edgy on many occasions as she tried to navigate unfamiliar territory. Despite problems, she was insightful enough to notice and eventually apologize when she was being difficult with Tom; the two would usually talk through these issues by the end of the day. Daria would sometimes turn to Tom for advice. "Two to Tangle" described the couple as "[having] a healthy sense of boundaries, probably due to the fact that hers are extra-thick and lustrous. His family background puts him at risk for hyper-exclusivity."

 

The relationship managed to last for almost a year, but came under clear strain (again) during the college application period, partly due again to differing views & social circumstances, and partly due to actions by Tom that Daria didn't properly challenge: she ended up losing out on visiting Boston campuses after Tom decided, without asking her first, to stay at [[Bromwell]] longer to network with a professor (to get "influence" sent both their ways), and didn't view it as a big deal that they'd have less time (and, when they were hideously late, joked it was a good thing they didn't get to Bromwell this late, pissing her off). In one scene in "[[Is It College Yet?]]" (cut from the DVDs) Daria had abruptly called off a date a few seconds after agreeing to it. She was also initially put off by his offer to try and use family influence to get her into Bromwell, saying to Jane it felt like "some crappy romance novel where the troubled young viscount decides the lowly stable girl is good enough for him after all" and that she didn't see why their word should mean more than her own abilities.

Soon after, Daria ended the relationship herself, stating they were taking two different paths and becoming bored of the relationship. (She spent the next few days despondent and fearing that "opt[ing] for honesty" was going to leave her alone and unloved) She would admit to Tom that, on reflection, she had enjoyed their time together, and the two agreed to remain on friendly terms.

 

 

Actress Tracy Grandstaff [http://canigetamanwiththat.com/post/1086565092/dear-daria-revisiting-the-misery-chick has suggested] that Daria may not have ever "expected a guy to be interested in her—until Tom came along... maybe she sat in the shadows crushing over the unattainable Trent for so long, she was blindsided by Tom’s attention…".

 

==Personal Style and Decor==

 

[[Image:FashionClub_Daria.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Daria, the anti-[[Fashion Club]]]]

Her view on fashion is summed up in "[[Sporting Goods]]": "I hate fashion!"

 

 

However, in "Lens, Darkly" she tried going without her glasses out of a desire to look more conventionally attractive; in the end, after accepting her bit of vanity, she decided to go back to glasses and "to hell" with people who found them a problem.

 

 

Aside from lipstick, Daria had - also in "Road Worrier" - changed her look by just wearing normal denim jeans and a black T-shirt, wore a zip-up gray fleece in Season 5 a few times, and has worn hiking gear in "[[Antisocial Climbers]]". Otherwise, she has to be forced into wearing or obliged to wear other clothes (such as "[[I Don't]]").

 

 

At [[Lawndale High]] the only decor in her locker is a photograph of [[The Hindenburg]] Disaster.

 

 

==Daria's writing==

 

 

[[File:StoryOfD_01.jpg|230px|thumb|left|]]

 

 

Outside of "Write", all of the above - as well as the "[[The Story of D]]", references to writing "violent revenge fantasies" in "[[Boxing Daria]]", and a mention of a story she was writing in "[[Is It College Yet?]]" (cut from the DVD) - show that Daria enjoys writing violent, disturbing fiction with a black sense of humor. They appear to be somewhat lurid as well. The first Melody Powers story (and likely the homework assignment in "Write") was deliberately over the top to get back at Mr O'Neill. The virus story in "The Story of D" used a variety of writing styles.

"Write Where it Hurts" has Daria writing a realistic light drama about her own family, depicting how she'd like their future to be. While idealized, she showed an ability to write realist scenes.

 

 

"The Lost Girls" and "The Story of D" have work by Daria (non-fiction and fiction respectively) submitted for publication; in the first case, O'Neill did it without telling her, and in the latter Daria did it after pushing from Tom. She was highly reluctant in "The Story of D", stating she felt she wasn't good enough for publication and being afraid of trying only to face rejection. The article in "Lost Girls" was going to be published in [[Val Magazine]] (until Daria annoyed Val); her virus story in "D" was rejected by the magazine ''[[Musings]]'' as not being suitable, but they encouraged her to submit again, something they rarely did.

 

==Daria's websites==

[[Image:Dariacomputer.gif|right|frame|From the homepage of Daria's Net Nodule of Negativity v2]]

 

 

[http://web.archive.org/web/19991012192815/http://mtv.com/mtv/tubescan/animation/daria/homepage_bak030599/index.html The first one was made in 1999]. It features:

==Daria's future==

 

 

For many years, all we knew about Daria's [[post-canon]] life is that she goes to [[Raft College]]. We don't know what course she did there.

 

In 2011 and 2012, two articles by Eichler would reveal some of her adult life: "[[Daria Morgendorffer's Greatest Retail Regret]]" has Daria refer to her family and wanting to avoid them, implying she (like many graduates during the economic slump) was still living at home, and "[[What I Think About Valentine's Day]]" reveals that Daria has found a [[Daria's present day boyfriend|new boyfriend]]. The latter, written in ''[[The Huffington Post]]'', says that the ''Post'' asked Daria to write for them and gives her job as "Philosopher and Former TV Star".

 

During her teenage years, Daria (and others) have various ideas on how she might turn out:

* In "[[The Daria Diaries]]", she expresses a desire to be a writer... "a bitter, angry hack who starts fights fistfights at cocktail parties."

 

 

* "[[The Daria Database]]" and other points reveal that during S2, Daria is saving up to buy herself a remote cabin in Montana.

* A gag "[[Alter Ego|future ego]]" at the end of IICY? showed her and Jane as breakfast TV hosts on a self-titled show.

 

 

==Fanfic Stereotypes==

 

==Misc. Trivia==

*In the Dutch version of the Beavis and Butt-Head comic, Daria was renamed "Desiree Morgendorffer" because of having to make the dunderheads' "Diarrhea-cha-cha-cha" chant work. The Dutch word for Diarrhea is "Diarree" (Dee-yuh-ray) and so the name Desiree (In Dutch that name is pronounced "Day-zee-ray") was chosen because of it sounding similar. It's probably the only time Daria received another name in any format she appeared in.

 

==Notes==

 

'''About Daria's Intelligence and Knowledge'''