James McCarthy

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Daria's friend at Raft in E. A. Smith's college era fics.

Description[edit]

James McCarthy is in Daria's same year at Raft University, majoring in Political Science, though he met Daria in Freshman Chemistry. He is a redhead from South Carolina who speaks with a mild southern accent, which he will at times magnify for effect. James is both intelligent and sardonic, though not quite the cynic that Daria is. He has a great passion for art and learning, and will happily indulge in long, philosophical debates. Though James is more outgoing than Daria, he admires Daria greatly, respecting her mind, her artistic ability, and her determination to live her life on her own terms.

On the negative side, James is a bit socially inept; as well as he is drilled in some of the forms, he doesn't really understand all the polite niceties. Because of this, he has a tendency to speak his mind without thought of the consequences, which is why he and Daria have a history of conflict as well as friendship. He also has a temper, one which is quick to flare up but also quick to cool down. Even though he and Daria haven't learned how to keep from fighting, they have learned how to make up afterward, which is what has kept their friendship alive. Also, though he has a great passion for art, he had no artistic talents of his own, and can at times be a bit jealous of those possessed by Daria and Jane.

James comes from a religious background (which Daria sometimes refers to, a bit derisively, as his "Sunday-school upbringing"), though he has largely abandoned it by the time he becomes friends with Daria; however, near the end of his life, he returns to it to a small extent.

Though James is also a redhead, any similarities between him and Michael Fulton, Daria's boyfriend from the Falling Into College series, are purely coincidental.

History[edit]

Warning: The following may contain plot or ending details.


James introduced himself to Daria after hearing her make a sarcastic comment in class, which only he laughed at, and they developed a friendship over the next few weeks. Shortly after, James nearly destroyed their relationship by asking Daria out on a date, which quickly turned into a disaster when Daria abruptly pulled her hand back when he tried to take it (as related in the Love's Labours Trilogy). After spending a few months apart, Daria and James began to put the pieces of their friendship back together and in time became completely reconciled. Both Daria and James are aware of his continuing feelings for her, but neither of them speak of it.

In That Undiscovered Country, it is revealed that Daria and James started dating again near the end of their time at Raft, and eventually get married. Several years after their wedding, James dies after a short battle with pancreatic cancer, leaving Daria a widow in her mid-30s.

Story Appearances[edit]

James McCarthy appears as a character in:

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