Helen Morgendorffer: Difference between revisions
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==Relationship with her husband==
Usually, when it comes to parenting, Helen takes the lead. She has often been irritated when Jake doesn't properly back her up or show initiative himself, and in "[[Arts 'N Crass]]" became ''very'' angry when Jake took Daria's side instead.
==Relationship with her daughters==▼
However, in general they get on as a couple and episodes like "[[The Teachings of Don Jake]]" and "[[Jake of Hearts]]" show she truly cares for him, with her whole routine and home life changing after Jake's heart attack (and then changing back when it became clear he'd be fine). In "Psycho Therapy", she was also upset at the thought she'd left Jake feeling neglected and resentful, and apologised to him (and vice versa) for things said.
She's shown discontent that the "spice" in her marriage is gone, as far back as "[[Too Cute]]" where she admitted regaining it was her highest priority. She's attempted to do so with various trips and mechanisms ("[[Antisocial Climbers]]", "[[Camp Fear]]"), but often these get cancelled due to work commitments ("Camp Fear", "[[Of Human Bonding]]"). On several occasions, however, they've regained the "spice" ("[[Road Worrier]]" and "[[Is It Fall Yet?]]") and Helen has been left ''very'' happy.
▲==Relationship with her daughters (in general)==
Concerning her children, she constantly tries very hard to juggle her self-imposed demands for success corporately with the difficulty of raising her two daughters as they grow. In nearly every episode Helen tries to show interest and involvement in her children's lives, even if it makes her seem occasionally intrusive and annoying to them. This involvement is not always displayed as a parent-curiosity or concern, as sometimes she imposes rules and limits on her daughters. Usually these limits are only necessary for [[Quinn Morgendorffer|Quinn]], as [[Daria Morgendorffer|Daria]] rarely acts foolishly or without thought or restraint, but such limits are often set upon both daughters, in what is usually claimed to be an act of fairness to all.
Throughout most of the series, Helen's attempts to chat with her daughters often sound over-friendly, rehearsed, or insincere. This is probably because her daughters are growing up very quickly and due to her fast paced and demanding career, she has not been able to keep up with their lives in a way she feels comfortable with. Furthermore her daughters, while rarely openly hostile or resentful of their mother, almost never invite or seek to converse and discuss teenage issues with her. Despite such difficulties, Helen unyieldingly and continually attempts to enrich her relationship with her daughters. Her efforts appear somewhat fruitful in the short term, and may be fruitful in the long term.
==Relationship with Quinn==
Usually, Helen is supportive of Quinn and often cheerleads Quinn's actions and decisions, viewing her as well-engaged and sociable. Sometimes, she's tried to take action where Quinn is being too shallow or likely to be taken advantage of; she is more concerned about this with Quinn than Daria.
In an unguarded moment in "[[Psycho Therapy]]", when listing failures in her life she revealed she thought of ''Quinn'' was one of those: "[as for] Quinn...well, I can't even ''think'' about what happened there, not right now". She was horrified when she realised she'd said this out loud.
==Relationship with Daria==
Helen's obsession to be the best described with her relationships with her children and in particular, her relationship with her oldest daughter [[Daria Morgendorffer|Daria]]. Helen is constantly pushing her daughter to be more involved with school activities, to be more of a conformist, and to make friends (or "network") with the more popular students at [[Lawndale High]]. Often Daria finds herself pressured or bribed with money to go along with her mother's demands. In "[[Is It Fall Yet?]]", Helen revealed the reason she does this: she believes Daria is hiding behind an antisocial mask and refuses to let her daughter ''become'' that mask.
Daria tends to speak with her mother more often than her sister [[Quinn Morgendorffer]] does, and usually the conversations are of an adult level of maturity. At times Helen will succeed in getting Daria to talk about whatever current trouble she is dealing with. On occasion Helen demonstrates a deeper understanding of her daughter's habits than most of the family gives her credit for, such as in the episode "[[Write Where It Hurts]]," where she succinctly explains Daria's cynical habits and offers some help and sage parental advice. In "[[Dye! Dye! My Darling]]", Helen was who Daria turned to in one of her darkest hours and Helen immediately dropped work to help.▼
In "Psycho Therapy", Helen admitted to thinking she'd emotionally shut Daria out to the point where the girl rarely talked to her; Daria reassured her that she doesn't talk because she knows Helen would hang on her every word and she'd find that embarrassing.
▲Daria tends to speak with her mother more often than her sister [[Quinn Morgendorffer]] does, and usually the conversations are of an adult level of maturity. At times Helen will succeed in getting Daria to talk about whatever current trouble she is dealing with. On occasion Helen demonstrates a deeper understanding of her daughter's habits than most of the family gives her credit for, such as in the episode "[[Write Where It Hurts]]," where she succinctly explains Daria's cynical habits and offers some help and sage parental advice.
Despite this understanding and her personal history, Helen also develops a profound fear of Daria becoming sexually active. Why she would have this concern when she knows her eldest daughter is not given to impulsive acts is not explained.
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