Violet Gray

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Violet first appeared in the February 7, 1951 *Peanuts* strip, becoming the strip's fifth character after Charlie Brown, Shermy, Patty and Snoopy. Her character changed and developed until the 1960s, when she began to be seen less often than the other major characters, with her appearances eventually reduced to the background and cameos. Her last appearance was in the November 27, 1997 *Peanuts* strip. Violet's surname (Gray) was mentioned only once, on April 4, 1953. Schulz admitted in a 1988 interview that Violet's pure vindictiveness had made it difficult to give her punch lines, and contrasted her to Lucy: where Violet was purely mean, Lucy had redeeming characteristics of being bluntly honest and to-the-point, and thus Lucy "worked" as a more rounded character where Violet did not.

In Their Own Story

In the early strips, Violet often acted like a preschool-age Suzy Homemaker: frequently making mud pies, playing "house," and being linked to romantic scenarios involving Shermy or Charlie Brown. In a strip from 1954, she is shown to collect stamps as a hobby. On some occasions, Violet was shown walking and keeping company with Lucy. Violet has key roles in the TV specials *A Charlie Brown Christmas* and *It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown*. In a Father's Day strip, her boasts are quelled by Charlie Brown when he takes her to his dad's barbershop. After telling her about how his dad would always smile at him no matter how bad a workday he was having, a moved and humbled Violet walked away, but not before quietly wishing Charlie Brown a Happy Father's Day. In another example, a character named "5" fired back at her with "My dad goes to PTA meetings!" Charlie Brown once deflated her with the comeback: "My dad has a son."

Reader's Guide

Violet is smart, popular, tomboyish, and somewhat of a snob. She makes her opinions known to everyone, and her haughtiness causes her to often torment other people, whom she views as beneath her. Compared to the apparent middle-class upbringing of the other characters, Violet has an upper-class mentality and she likes to brag about how her father possesses something her friends' fathers don't; it is also implied, however, that Violet's father is often absent from her life, which her peers use against her when she gets too obnoxious. In the early strips, Violet's appearance included shoulder-length black hair kept in either pigtails, a bun, or, sometimes, a ponytail. Later on, Schulz dropped the braids and kept Violet's hair only in ponytails. Violet also wears front bangs and often wears dresses which are originally depicted as purple; later they were depicted as lime green, as well as black Mary Janes shoes. Violet wears her purple dress in *The Peanuts Movie*, which is consistent with her name.

Did You Know?

• Violet first appeared in the February 7, 1951 strip, becoming the strip's fifth character.
• Her surname (Gray) was mentioned only once, on April 4, 1953.
• Her last appearance was in the November 27, 1997 Peanuts strip.
• Violet has key roles in the TV specials A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
• Schulz admitted in a 1988 interview that Violet's pure vindictiveness made it difficult to give her punch lines.