Daria Morgendorffer: Difference between revisions

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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]]).

Her parents try repeatedly to make her more sociable and 'normal', usually in ways that are clearly unsuitable for Daria or outright idiotic; Daria attempts to get out of these at first opportunity.

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

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At the beginning, she can be fairly characterized as smart, cynical, and a little ruthless. She is not afraid to physically rough up her little sister when the latter clearly deserves it (note the ending of [[The New Kid]]). She is not afraid to take a series of very risky, manipulative actions to call attention to her school's principal's unethical behavior ([[This Year's Model]]). She has, by her own admission, never had a real friend until [[Jane Lane]]; She has, however, alluded to her own consideration of [[Beavis]] and [[Butt-head]] with some slight affection. During her freshman year at Highland High School, Daria was seen as spending time with the two boys for the purposes of her own amusement, to manipulate them as subjects for a science class project and a school newspaper photo-essay, and because her association with the two boys bothered her parents.

As time went on, Daria would have to face the flipside of her high standards and cynicism: an ugly judgemental streak ([[Partner's Complaint]]), problems with living up to her own standards ([[Through a Lens Darkly]]), fear of trying ([[The Story of D]]), and excessive unpleasantness at people who didn't deserve it ([[Camp Fear]]). She also became vicious and unpleasant when Jane had boyfriends, fearing that Jane was going to be taken away from her; [[Tom Sloane]] would tell her how stupid this was, citing that Jane was constantly talking about Daria.

As time went on, Daria would have to face the flipside of her high standards and cynicism: an ugly judgemental streak ([[Partner's Complaint]]), problems with living up to her own standards ([[Through a Lens Darkly]]), fear of trying ([[The Story of D]]), and excessive unpleasantness at people who didn't deserve it ([[Camp Fear]]). She also became vicious and unpleasant when Jane had boyfriends, fearing that Jane was going to be taken away from her; [[Tom Sloane]] would tell her how stupid this was, citing that Jane was constantly talking about Daria. By the time of "[[Psycho Therapy]]", Daria was quite calmly stating "I'm so defensive that I actually work to make people dislike me so I won't feel bad when they do", showing she was aware of this flaw within herself.

Flashbacks to Daria's earlier childhood would also show that she'd been a loner since a very young age, prefering to read rather than play with the other kids because she couldn't get them to understand her and was getting picked on over it; she decided to stop trying, claiming the other kids didn't interest her. She was a voracious reader ("[[Boxing Daria]]") and mainly only liked people who were in books, irritated by a world she found to be idiotic ("[[Is It Fall Yet?]]"). She would openly state she'd prefer to read than try to meet people. ("[[Camp Fear]]") She also had a questioning nature, responding (at age 6) to an explanation of rorschach blot tests with the question "then why don't I just draw my own picture?", and would avoid taking part in activities she didn't enjoy unless she was forced into it.

[[Image:Daria Morgendorffer (from Fire!).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Daria Morgendorffer, as depicted in the ''Daria'' episode, "Fire!"]]

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:''"I'm not much for public speaking, or much for speaking, or, come to think of it, much for the public. And I'm not very good at lying. So let me just say that, in my experience, high school sucks. If I had to do it all over again, I'd have started advanced placement classes in preschool so I could go from eighth grade straight to college. However, given the unalterable fact that high school sucks, I'd like to add that if you're lucky enough to have a good friend and a family that cares, it doesn't have to suck quite as much. Otherwise, my advice is: stand firm for what you believe in, until and unless logic and experience prove you wrong; remember, when the emperor looks naked, the emperor is naked; the truth and a lie are not 'sort of the same thing'; and there is no aspect, no facet, no moment of life that can't be improved with pizza. Thank you."''

==Daria and her parents==

Her parents had been trying to get her to be more sociable and conventional since a very young age, both out of concern and out of frustration. While their intentions are noble - "Boxing Daria" made it clear they did this because they were upset that their daughter was unhappy, and "Is It Fall Yet?" had Helen admit she was afraid of Daria becoming permanently antisocial - their methods have mostly failed, only causing Daria to become irritated and clam up. Early attempts were shown to be asking Daria to just keep trying to play with the other kids and simply taking a book away from her at [[Camp Grizzly]] so she couldn't hide behind it, both options being crude and having the opposite effect.

Most of their modern-day attempts had the same effectiveness, and usually showed them to be somewhat clueless about ''how'' to deal with their daughter. Despite that, she's sometimes recognised they're trying to help and she does love them: she's attempted several times to help her parents, usually sounding uncomfortable at the prospect of talking frankly to them, such as when she encouraged her father in "[[Jake of Hearts]]" and consoled her mother in "Psycho Therapy". In the latter, she admits she deliberately clams up around them because she knows they'd be attentive and she'd rather they weren't; in "[[Of Human Bonding]]", she tries to convince her father ''not'' to try bonding with her for the same reasons. In the latter, she also showed problems with opening up to him.

In one of her darkest hours, "[[Dye! Dye! My Darling]]", Daria turned to Helen for help and comfort. In "[[Write Where It Hurts]]", Helen also showed some sharp insight into parts of her daughter's psyche. IIFY? shows that Helen believes her daughter isn't naturally antisocial but uses it as a mask, and wants to stop this; in "Boxing Daria", she says she and Jake know Daria withdraws from the world as a way of dealing with things.

Jake has a pet name, "[[kiddo]]", for Daria and will sometimes turn to ''her'' if ''he'' needs help or advice, like in "[[Aunt Nauseum]]". As he rarely pushes her to do things, she seems to get on more amiably with him than with her mother. In "Of Human Bonding", Daria thought: ""he's afraid to be afraid. That's what's so heartbreaking. He's my father; shouldn't I let down the barricades for once and tell him I think he's a hero?" (She didn't)

==Relationship with Quinn==

This can be summed up with two words: ''total war''. The two are very resentful of the other and that their differences regarding social standing and personalities drive a large amount of the conflict in the series; Quinn won't even admit for most of the series that Daria ''is'' her sister (which irritates Daria). This goes back to Quinn's ''infancy'': flashbacks to toddler Daria who her angrily wanted to "punish" baby Quinn for being loud, angrily yelling "Why can't I be an only child?!", and trying to stop footage of Quinn being filmed. Photos in "[[The Daria Diaries]]" even show Daria opening a door so Quinn, taking her baby steps, may wander outside!

Both sides love to antagonize the other. Daria goes out of her way to go to places where she knows Quinn ''doesn't'' want her to go and embarrass her sister through her presence. When they're not insulting or irritating each other, their dealings often resemble a business transaction such as laying out terms of requirements, expenses, exceptions, and final payment. On some rare occasions the two sisters have worked together to achieve some goal, usually to get out of trouble or to avoid it; these earlier team-ups were also done in a business-like fashion, such as when Daria incites Quinn ("[[That Was Then, This Is Dumb]]"), with an offer of some form of payment or benefit, to gather scandalous blackmail information about their parents.

In spite of these differences, there does exist a level of sibling love between the two, even if they refuse to openly admit it. Daria has, to her discomfort, sometimes found herself helping Quinn: she backed her up against the Fashion Club in "[[Just Add Water]]", guilted herself out of embarrassing her sister in "[[Monster]]", and openly told Quinn "there's nothing wrong with you physically" in "[[Too Cute]]" when her sister was obsessed with (imaginary) imperfections. When Quinn has come to Daria for serious advice, Daria has given it to the best of her ability.

Daria has shown some sharp insight into her sister. In "[[Psycho Therapy]]", she stated Quinn "wears superficiality like a suit of armor, because she's afraid to looking inside and finding absolutely nothing"; in "[[Lucky Strike]]", she snaps at Quinn that she knows she's ''not'' stupid.

By the final episodes, their relationship warms considerably. In "[[Aunt Nauseum]]", she even says to Quinn that they won't be arguing as adults like their mother and aunts do.

==Relationship with Aunt Amy==

While she only appeared in three episodes, [[Amy Barksdale|Aunt Amy]] was highly significant for Daria's character: she shows a possible way an older Daria could turn out, something both of them were aware of in "[[I Don't]]". They share similar intellects and sarcastic humours, and were shown to get on extremely well. Later, Daria would be shown turning to Amy for advice and assistance.

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 recognised that fact.

==Personal Style and Decor==