“I very deftly maneuvered her into the living room so I could sit on the couch and talk with her for about five minutes before anyone else came in and bothered us… That was really one of the great moments of my whole life, just meeting someone like Eudora Welty.”
—Charles M. Schulz on his inspiration for Eudora
Eudora is a supporting female character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. Eudora moved to Charlie Brown's neighborhood from another state, though which state was never specified. Eudora was a very prominent character in the early years of her introduction. She was arguably the last major character to join the Peanuts world. However, she was later demoted to being a background character and disappeared completely from the strip in June 13, 1987.
Personality
Eudora is sometimes shown to be more ditzy than her friend Sally is at times, such as doing a book report on the TV Guide as happens on the strip from October 6, 1978. She has come to school on a Saturday as seen in the strip from October 7, 1978. In the strip from October 5, 1978, Sally is even disgusted by Eudora's eating habits, when the latter is shown eating a chocolate sandwich, and wondering out loud how it would taste with gravy on it. Some speculate the child is fearful of things, an example shown in her introduction on June, 14, 1978 where she worries about being eaten by an antelope (although antelopes do not eat persons). Another prime example is shown in the strip from June 24, 1979, where we see her and Sally camping outside. She wonders if a star or even the moon would land on her. Eudora also appears to be very polite, as seen in the strip from February 3, 1980, where she literally charms Charlie Brown's socks off. In a Sunday strip from May 18, 1986, she claims she prays during Charlie Brown's baseball games because she does not want the ball to fly over to her (Lucy and Linus also claim to do this).
Appearance
Eudora has long, straight black hair and usually wears a knitted hat. She wears a sweater and pants which are colored blue in her appearances in The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show and orange in her two TV special appearances. In Peanuts (TV series), she has black, straight hair, a lavender hat and sweater, and white shoes.
History
The first appearance of Eudora in the strip from June 13, 1978.
The first other Peanuts character Eudora met was Sally, on the bus to summer camp on June 13, 1978. Eudora then showed up in Sally's class at the school on October 4, 1978. The two girls quickly became friends, and became even better friends when Eudora moved into Sally's neighborhood. However, Sally gets angry at Eudora when she is able to charm Linus into giving her his blanket, since Sally has a crush on Linus herself. Eudora gives the blanket to Snoopy's nemesis, the "stupid cat who lives next door," and it takes the combined forces of Linus, Snoopy and Woodstock to get the blanket back.
Eudora with Linus' blanket in The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show episode, "Snoopy's Cat Fight".
Eudora is shown playing on Charlie Brown's baseball team in some strips, taking the outfield spot next to Lucy that had once been held by Frieda before the latter disappeared from the strip. Eudora would eventually disappear as well, with her swan song coming on June 13, 1987, exactly nine years to the day after her introduction.
Eudora was the last new character to join the Peanuts world who could arguably be classified as a "major" character. Any new characters introduced after her only made limited appearances as part of specific storylines.
Relationships
Charlie Brown visits Eudora's house to play a board game in the Sunday strip from July 20, 1980.
Sally
Sally was the first character Eudora met on the bus to summer camp. She later appeared in Sally's class that fall and the two quickly befriended each other. But Sally does get angry at her at times, for example when Eudora shows feelings towards Sally's crush, Linus.
Linus
Eudora seems to have a crush on Linus. Eudora also calls him her "Sweet Babboo", a name Sally commonly calls him.
Charlie Brown
Unlike Lucy, Violet, and Patty, Eudora is nicer to Charlie Brown, often hanging out with him and playing board games. She also likes to talk with Charlie Brown at the wall, with Charlie Brown claiming that it's nice listening to her. When Sally first introduced Eudora to her brother, Charlie Brown was so impressed with her charm and politeness, that she literally "charmed his socks off". Like Marcie and Rerun, Eudora calls Charlie Brown "Charles". However, by the time she was almost out of the strip, she reverted to call him Charlie Brown.
Lucy van Pelt
Lucy and Eudora are barely seen together. On October 26, 1980, where Linus is waiting for the Great Pumpkin, Lucy takes Eudora to the pumpkin patch. After Linus quotes what he believes in, Lucy says, "See?", which leads Linus to moan, "How sharper than a serpent's tooth is a sister's see?" They are also seen socializing on the ball field (a role Frieda previously had before her last appearance in November 22, 1985) during Charlie Brown's baseball games.
Peppermint Patty
In a storyline from the late summer of 1984, Peppermint Patty fails her grade and has to repeat her school year. In the September 1984 comic strips, she enters her repeated grade without Marcie and Franklin, and finds Eudora sitting behind her. She treats Eudora like Marcie, providing her with answers and advising her to do as she does, resulting in Eudora and Peppermint Patty falling asleep together. But when the desk in front of Marcie's becomes "haunted" by a disembodied snore, Peppermint Patty is transferred to her proper grade. There is a continuity error in this, as Eudora attends Charlie Brown's school. Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Franklin attend a different school in the strip. There is no possibility that Eudora transferred, as in later strips she reverts to Sally's classroom. Schulz never explained this, or it may be possible that he did not even realize the error.
Snoopy
Snoopy seems to have a possible crush on Eudora. In one storyline, Snoopy tries to persuade Eudora to go with him on his World War I Flying Ace by speaking in French. But due to his inability to talk (and this is in all of Snoopy's imagination), Eudora cannot understand him. But Eudora finally speaks to him, but due to shock, Snoopy could not get the chance to speak to her. A running gag between them is when Snoopy is trying to flirt with her in his Red Baron fantasies, she dumps him. Sometimes she even resorts to physical violence, often punching Snoopy in the nose which is shown on November 15, 1981. However, she sometimes has a soft side for him, even telling Charlie Brown that she and her mother think that Snoopy is a well-behaved dog in a July 1980 Sunday strip. Snoopy is also possibly jealous of Eudora. In her last appearance of June 13 1987, she says she has a golden retreiver who has won numerous awards. Snoopy, who is golfing, says to tell her that he parred the third hole at Pebble Beach.
Spike
In the May 1981 comic strips, Snoopy takes his brother Spike to his World War I Flying Ace fantasy. While they are at a bar, Eudora sees Spike, and continues to cuddle Spike, much to Snoopy's jealousy.
TV appearances
Of all the major characters in Peanuts, Eudora has appeared on television the least amount of times.
She has appeared in:
- A Charlie Brown Celebration (1982)
- "Snoopy's Cat Fight" (an episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show) (1983)
- "Sally's Sweet Babboo" (an episode of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show) (1985)
- "The Music and Heroes of America (an episode of This Is America, Charlie Brown) [silent] (1989)
- A Charlie Brown Valentine (2002)
- I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown (2003) [silent cameo]
- Peanuts (2014)
Trivia
- Eudora is one of the many Peanut characters to appear in the video game Snoopy's Street Fair, in which, she owns an apple bobbing booth.
- Eudora is one of the few main characters to own a dog outside of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. During her last appearance, she talks about owning a golden retriever.
- In The Music and Heroes of America, if one looks closely during the scene where Franklin is shown playing the piano, Eudora's hat is blown off by a gust of wind. This makes this special the first and only time so far has shown Eudora without her hat off. Her hair is colored blonde, and her hair style is similar to that of Peppermint Patty's hair.
- Eudora does not appear in The Peanuts Movie. She does however appear in Snoopy's Town Tale, a mobile game based on the film.