- āThey can take my old photos, they can take my identity. But when they take my Courage, they've gone too far!ā
- ―Muriel
Muriel Bagge is the deuteragonist of the series Courage the Cowardly Dog.
A Scottish elderly woman, Muriel is the kind and sweet owner of Courage, as well as the industrious wife of Eustace Bagge. Though she is the show's damsel-in-distress, Muriel is also an excellent cook and would not tolerate any nonsense or misbehavior - she always uses her weapon (a rolling pin) to smack Eustace whenever he scares, teases, abuses, or otherwise mistreats Courage.
Appearance
In her youth, Muriel had reddish-brown hair, but in her old age, she had curly white hair. She usually wears a dark yellow dress with a bright yellow apron, a pair of sturdy black leather boots, and she wears glasses just like her husband.
Personality
3-year-old Muriel
As a 3-year-old child, Muriel was an extremely mischievous, spoiled, and silly little girl.
However, today, she is a devoted housewife, with a very gentle, sweet, and kind demeanor, who enjoys knitting, quilting, and cooking.
Muriel may be kind, and sweet, however she is very insightful, as well as passive aggressive at times. She believes a true woman is thoughtful, intelligent, and often believes in reason, and is cynical. She also believes a true woman endows herself in physical pleasures, and takes what she deserves.
As a married woman, she believes in feeding the ego of an egregious man, (Eustace), and letting him believe he is right, even when she knows he is wrong.
As a girl, Muriel was in girl scouts, was a cheerleader, and did well in school. She married Eustace at a young age, and decided to only go to community college and get a job as a secretary.
Muriel is usually the first to be targeted by villains
Due to her kindness and sweet, naive nature, she is an easy (and often attractive) target for villains. She is always nice to strangers, invites them into her home, and fails to see what they are plotting. Fortunately, she has Courage to save the day. He also helps her in many of her household duties.
Muriel on her rocking chair, with Courage on her lap.
She is usually worried if Eustace is in trouble, as seen in the episode Queen of the Black Puddle. In that episode, she is worried when Eustace acts strangely, and when Eustace is gone and she cannot find him, she cries, saying that she wants Eustace back. Because Courage hopelessly cannot comfort her, he manages to go and save Eustace, who has been kidnapped by the Queen of the Black Puddle. Muriel stops crying when she sees Eustace. She seems to love him very much, though she cannot stand his mother, Ma. Muriel always tries to get Eustace to do the right thing (although usually unsuccessfully).
Her personality was once affected by an alien who sucked her kindness away making her as angry and mean as Eustace and assists him in torturing Courage before Courage restored her kindness. Also, Muriel had gotten amnesia and can't remember a thing even Courage and instead of helping her Eustace uses it to his advantage by making her a slave woman rather than his wife and kicks Courage out but as usual Courage saves the day and restores her memory.
Skills
Muriel is artistic; she plays the sitar and has performed live in New York, after winning a sitar playing contest. At one time, she had a part in her school's performance of H.M.S Pinaforeāsometimes she dreams of being an actress. She also knows how to play the sitar and the piano, the former of which she mostly plays to relax. Most of all, she loves sitting in her rocking chair with Courage and watching television. She is a good cook and the winner of many cooking awards which include: best dog food, best eggplants, and best toffee apples. Her late Aunt Gertrude taught her to put vinegar in every recipe, and Muriel insists that this always does the trick. Even though she is an excellent cook, she has been noted to use too much vinegar. Her cooking, specifically her happy plums, has been shown to aid in the peaceful resolution of conflicts. She also knows how to drive, and is seen driving Eustace's Truck on one occasion.
Trivia
- Muriel is one of three characters (the others being Courage and Eustace) to appear in nearly every episode.
- She is also one of seven characters (the others being Courage, Eustace, Shirley, Dr. Vindaloo, the Computer and Katz) to appear in every season.
- Muriel appears to loathe Eustace's mother as she refuses to visit her in Mother's Day, and disagrees with her attempt to take the Coralites' coral.
- Her blood type is "ABXYZ."
- In Remembrance of Courage Past, Muriel's hair is brown. However, when Muriel got married her hair was red, and as a toddler her hair was white.
- A running gag throughout the series is Muriel showing off her underwear. The episode "Little Muriel" is the only time she has been shown in nothing but it.
- Muriel often shows a far greater level of common sense and practicality than Eustace when it comes to solving a problem or fixing something.
- There is a running gag where Muriel will hit Eustace with a rolling pin whenever he does something mean to Courage.
Gallery
The Gallery for Muriel can be found here.