| “ | I could pass the test, but I like having low self-esteem. Makes me feel special. | „ |
| ~ Jane explaining to Daria why she intentionally fails psychiatric evaluations to get into a self-esteem class in the episode Esteemers. |
Jane Lane is the secondary protagonist in the MTV animated series Daria, as well as the best (only) friend of the title character.
She is voiced by Wendy Hoopes, who also voiced Quinn and Helen Morgendorffer, as well as Mona Sax in the Max Payne video game series.
Characterisation
Like Daria, Jane is deadpan, cynical and prefers to stay away from the crowd. Unlike Daria, Jane is more outgoing, not bothering to hide her sarcasm as strategically as her friend, as well as having a more obvious interest in boys her own age.
Similarly, while Daria is a bookworm, Jane is an obvious doodlebug. The two always swap drawings during classes of their teachers (particularly Mr. O'Neil) in demeaning situations. At home, Jane is always seen painting something morbid or making abstract sculptures.
Relationships
Daria Morgendorffer
Daria and Jane become friends as soon as they meet. The two seem to lean on each other somewhat: Jane coaxes Daria out of her shell when the situation calls for it, while Daria keeps Jane from doing something she'll later regret (such as chasing jerks and conforming). Jane is fully aware of Daria's crush on her older brother, Trent and enjoys teasing her over it.
When Jane started seeing Tom, it started a rift between Daria and herself. This seemed to go away after a while, but when Jane and Tom grew apart, she noticed that he was getting closer to Daria, making her feel insecure. When Tom and Daria kissed, Jane refused to speak to either of them for the entire summer. After spending time alone, Jane realised that this was all for the best and patched things up with Daria. Their friendship outlasted Tom and Daria's relationship, showing how close the two really are.
Family
Janeis the youngest in her family who lives with her older brother Trent and her mother. Her father is normally travelling on photographic expeditions and her three other siblings have long since moved out. Among her extended family, they are all considered the black sheep of the clan, presumably because of their bohemian lifestyles. Perhaps because of this barely functional famliy structure, she felt the inability to conform and thus turned out the way she is, similar to Daria's own family situation. She does, however, have a close bond with Trent, as they still live together, with Jane appearing at his gigs and Trent driving her places.
Classmates
Jane is rarely shown interacting with anyone her own age, but from what has been seen, most of her classmates seem a little intimidated by her. The few exceptions being Brittany Taylor, who hangs around Jane and Daria whenever she's trying to avoid her boyfriend Kevin, and Charles "UpChuck", who's a notorious skirt-chaser. Daria's sister Quinn and her friends have a similar aversion to Jane, though they seem to find her somewhat interesting because of her punkish appearance and artistic sense.
Teachers
The infamous painting
Jane's anti-establishment attitude makes her an infrequent target of several teachers, almost as much as Daria herself. When Jane submitted a painting for an art contest, her art teacher found it conventionally beautiful-unitl she read the morbid poem Daria wrote to accompany it. Jane also has an antagonistic relationship with the PE teacher, who never liked any of her free-spirited siblings and shows no sign of changing. Jane doesn't seem to hold much of an opinion of any of her school teachers, but when she spent the summer at an artist's colony, she showed downright disgust for her art instructor, who preyed on his impressionable young students.
Romance
Jane's appearance and personality make her surprisingly popular with the boys, having at least 4 romantic flings during her highschool years. She made out with a random boy during one of Brittany's parties, she joined the track team just to impress a good-looking athlete and she had a semi-steady relationship with a retrosexual who obsessed over vintage clothes. All of these failed after 1 episode.
Jane's most famous relationship was with Tom Sloane. The two met in a club, flirted a little and then went off together. Jane and Tom hung out with Daria, if only to keep her involved, but this turned out to be a major mistake. As Jane and Tom inevitably drifted apart, Tom began to spend more time with Daria, Jane not oblivious to their chemistry. When Tom kissed Daria, Jane blew up at him, and they both decided that the real reason this happened was because they weren't right for each other. Jane was still a virgin when she finished high school, planning to svae herself until her first day of college.