Welcome to Adulthood

Daria's life has gotten more complex. When she was a Total Outsider, or could reasonably pretend to be, it was easy to just do what she wanted and damn the consequences, because there _were_ no real consequences.

But now she has real friends. She has a boyfriend. She's soon going to have to make deecisions about college and a career.

Suddenly, she's making decisions about more consequential things than what sort of cutting remark would be most appropriate. She can hurt or alienate her friends (as she did Jane in _DDMD_). She could hurt and lose her boyfriend (as she nearly did in _IIFY_).

Should she have sex with Tom? If she does, then this makes it (in her mind) something which will either be permanent, or a mistake which will humiliate her for a long time to come. (*) If she doesn't, then is she really loving him? This is a difficult decision -- Tom's making it easier by not pressuring her, but it's still not easy.

What college should she go to? What should she major in? What career should she aim for? Whatever choice she makes, it will close off other possiblities.

To take one obvious example, should she pick a college that's cheap? That has a good program in her majors? That she can go to with Tom? With Jane? What does she do if there's no one college that fits all these criteria?

During most of the series, Daria's only responsibilities were: 1) Get good grades, and 2) Stay out of major trouble (sex, drugs, violence). If she did these things, her parents would give her a food and pay for most of her expenses, and that's _all_ she had to really do. And, given Daria's intelligence and morals, these were _easy_ things for her.

Life's getting more difficult now.

Welcome to adulthood, Daria.

(*) Helen meant well, but she was _not_ helping by talking about the stunt car driver.

wrote:

This spectre of Maturity which has been haunting Daria of late will certainly rise up with a vengeance in the movie and most likely in the season (series) finale. I see her losing a bit more before this show is over, and although I would love to see her struggle with being a woman, perhaps it's best they close the curtain now.

Good Luck, Daria.

Jeff M.

JMorris said:

It won't all be "losses." Sure, Daria will have to give up some of her innocence to become an effective adult (and I don't just mean this in the sexual sense) and make some compromises, but she'll also gain many good adult things -- love, success, maybe even a husband and children. Adulthood isn't all bad :)

wrote:

Of course. Her life is just beginning. Some difficult, some sweet.

Jeff M.

Actually, a lot of people act less mature in college than they did in high school. Some even live to tell about it. :-)

Seriously, college is *not* a time to descend into stodginess. Especially since it doesn't look like Daria will have trouble grade-wise (remember "College Bored"?)

No reason why Daria shouldn't find college the best time of her life.

I don't think Daria's situation with Tom is the same as that of Helen and the stunt-car driver, which sounded like an impulsive fling. Even if they eventually break up, Daria may find herself saying, as Jane did, "I wish I'd jumped him when I had the chance." (Probably Daria would be less crude.)

M Man

MMan said:

I'd love to see a series about Daria set in college. Maybe someday someone will write or film one :)

Though seriously, I don't see her being a party girl.

The stunt-car driver analogy was poor, because Daria and Tom really have a serious relationship.

Um, this however means that Daria will feel _worse_ if they break up, because there's something worthwhile between them.

Probably not. But there are other things.

I understand the logic, but she'll only feel worse for the moment. In the long run, she'll wish she had gotten the most out of the relationship that she could have. If Jane's thought much about her time with Tom, she's probably had those kind of regrets, and "I wish I'd jumped him when I had the chance" is just the tip of that iceberg.

M Man

On 21 Jun 2001 23:29:07 GMT, [email] (Jordan S. Bassior) wrote:

I don't know. I could see her having a roomate who parties, her not objecting overly, then the roomate leaves, she continues to host the parties, and somehow, without really knowing how, becomes the sober silent life of the party.

Do you write fanfic?

M Man

On 22 Jun 2001 11:49:42 GMT, [email] (MMan37x) wrote:

No. I've considered it, but while I can come up wth ideas, I have difficulty moving a story. Disjointed scenes and characterizations are all I seem to be able to come up with.

Jordan S. Bassior wrote:

In DDMD, she clearly was trying to avoid hurting Jane, but her subconscious attraction to Tom contributed to her hurting Jane. As for IIFY, two problems were involved -- first, she felt guilty about dating Jane's former boyfriend (Tom), and she was afraid to get too close to Tom for fear of becoming vulnerable. Of course, there was also the problem of Tom going a little too fast for Daria's comfort, and the fact that Tom's family was so wealthy that it made Daria uncomfortable.

Yes, and let's be grateful that Tom didn't pressure her, for he easily could've done so.

Unfortunately, she's going to have to choose -- and that's not going to be easy.

Yes, things are going to get more difficult for her, but hopefully, she'll be able to choose wisely and avoid trouble.

Belle Book

On 21 Jun 2001 17:34:32 GMT, [email] (Jordan S. Bassior) wrote:

<snip>

I am/was like Daria. I thought many of the same things she says on the show. Kinda weird to see a cartoon character speak your thoughts out loud. Honestly, though I found adult life a lot more easier and enjoyable than life in high school. In high school you are forced to deal with the same social structure for four years. In adult life, you can walk away from virtually any social situation. In high school you have to pick your friends from the 200 or so people in your class. In adult life, you pick your friends from a community of thousands.