Doris Schwartz - Character of the Month

 

Doris Rene Schwartz  is Jewish and the youngest child of Angela and Jack Schwartz, has an older brother Marty who left home to go to Canada to avoid having to fight in the Vietnam War, something that tore the family apart, which was resolved in "Homecoming". 

Another family issue that came to light in "Heritage" was that Doris' paternal Grandmother didn't approve of her son marrying someone who wasn't Jewish and when he married Doris' Mother who was Italian, the Grandmother didn't speak to the family for nearly 20 years.  

A drama major who also specializes in vocals, Doris is bubbly and determined. We sometimes see her come up with a crazy scheme to stretch her acting abilities like in "Street Kid" where dresses up as a prostitute in order to play a character as far removed from herself as possible. Also in "A Way of Winning" she goes into full make up as a senior citizen in order to get inside the head of an older person.

Like wise Doris lands herself in trouble with good intentions like in "The Crazies" where she persuades Montgomery that they should tell the truth all day, which upsets a lot of people, or in "Dreams" where she marries Jesse without hesitation in order to try and keep in the Country.  

Doris does have a negative self imagine. Believing herself to be too fat and not pretty enough to attract guys. We see her struggle with diets and body image throughout the series. In "Winners" she even starts fasting, thinking losing weight will help her be more successful.

Despite her view of herself Doris does attract a number of men. After crushes on Michael Harrison and Jim Hamilton the blind teacher, Doris' first proper relationship is with Cowboy Will in "Relationships". Sadly he is killed by the end of the episodes, leaving Doris Heartbroken. Her second boyfriend Sandy is an alcoholic which ultimately ruins the relationship and her third boyfriend David in "Wishes" was too good to be true or so Doris thought!

A long the way she briefly dated Danny on the rebound from a Summer fling with someone called Doug in "Indian Summer".  Eventually she and Danny realized they were just friends. She has unrequited feelings for Bruno which we see in "And The Winner Is" but ultimately they remain good friends.

 Doris is sensitive and cares deeply about other people and referred to herself as "The World's Twin Sister" in "Street Kid" when she tries to help a young woman escape from Prostitution.   She will always be the first person to try and help regardless of what lengths she has to go to. She finds it easy to offer others advice, even if they didn't ask for it.

She likes to organize things but sometimes her enthusiasm can annoy people like her attempts to organize the Friendship Day" Celebrations. 

In "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" Doris is mugged, which she struggles to cope with.

After 4 years at the School, which she loves and credits here time there with helping her discover the real Doris Schwartz, she graduates and goes out in the World. There she meets Bob Rhythm, who she marries and has a daughter named Jenny.