Categories > Cartoons > Daria > 1960's Daria
1960s—Chapter 12
By Dr T
1968 continues
A ‘Daria’ fanfic, so no claim to original characters, etc. claimed, just my plot twists. Based on an image from the last ‘Daria’ episode/movie, ‘Is It College Yet?’
July 2
“What’s wrong?”
It had been clear to Marcus that there was something wrong as soon as he had opened the garage door when he returned from campus just before noon, as Daria had been sitting on a lawn chair set just inside the laundry room. Her expression reenforced the premise that whatever it was, this was not welcome news.
Daria stood and motioned for him to shut the garage door. After he did so, she slid her arms around him and hugged him tightly, her head pressed against his chest.
That gesture startled Marcus. Daria could be very affectionate, but this seemed more needy than affectionate, and that he was not used to seeing. “Daria, you’re worrying me.”
Daria sighed and looked up. “Bad news for Jane; I don’t know how it affects us. She got a letter from James today.”
Marcus thought he could guess the contents. “He’s breaking things off?”
Daria nodded. “He’s not even coming back here. He’s transferring to a place call BFAC, which Jane says stands for Boston Fine Arts College.”
Marcus winced, understanding the likely subtext. “So, he’s got only breaking things off, he’s going someplace that will make Jane feel doubtful of her own skills.”
Daria had to think about that for a second. “That hadn’t occurred to me,” she confessed with a grimace, “but you could be right.”
“How badly is she taking it?”
“She cried for over an hour,” Daria stated, the underlying worry plain in her voice, “but hopefully she’s still asleep.”
Marcus sighed a little. He had to load up his luggage – he was about to leave for the airport to catch his overnight flight to London. Still, this would be upsetting for Daria as well as Jane, and he wouldn’t be around to help out. “Why don’t you take a couple of cans of soup upstairs – that’s a lot more soothing and digestible than pizza or whatever you were planning on for your dinners. Hold her close, and give her a hug, but nothing more, from me.”
Daria put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. “This is just one reason I love you.”
“Are you still going to be able to make it over to campus for golf?” That class was in the afternoon.
Daria shrugged. “I will; hopefully Jane will as well.” She kissed him again. “Let me help you load up.”
-60s-
Over the next few weeks, Jane would often alternate between melancholy and a bit of true depression, interspersed with a few rages. It helped that over the 4th and through the following weekend as Daria used the harness and rode Jane hard. It helped in a different sense the next week, when Jane could spend part of the day before and after golf painting her feelings. The abstracts mostly proclaimed ‘angst’ – the one still life was very still (a dead flower atop a rather bedraggled grave). Still, it all helped Jane work through her emotional responses.
Daria spent that time alternating between helping Jane and missing Marcus. It didn’t help her that throughout most of the past her and Jane’s lovemaking had usually been mostly about gentle caressing to orgasms, with or without insertion, with many kisses, spread evenly between the two and all over. This summer, Jane was now insisting on being the receptive partner with Daria in the strap-on, even if Jane was often on top. Sometimes Jane even begged for their sessions to be more than a bit on the rough side, which was really not in Daria’s nature. Still, she obliged. By the end of Marcus’ British trip, Daria was looking forward to his gentle touch and being on the receiving end of his passion, rather than being used as Jane had been using her. Granted, Jane sometimes had then spent some time ‘kissing things better,’ but Daria preferred their previous, gentler, passions.
As for the summer, Daria was content with her grades, an A for Genealogy and an A- in Photography, and an A in Golf and A- in Swimming. As she was now more than halfway through her undergraduate degree, she and Marcus started wondering, and therefore talking, about where things might go.
Both were hoping they would be able to carry on their relationship, and perhaps even formalize it, but each knew that Daria would want to at least finish and perhaps earn a graduate degree before fully making those decisions. Marcus therefore did not press, but did let Daria know that he was hopeful for their future, and Daria felt reassured that she was not making an error by living out of wedlock and so far outside society’s norms.
-60s-
The campus administrators were rather glad that students only started returning to campus on Saturday, August 30th. The Democratic National Convention was held late that year, August 26-29, and it was a disaster. The protests in the streets of Chicago had led to violence through the 30th – many suspected what would later be proven, that most of it was caused by the police under orders from the mayor. There was also violence on the floor of the convention, as well as dissention, as the delegations from some segregated Southern states were challenged. All that was shown on the tv network news. The Democratic Party, which had been heading in at least two different directions since the New Deal, was splitting apart. The Democratic candidate, the liberal civil rights advocate Vice President Hubert Humphrey, would not appeal in much of the traditionally Democratic South. And, because he was the Vice President, forced to defend the administration’s previous actions in Viet Nam, the disaffected youth would hardly be supporters either, assuming they bothered to vote.
The college administrators started plans to put into effect if there were campus disturbances.
Into this troubled period, on campus as well as generally, Daria led a very odd existence as the actual semester started. In some ways, she was splitting her life into several seemingly non-compatible roles. On campus, she was two different people, although both dressed similarly. During the days, she was dressed even a bit more casually than the year before. She wasn’t the student who looked the most like a hippie, but she would be placed in that group during classes, down to the sandals on warm days. At the Thursday be-ins and some other times, she was even more a stereotypical hippie, down to the love beads, body and face paint, and bare feet.
However, when she and Marcus went out together, not even her mother or grandmother could have faulted her dress or her manners. She was two somewhat different women at home as well. In the apartment, she and Jane were open and enthusiastic free-lovers, with Daria still usually being encouraged to take a dominate role in bed. In the house, Daria, while certainly not a housewife, was still the household manager. If her and Marcus’ love life was much more varied than convention might dictate, he still usually took the lead, even if Daria initiated their lovemaking as often as he did.
Jane was much more at loose ends, other than her evenings with Daria. Both she and Daria knew that as much as they each loved the other, and were in lust with each other, they were not truly in love. Daria and Marcus were, but Jane would not recover from her summer loss through the semester. This affected her art and her class work – her in-class projects improved technically but were emotionally cold, while her personal paintings became both more abstract and more psychedelic. Fortunately for Jane, Daria’s Aunt Amy found her a New York gallery which liked her new personal style. As for her regular class work, that fell off a bit. It would take some coaching on Daria’s part to get Jane’s average that term close to a 3.0. Still, compared to many students who were affected by world as well as personal changes, Jane felt that overall she was doing okay.
That fall, there would be anti-war and other student protests around the world, the first major feminist protest (at the Miss America pageant), the Black Power salute at the Mexico City Olympics, and George Wallace’s pro-segregation independent presidential campaign. For many of the men in what Republican nominee Richard Nixon was calling ‘the Silent Majority,’ the worst thing that happened was the interruption of an AFL football game by a presentation of the movie ‘Heidi.’
Even though politically minded students like Daria (who was still too young to vote in 1968) had problems with Hubert Humphrey, they certainly would have preferred a strong social liberal with a (in their opinion) questionable support of the Administration’s Viet Nam policies to Richard Nixon (never mind George Wallace). Like Marcus, Amy had been a supporter of Robert Kennedy and would be reluctant voter for Humphrey as the best choice available. Daria was unsurprised to learn that her parents had both voted for Nixon, although her father had done so more than a bit reluctantly. She was also unsurprised, if saddened, to learn that her grandmother and other maternal aunt had voted for Wallace.
Throughout all this, Daria managed to make the time to work on her Haight Ashbury novel. The publisher was eager for it, believing that it would be timely, and managed to rush it into print just in time for the Christmas buying season. To Daria’s surprise, it would hit the New York Times best-seller list (albeit barely) for six weeks starting in January. This would lead to the Coventry novel gaining a paperback release (and decent sales) and the lease of the Haight Ashbury novel as a paperback just a few weeks before Woodstock – that coincidence would push the paperback sakes to the midrange of the New York Times best-seller list for five weeks, with another ten weeks towards the bottom of the list. These mostly helped Daria gain entrance into a graduate writing program when she applied after graduation – a few of the instructors would be leery of accepting a young writer with more solid publishing credentials than what they had.
All that was in the future. Throughout the actual semester, Daria, like so many others, was just trying to navigate what at times seemed to be an ever-changing sea of political and social storms and crosscurrents. Perhaps surprisingly, while there were any number of meetings, there were no actual demonstrations or protests on campus. The meetings and be-ins helped both to keep awareness up but tensions low. Unlike some campuses, the college administration didn’t try to crack down on the campus newspaper opinion pieces or political cartoons (Jane managed to rouse herself to contribute a few of those), giving most of the more activist-minded students the feeling they at least were able to express their opinions.
It also helped that while there were plenty of national political, social, and other causes to protest, there really wasn’t much to protest on their campus. The campus had dropped ROTC back in the late 1950s. Government agencies like the CIA or FBI did not come to their campus to recruit, despite the proximity of Washington, and neither did companies with strong connections with ‘the military-industrial complex.’ While there were few Black students, the campus was technically integrated, and the Administration and especially the faculty were vigilant in insuring there were few racist expressions allowed. The administrators also allowed a number of groups to form and meet on campus, rather than trying to keep them disorganized. By the end of the semester, there were two different civil rights groups, and the administration was working with both to improve the number of minority students in the incoming classes.
Similarly, there were two different feminist groups formed by then as well. One of these emerged for some of the closeted lesbian and bisexual students who wanted to explore at least hinting at being out of the closet for mutual support. Jane would join the latter group early in the spring semester.
The general student culture on campus also evolved. The music on the campus radio station, which had been a very wide mix when Daria had started two years before, was now exclusively pop/rock. By the end of September, the only time male undergrads would been seen in coats and ties in class would be if they were pledging a fraternity which required it. Just two years before, nearly all the men would have at least have been wearing ties every class day.
While the amount of cigarettes consumed remained high, the use of other tobacco products decreased, especially among the women. Still, the total amount of smoke produced on campus continued to increase, even if the percentage of tobacco smoke decreased.
Some of the female students would continue to dress up, at least part of the time, but more and more were seen in informal dress, and all the students started to be seen more often in jeans during the week. While nail polish continued to be popular, the amount of makeup used decreased, especially for everyday wear. The amount of hairspray used decreased even more.
-60s-
(An excerpt from Daria’s ‘start of the semester letter’ to her Aunt Amy)
Dear Aunt Amy
Another semester has started. The main news is that the college is now offering BA degrees in addition to the BS Education degrees. I have officially dropped out of the education programs. I could graduate this year or maybe next summer if I just wanted the English degree, but I’ve been keeping up and even improving my French, and I could be able to earn a degree in French, certainly by the end of four years, and perhaps even a year from this December if I decide I want it. Anyways, I’m trying two French lit courses, and we’ll see how they go.
Mother is still annoyed with me for not spending time under her direct control this summer. I think that was in part because Quinn is now off at MMJC. She wasn’t fully comfortable with my not being under direct supervision, so I am sure having neither of us under her control is very aggravating. However, we all must grow up; even Quinn (at least in theory). Despite how often I’ve disparaged her in the past, I hope she makes the adjustment to MMJC easily and gets what she wants out of experience, even if I’m not sure I even imagine what that could be.
Jane is still hurting from the ‘Dear John’ letter she received….
-60s-
Things were indeed very different for Quinn than her experiences in high school or Daria’s Freshman year. Compared to at least parts of many high schools across the US, other than some of the music played at school dances and parties, life during Quinn’s previous 1967-68 school year had looked very much like it had over the preceding years. Quinn’s senior year had therefore held few surprises for her. She had managed to do just well enough in class and on her SAT to meet the relatively modest requirements for Martha Madison Junior College for Ladies (it would change the ‘for ladies’ to ‘for women’ only in 1971), the only place she had considered attending. With numerous relatives as alumnae and parents who could pay all the tuition and fees upfront, Quinn made the cut (only 150 women were admitted per year), although her admittance was a bit closer than Quinn would realize.
MMJC still only had one set basic curriculum for all its students in this period (its curriculum would expand starting in the late 1970s), and the classes were basically designed so that anyone who wasn’t too lazy or stupid should graduate with around a C/C- average without huge difficulty. (Granted, a few students would still manage to flunk out.) On the other hand, those few academically-inclined (usually those women who would want to go on to transfer to a four-year institution), earning an A- or higher average was not easy.
The single curriculum required 65 credits to graduate with the AA degree. The set requirements were: 12 credits of French; 6 history and 3 government; 6 English and 6 literature; 3 each for introductions to art and music; 3 math; 3 household management; and four semesters of one credit courses in piano and physical fitness. The remaining 12 credits could come from courses in art, art history, history, or literature.
Like her high school, a stranger looking at the MMJC campus in the autumn of 1968 might have thought it was at least a few years in the past, even compared to the somewhat conservative Lawndale State campus. The students did NOT wear slacks, never mind jeans, even on weekends. (Well, some form of trousers were allowed for those involved in equestrian pursuits, but only then.) All of the women at MMJC wore skirts or dresses which were ‘nice’ and the shortest hems were at least touching the top of the knees, and most were a bit lower. Hair spray still dominated the morning bathroom routines for the majority.
Quinn had come to campus expecting to dominate the scene, just as she had her class since junior high school. Instead, she found that while she was somewhere in the top 10% in terms of looks, compared to the other MMJC students she was somewhere in the lower third in terms of class and even social training (as most of her classmates were from even wealthier backgrounds and a generation closer to high social status, and had more experience in high society), and nearly half were perhaps a touch higher in terms of intelligence (not that she cared much for that).
Quinn, for the first time, really had competition stronger and better prepared socially than she was. It took her a few weeks (and more than a few snubs and subtle put-downs) to fully understand this. However, despite not being as intelligent as her mother, never mind Daria, Quinn was far from stupid, even if she rarely utilized that intelligence. At the same time, exactly like her mother and sister, Quinn had determination. By the beginning of October, Quinn had reorganized and set off to conquer the school’s social scene under what for her were the new and unusual set of circumstances. She became the leader of those students who for whatever reason were not quite already among the school leaders but who wanted to be: those who were nice looking but not beautiful (almost no one not really attractive was admitted to MMJC, after all – a portfolio of glamor shots were part of the application process), those from good families but not top tier, those from nouveaux riche families, etc.
In short, those almost like Quinn, but who fell just short of her in one way or another so that she could lead them.
Daria was surprised that Quinn had been writing to her about these things from mid-September on. However, despite rolling her eyes (sometimes, but not always, literally), she wrote to Quinn encouraging her in those goals Daria believed at least leaned towards the positive.
-60s-
Daria would have liked to have stayed with Marcus over Thanksgiving, but considering her long absence from home, she knew she really couldn’t. She had no desire to be with her mother, or to a degree her sister, but other than a short visit in late September when he had been able to drop by, Daria had not seen her father either. Therefore, the day before Thanksgiving, she drove home, dropping Jane at her home along the way.
Daria arrived to an empty house – her father was still at work and her mother was picking Quinn up from MMJC that day as well. Remembering her mother’s long-time habit, Daria looked at the kitchen counter near the refrigerator, and sure enough, there was a note.
Daria:
We have reservations for Montague’s at 6:15. Your father will meet us there. Quinn has been warned to dress appropriately, and we will be meeting you and your father there. Be sure to dress correctly as well.
Mother
Daria frowned at the missive. “A little more warning would have been nice,” she snarled under her breath. Montague’s was a very high-class restaurant – the evening before Thanksgiving, it was quite likely that a quarter of the men would be in tuxedoes (especially those arriving for dinner after 7:00). Still, her father would be arriving from work in his usual suit and her mother was unlikely to be overdressed when driving to Tidewater Virginia and back in an afternoon, so Daria wouldn’t have to be too formally dressed. Daria did not have anything too formal at home which would fit in any event, but she had had a suspicion her mother might pull something like this, although not at as fancy a place as Montague’s. Seeing it was nearly 4:30, Daria went to take a shower and get dressed. She was glad she had arrived early enough to dress up a bit.
While basically an independent spirit, Daria was not one to rock a boat without a good reason. Granted, her mother would argue that Daria’s definition of ‘a good reason’ was far too broad (or at least too different from her own standards). Daria certainly acknowledged that her ideas on propriety were very different than her mother’s. Therefore, not wanting to unnecessarily cause trouble, Daria had left not only all her casual campus clothing at what she now fully considered her home, but her everyday day wear when going out casually with Marcus as well. She had brought a variety of the outfits she wore when going out to dine with Marcus. She did not have a fancy dress with her, but had a nice skirt, a choice of tops, good flats, and a decent jacket. Daria was glad it was not too cold.
What she did have with her was part of the birthday presents Marcus had given her. He had gifted her two sets of jewelry. One was a set of love beads, matching earrings, and a set of rings – including some toe rings she would wear when performing. The second set, however, was a white gold necklace set with diamond and emerald chips and a matching ring. Daria knew that wearing the latter set would set all three of the others off, but she decided she didn’t care. She did decide to wear the ring on her right hand, however, even if she so far had worn it as a pre-engagement ring when formally dining out.
Daria walked into the restaurant a few minutes after 6:00. As she had suspected, she was the first one there – if her mother had a reservation at 6:15, she would walk in as close to 6:12 as was possible, even if she had to wait in her car if early or break the speed limit if she was running late. Her father came in just a few minutes after Daria, and he had her join him at the table, which was ready. They chatted as they waited, each looking at their wrist watches.
Sure enough, Helen and Quinn swept into the dining room right on time, although Quinn looked a little flustered. Daria wondered exactly how fast her mother had driven, given how Quinn had often procrastinated in getting ready in the past. She wondered who would comment on her ring and necklace first.
It was Helen, within seconds of having sat down. “Daria!” Helen quickly lowered her voice. “Where did you get that necklace?”
“Not to mention the matching ring,” Quinn smirked. “They do go nicely with your coloring.”
“Thank you,” she told Quinn. She looked at her mother. “They are from an admirer, and I will leave it at that.”
“And who…?”
“As I said,” Daria stated firmly, “I shall leave things at that. As I was given no warning we would be dining here, I was unable to fully dress up, so I thought I should add a bit of extra class this way.”
Jake and Quinn, not to mention Daria herself, were silently amused as Helen tried to work out a way to comment on Daria’s response. Finally, Helen resorted to a threat. “You will behave and answer me properly, or else.”
“Helen,” Jake warned.
“No,” Helen hissed. “If our daughter is someone’s paid paramour while living on us….”
Daria stood. “Please consider this month’s allowance the last money you need send me, Mother. I am grateful for it, even if I have always had to fight you to support me. Feel free to spend it all on Quinn if you wish.” She turned to Quinn. “I wish you the best of luck. If you wish to write me while you’re in school, please do so. Just do not expect any answers while you’re at your home.” She turned to her father. “Father, I’ll be in touch.”
Daria again turned on Helen. “I shall remove my remaining things from your home before I leave tonight. I shall leave my house key on the counter. Good evening, all.” She turned and simply walked out as Helen sputtered in anger.
Jake stood and glared at his wife. “I shall be eating elsewhere. You and I will discuss this later. Quinn, you may dine with your mother or come with me.”
“I…I think I should eat here,” Quinn said, seeing her mother’s glare.
Jake left.
Helen hoped she had enough cash to pay the bill.
-60s-
Marcus was startled when he heard a garage door open around 8:30. Coming upstairs from the den in the cellar, he found Daria fixing herself a sandwich and having already poured herself a Schlitz – she would occasionally sip on a glass a wine, but she rarely drank beer.
“I’d give you a kiss, but I’m starving,” she told him as she viciously sliced a tomato.
“Tell me about it, then,” he suggested gently.
Daria did so. When had finished, and finished her sandwich, Marcus bridal-carried her upstairs to their bedroom. Daria brushed her teeth, and then cried in his arms before falling asleep.
They would move her remaining belongings from her family home to her current home in the morning.
-60s-
By Dr T
1968 continues
A ‘Daria’ fanfic, so no claim to original characters, etc. claimed, just my plot twists. Based on an image from the last ‘Daria’ episode/movie, ‘Is It College Yet?’
July 2
“What’s wrong?”
It had been clear to Marcus that there was something wrong as soon as he had opened the garage door when he returned from campus just before noon, as Daria had been sitting on a lawn chair set just inside the laundry room. Her expression reenforced the premise that whatever it was, this was not welcome news.
Daria stood and motioned for him to shut the garage door. After he did so, she slid her arms around him and hugged him tightly, her head pressed against his chest.
That gesture startled Marcus. Daria could be very affectionate, but this seemed more needy than affectionate, and that he was not used to seeing. “Daria, you’re worrying me.”
Daria sighed and looked up. “Bad news for Jane; I don’t know how it affects us. She got a letter from James today.”
Marcus thought he could guess the contents. “He’s breaking things off?”
Daria nodded. “He’s not even coming back here. He’s transferring to a place call BFAC, which Jane says stands for Boston Fine Arts College.”
Marcus winced, understanding the likely subtext. “So, he’s got only breaking things off, he’s going someplace that will make Jane feel doubtful of her own skills.”
Daria had to think about that for a second. “That hadn’t occurred to me,” she confessed with a grimace, “but you could be right.”
“How badly is she taking it?”
“She cried for over an hour,” Daria stated, the underlying worry plain in her voice, “but hopefully she’s still asleep.”
Marcus sighed a little. He had to load up his luggage – he was about to leave for the airport to catch his overnight flight to London. Still, this would be upsetting for Daria as well as Jane, and he wouldn’t be around to help out. “Why don’t you take a couple of cans of soup upstairs – that’s a lot more soothing and digestible than pizza or whatever you were planning on for your dinners. Hold her close, and give her a hug, but nothing more, from me.”
Daria put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. “This is just one reason I love you.”
“Are you still going to be able to make it over to campus for golf?” That class was in the afternoon.
Daria shrugged. “I will; hopefully Jane will as well.” She kissed him again. “Let me help you load up.”
-60s-
Over the next few weeks, Jane would often alternate between melancholy and a bit of true depression, interspersed with a few rages. It helped that over the 4th and through the following weekend as Daria used the harness and rode Jane hard. It helped in a different sense the next week, when Jane could spend part of the day before and after golf painting her feelings. The abstracts mostly proclaimed ‘angst’ – the one still life was very still (a dead flower atop a rather bedraggled grave). Still, it all helped Jane work through her emotional responses.
Daria spent that time alternating between helping Jane and missing Marcus. It didn’t help her that throughout most of the past her and Jane’s lovemaking had usually been mostly about gentle caressing to orgasms, with or without insertion, with many kisses, spread evenly between the two and all over. This summer, Jane was now insisting on being the receptive partner with Daria in the strap-on, even if Jane was often on top. Sometimes Jane even begged for their sessions to be more than a bit on the rough side, which was really not in Daria’s nature. Still, she obliged. By the end of Marcus’ British trip, Daria was looking forward to his gentle touch and being on the receiving end of his passion, rather than being used as Jane had been using her. Granted, Jane sometimes had then spent some time ‘kissing things better,’ but Daria preferred their previous, gentler, passions.
As for the summer, Daria was content with her grades, an A for Genealogy and an A- in Photography, and an A in Golf and A- in Swimming. As she was now more than halfway through her undergraduate degree, she and Marcus started wondering, and therefore talking, about where things might go.
Both were hoping they would be able to carry on their relationship, and perhaps even formalize it, but each knew that Daria would want to at least finish and perhaps earn a graduate degree before fully making those decisions. Marcus therefore did not press, but did let Daria know that he was hopeful for their future, and Daria felt reassured that she was not making an error by living out of wedlock and so far outside society’s norms.
-60s-
The campus administrators were rather glad that students only started returning to campus on Saturday, August 30th. The Democratic National Convention was held late that year, August 26-29, and it was a disaster. The protests in the streets of Chicago had led to violence through the 30th – many suspected what would later be proven, that most of it was caused by the police under orders from the mayor. There was also violence on the floor of the convention, as well as dissention, as the delegations from some segregated Southern states were challenged. All that was shown on the tv network news. The Democratic Party, which had been heading in at least two different directions since the New Deal, was splitting apart. The Democratic candidate, the liberal civil rights advocate Vice President Hubert Humphrey, would not appeal in much of the traditionally Democratic South. And, because he was the Vice President, forced to defend the administration’s previous actions in Viet Nam, the disaffected youth would hardly be supporters either, assuming they bothered to vote.
The college administrators started plans to put into effect if there were campus disturbances.
Into this troubled period, on campus as well as generally, Daria led a very odd existence as the actual semester started. In some ways, she was splitting her life into several seemingly non-compatible roles. On campus, she was two different people, although both dressed similarly. During the days, she was dressed even a bit more casually than the year before. She wasn’t the student who looked the most like a hippie, but she would be placed in that group during classes, down to the sandals on warm days. At the Thursday be-ins and some other times, she was even more a stereotypical hippie, down to the love beads, body and face paint, and bare feet.
However, when she and Marcus went out together, not even her mother or grandmother could have faulted her dress or her manners. She was two somewhat different women at home as well. In the apartment, she and Jane were open and enthusiastic free-lovers, with Daria still usually being encouraged to take a dominate role in bed. In the house, Daria, while certainly not a housewife, was still the household manager. If her and Marcus’ love life was much more varied than convention might dictate, he still usually took the lead, even if Daria initiated their lovemaking as often as he did.
Jane was much more at loose ends, other than her evenings with Daria. Both she and Daria knew that as much as they each loved the other, and were in lust with each other, they were not truly in love. Daria and Marcus were, but Jane would not recover from her summer loss through the semester. This affected her art and her class work – her in-class projects improved technically but were emotionally cold, while her personal paintings became both more abstract and more psychedelic. Fortunately for Jane, Daria’s Aunt Amy found her a New York gallery which liked her new personal style. As for her regular class work, that fell off a bit. It would take some coaching on Daria’s part to get Jane’s average that term close to a 3.0. Still, compared to many students who were affected by world as well as personal changes, Jane felt that overall she was doing okay.
That fall, there would be anti-war and other student protests around the world, the first major feminist protest (at the Miss America pageant), the Black Power salute at the Mexico City Olympics, and George Wallace’s pro-segregation independent presidential campaign. For many of the men in what Republican nominee Richard Nixon was calling ‘the Silent Majority,’ the worst thing that happened was the interruption of an AFL football game by a presentation of the movie ‘Heidi.’
Even though politically minded students like Daria (who was still too young to vote in 1968) had problems with Hubert Humphrey, they certainly would have preferred a strong social liberal with a (in their opinion) questionable support of the Administration’s Viet Nam policies to Richard Nixon (never mind George Wallace). Like Marcus, Amy had been a supporter of Robert Kennedy and would be reluctant voter for Humphrey as the best choice available. Daria was unsurprised to learn that her parents had both voted for Nixon, although her father had done so more than a bit reluctantly. She was also unsurprised, if saddened, to learn that her grandmother and other maternal aunt had voted for Wallace.
Throughout all this, Daria managed to make the time to work on her Haight Ashbury novel. The publisher was eager for it, believing that it would be timely, and managed to rush it into print just in time for the Christmas buying season. To Daria’s surprise, it would hit the New York Times best-seller list (albeit barely) for six weeks starting in January. This would lead to the Coventry novel gaining a paperback release (and decent sales) and the lease of the Haight Ashbury novel as a paperback just a few weeks before Woodstock – that coincidence would push the paperback sakes to the midrange of the New York Times best-seller list for five weeks, with another ten weeks towards the bottom of the list. These mostly helped Daria gain entrance into a graduate writing program when she applied after graduation – a few of the instructors would be leery of accepting a young writer with more solid publishing credentials than what they had.
All that was in the future. Throughout the actual semester, Daria, like so many others, was just trying to navigate what at times seemed to be an ever-changing sea of political and social storms and crosscurrents. Perhaps surprisingly, while there were any number of meetings, there were no actual demonstrations or protests on campus. The meetings and be-ins helped both to keep awareness up but tensions low. Unlike some campuses, the college administration didn’t try to crack down on the campus newspaper opinion pieces or political cartoons (Jane managed to rouse herself to contribute a few of those), giving most of the more activist-minded students the feeling they at least were able to express their opinions.
It also helped that while there were plenty of national political, social, and other causes to protest, there really wasn’t much to protest on their campus. The campus had dropped ROTC back in the late 1950s. Government agencies like the CIA or FBI did not come to their campus to recruit, despite the proximity of Washington, and neither did companies with strong connections with ‘the military-industrial complex.’ While there were few Black students, the campus was technically integrated, and the Administration and especially the faculty were vigilant in insuring there were few racist expressions allowed. The administrators also allowed a number of groups to form and meet on campus, rather than trying to keep them disorganized. By the end of the semester, there were two different civil rights groups, and the administration was working with both to improve the number of minority students in the incoming classes.
Similarly, there were two different feminist groups formed by then as well. One of these emerged for some of the closeted lesbian and bisexual students who wanted to explore at least hinting at being out of the closet for mutual support. Jane would join the latter group early in the spring semester.
The general student culture on campus also evolved. The music on the campus radio station, which had been a very wide mix when Daria had started two years before, was now exclusively pop/rock. By the end of September, the only time male undergrads would been seen in coats and ties in class would be if they were pledging a fraternity which required it. Just two years before, nearly all the men would have at least have been wearing ties every class day.
While the amount of cigarettes consumed remained high, the use of other tobacco products decreased, especially among the women. Still, the total amount of smoke produced on campus continued to increase, even if the percentage of tobacco smoke decreased.
Some of the female students would continue to dress up, at least part of the time, but more and more were seen in informal dress, and all the students started to be seen more often in jeans during the week. While nail polish continued to be popular, the amount of makeup used decreased, especially for everyday wear. The amount of hairspray used decreased even more.
-60s-
(An excerpt from Daria’s ‘start of the semester letter’ to her Aunt Amy)
Dear Aunt Amy
Another semester has started. The main news is that the college is now offering BA degrees in addition to the BS Education degrees. I have officially dropped out of the education programs. I could graduate this year or maybe next summer if I just wanted the English degree, but I’ve been keeping up and even improving my French, and I could be able to earn a degree in French, certainly by the end of four years, and perhaps even a year from this December if I decide I want it. Anyways, I’m trying two French lit courses, and we’ll see how they go.
Mother is still annoyed with me for not spending time under her direct control this summer. I think that was in part because Quinn is now off at MMJC. She wasn’t fully comfortable with my not being under direct supervision, so I am sure having neither of us under her control is very aggravating. However, we all must grow up; even Quinn (at least in theory). Despite how often I’ve disparaged her in the past, I hope she makes the adjustment to MMJC easily and gets what she wants out of experience, even if I’m not sure I even imagine what that could be.
Jane is still hurting from the ‘Dear John’ letter she received….
-60s-
Things were indeed very different for Quinn than her experiences in high school or Daria’s Freshman year. Compared to at least parts of many high schools across the US, other than some of the music played at school dances and parties, life during Quinn’s previous 1967-68 school year had looked very much like it had over the preceding years. Quinn’s senior year had therefore held few surprises for her. She had managed to do just well enough in class and on her SAT to meet the relatively modest requirements for Martha Madison Junior College for Ladies (it would change the ‘for ladies’ to ‘for women’ only in 1971), the only place she had considered attending. With numerous relatives as alumnae and parents who could pay all the tuition and fees upfront, Quinn made the cut (only 150 women were admitted per year), although her admittance was a bit closer than Quinn would realize.
MMJC still only had one set basic curriculum for all its students in this period (its curriculum would expand starting in the late 1970s), and the classes were basically designed so that anyone who wasn’t too lazy or stupid should graduate with around a C/C- average without huge difficulty. (Granted, a few students would still manage to flunk out.) On the other hand, those few academically-inclined (usually those women who would want to go on to transfer to a four-year institution), earning an A- or higher average was not easy.
The single curriculum required 65 credits to graduate with the AA degree. The set requirements were: 12 credits of French; 6 history and 3 government; 6 English and 6 literature; 3 each for introductions to art and music; 3 math; 3 household management; and four semesters of one credit courses in piano and physical fitness. The remaining 12 credits could come from courses in art, art history, history, or literature.
Like her high school, a stranger looking at the MMJC campus in the autumn of 1968 might have thought it was at least a few years in the past, even compared to the somewhat conservative Lawndale State campus. The students did NOT wear slacks, never mind jeans, even on weekends. (Well, some form of trousers were allowed for those involved in equestrian pursuits, but only then.) All of the women at MMJC wore skirts or dresses which were ‘nice’ and the shortest hems were at least touching the top of the knees, and most were a bit lower. Hair spray still dominated the morning bathroom routines for the majority.
Quinn had come to campus expecting to dominate the scene, just as she had her class since junior high school. Instead, she found that while she was somewhere in the top 10% in terms of looks, compared to the other MMJC students she was somewhere in the lower third in terms of class and even social training (as most of her classmates were from even wealthier backgrounds and a generation closer to high social status, and had more experience in high society), and nearly half were perhaps a touch higher in terms of intelligence (not that she cared much for that).
Quinn, for the first time, really had competition stronger and better prepared socially than she was. It took her a few weeks (and more than a few snubs and subtle put-downs) to fully understand this. However, despite not being as intelligent as her mother, never mind Daria, Quinn was far from stupid, even if she rarely utilized that intelligence. At the same time, exactly like her mother and sister, Quinn had determination. By the beginning of October, Quinn had reorganized and set off to conquer the school’s social scene under what for her were the new and unusual set of circumstances. She became the leader of those students who for whatever reason were not quite already among the school leaders but who wanted to be: those who were nice looking but not beautiful (almost no one not really attractive was admitted to MMJC, after all – a portfolio of glamor shots were part of the application process), those from good families but not top tier, those from nouveaux riche families, etc.
In short, those almost like Quinn, but who fell just short of her in one way or another so that she could lead them.
Daria was surprised that Quinn had been writing to her about these things from mid-September on. However, despite rolling her eyes (sometimes, but not always, literally), she wrote to Quinn encouraging her in those goals Daria believed at least leaned towards the positive.
-60s-
Daria would have liked to have stayed with Marcus over Thanksgiving, but considering her long absence from home, she knew she really couldn’t. She had no desire to be with her mother, or to a degree her sister, but other than a short visit in late September when he had been able to drop by, Daria had not seen her father either. Therefore, the day before Thanksgiving, she drove home, dropping Jane at her home along the way.
Daria arrived to an empty house – her father was still at work and her mother was picking Quinn up from MMJC that day as well. Remembering her mother’s long-time habit, Daria looked at the kitchen counter near the refrigerator, and sure enough, there was a note.
Daria:
We have reservations for Montague’s at 6:15. Your father will meet us there. Quinn has been warned to dress appropriately, and we will be meeting you and your father there. Be sure to dress correctly as well.
Mother
Daria frowned at the missive. “A little more warning would have been nice,” she snarled under her breath. Montague’s was a very high-class restaurant – the evening before Thanksgiving, it was quite likely that a quarter of the men would be in tuxedoes (especially those arriving for dinner after 7:00). Still, her father would be arriving from work in his usual suit and her mother was unlikely to be overdressed when driving to Tidewater Virginia and back in an afternoon, so Daria wouldn’t have to be too formally dressed. Daria did not have anything too formal at home which would fit in any event, but she had had a suspicion her mother might pull something like this, although not at as fancy a place as Montague’s. Seeing it was nearly 4:30, Daria went to take a shower and get dressed. She was glad she had arrived early enough to dress up a bit.
While basically an independent spirit, Daria was not one to rock a boat without a good reason. Granted, her mother would argue that Daria’s definition of ‘a good reason’ was far too broad (or at least too different from her own standards). Daria certainly acknowledged that her ideas on propriety were very different than her mother’s. Therefore, not wanting to unnecessarily cause trouble, Daria had left not only all her casual campus clothing at what she now fully considered her home, but her everyday day wear when going out casually with Marcus as well. She had brought a variety of the outfits she wore when going out to dine with Marcus. She did not have a fancy dress with her, but had a nice skirt, a choice of tops, good flats, and a decent jacket. Daria was glad it was not too cold.
What she did have with her was part of the birthday presents Marcus had given her. He had gifted her two sets of jewelry. One was a set of love beads, matching earrings, and a set of rings – including some toe rings she would wear when performing. The second set, however, was a white gold necklace set with diamond and emerald chips and a matching ring. Daria knew that wearing the latter set would set all three of the others off, but she decided she didn’t care. She did decide to wear the ring on her right hand, however, even if she so far had worn it as a pre-engagement ring when formally dining out.
Daria walked into the restaurant a few minutes after 6:00. As she had suspected, she was the first one there – if her mother had a reservation at 6:15, she would walk in as close to 6:12 as was possible, even if she had to wait in her car if early or break the speed limit if she was running late. Her father came in just a few minutes after Daria, and he had her join him at the table, which was ready. They chatted as they waited, each looking at their wrist watches.
Sure enough, Helen and Quinn swept into the dining room right on time, although Quinn looked a little flustered. Daria wondered exactly how fast her mother had driven, given how Quinn had often procrastinated in getting ready in the past. She wondered who would comment on her ring and necklace first.
It was Helen, within seconds of having sat down. “Daria!” Helen quickly lowered her voice. “Where did you get that necklace?”
“Not to mention the matching ring,” Quinn smirked. “They do go nicely with your coloring.”
“Thank you,” she told Quinn. She looked at her mother. “They are from an admirer, and I will leave it at that.”
“And who…?”
“As I said,” Daria stated firmly, “I shall leave things at that. As I was given no warning we would be dining here, I was unable to fully dress up, so I thought I should add a bit of extra class this way.”
Jake and Quinn, not to mention Daria herself, were silently amused as Helen tried to work out a way to comment on Daria’s response. Finally, Helen resorted to a threat. “You will behave and answer me properly, or else.”
“Helen,” Jake warned.
“No,” Helen hissed. “If our daughter is someone’s paid paramour while living on us….”
Daria stood. “Please consider this month’s allowance the last money you need send me, Mother. I am grateful for it, even if I have always had to fight you to support me. Feel free to spend it all on Quinn if you wish.” She turned to Quinn. “I wish you the best of luck. If you wish to write me while you’re in school, please do so. Just do not expect any answers while you’re at your home.” She turned to her father. “Father, I’ll be in touch.”
Daria again turned on Helen. “I shall remove my remaining things from your home before I leave tonight. I shall leave my house key on the counter. Good evening, all.” She turned and simply walked out as Helen sputtered in anger.
Jake stood and glared at his wife. “I shall be eating elsewhere. You and I will discuss this later. Quinn, you may dine with your mother or come with me.”
“I…I think I should eat here,” Quinn said, seeing her mother’s glare.
Jake left.
Helen hoped she had enough cash to pay the bill.
-60s-
Marcus was startled when he heard a garage door open around 8:30. Coming upstairs from the den in the cellar, he found Daria fixing herself a sandwich and having already poured herself a Schlitz – she would occasionally sip on a glass a wine, but she rarely drank beer.
“I’d give you a kiss, but I’m starving,” she told him as she viciously sliced a tomato.
“Tell me about it, then,” he suggested gently.
Daria did so. When had finished, and finished her sandwich, Marcus bridal-carried her upstairs to their bedroom. Daria brushed her teeth, and then cried in his arms before falling asleep.
They would move her remaining belongings from her family home to her current home in the morning.
-60s-
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