Daria Morgendorffer: Difference between revisions
→Daria's Growth
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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.
[[Image:Daria Morgendorffer (from Fire!).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Daria Morgendorffer, as depicted in the ''Daria'' episode, "Fire!"]]
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 be a young woman with a classical view on romance, one soured by what she perceives as the idiocy of the young men around her (in both Highland and Lawndale), and (almost certainly) by the dating mannerisms of her sister [[Quinn Morgendorffer|Quinn]]. Daria is certainly not above the idea of romance - her year-long crush on Trent (which arguably lasted from [[Road Worrier]] to [[Jane's Addition]], and was most famously displayed and dealt with in [[Lane Miserables]]) is proof of that. However, Daria's own incredibly high standards have invariably led to problems in this area, as well as her fear of opening up emotionally to others (which could be seen as the reason that her brief relationship with [[Ted DeWitt-Clinton]] never progressed beyond casual dating
It must also be noted that this naivete, in terms of romance, led to a temporary dissolution of her friendship with [[Jane Lane]], as it could be argued (and has by some members of the fandom) that had Daria possessed any level of emotional maturity in this area, she would have never allowed Tom's growing infatuation with her (which she was bluntly confronted upon by Trent in [[Fire!]]) to progress without speaking to Jane about it, let alone begin dating Tom. While Daria managed to salvage her friendship with Jane, her own actions could easily have ended it
Daria dissolves her relationship with Tom in '[[Is It College Yet?]]', citing that they're drifing apart and will be taking two different paths in college. It can be argued that this shows greater emotional maturity (as she's recognising things won't work) or that this shows she's still not fully matured in regards to romance ([[CINCGREEN]] argues this position in an essay on the character's development across the whole of the series). Notably, Tom and Daria are still amiable after the breakup.
▲It must also be noted that this naivete, in terms of romance, led to a temporary dissolution of her friendship with [[Jane Lane]], as it could be argued (and has by some members of the fandom) that had Daria possessed any level of emotional maturity in this area, she would have never allowed Tom's growing infatuation with her (which she was bluntly confronted upon by Trent in [[Fire!]]) to progress without speaking to Jane about it, let alone begin dating Tom. While Daria managed to salvage her friendship with Jane, her own actions could easily have ended it; the scene in [[Boxing Daria]] where Daria hugs Jane indicates that their friendship may, in fact, not be as strong as it was before Tom entered their lives. Daria and Tom dissolve their relationship in '[[Is It College Yet?]]'; the manner in which the breakup (initiated by Daria) happens demonstrates that she still has not yet matured emotionally in this area (as opposed to the other aspects of her life; [[CINCGREEN]] also argues this position in an essay on the character's development across the whole of the series).
In ''[[Is It College Yet?]]'', the series' finale, Daria outlines what could be considered her own personal philosophy during her acceptance speech for the [[Dian Fossey Award]]:
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