Miss Desjardin

Rita Lauren Desjardin is the gym teacher of Carrie White. A.K.A. Miss Collins

Literature[]

Miss Desjardin is the gym teacher of Carrie White's class and in her first year as a teacher. She despises Carrie at the beginning of the novel until the shower incident. Then she begins to feel ashamed, when she realizes, she didn't know about what a period is and takes her side by punishing the girls after understanding through Principal Grayle, that her mother Margaret White (nee Brigham) is a Christian fanatic and therefore didn't tell her about that. Christine doesn't want to take the punishment and swears revenge. First she sends her father to achieve her reinstatement to the prom, but Principal Morton takes her side and cannot achieve his intentions knowing very well, he would lose in court.

During prom, in which she, along with four other staff members, is responsible for the well being of the prom goers, she has a friendly conversation with Carrie and even talks to her about her prom. She still has, however, traits of her despise towards Carrie. When Christine decides to execute her revenge on Carrie and by doing so disturb the prom according to her wishes, she reflexively approves the prank despite of her even knowing, that it may have also cost Tommy's life and laughs together with the students and the staff members. When she comes to her senses, she wants to "console" her after what she has done, which results her in being punched telekinetically to the wall by Carrie. She receives a bloody nose because of that. Carrie then sought revenge from the outside of the school and tries to kill everybody in cold blood, including Miss Desjardin. She survives, but only barely by running with a handful of students to the fire door in time. The rest die and she has to experience this firsthand.

After the Black Prom incident, she resigns, because she is consumed with guilt regarding her role at the prom and regarding Carrie and all those who died that night. She comes to the conclusion, that she would rather commit suicide than teach again and tells it to the principal two weeks after the Black Prom massacre. It is also implied she is having nightmares because of this.

1976 movie[]

In this movie Ms. Desjardin was renamed Miss Collins. She is played by Betty Buckley.

Like in the novel she is a witness of the shower incident, although she has a more friendly attitude towards Carrie. She punishes the girls and bans Christine "Chris" Hargensen (Nancy Allen) from the prom, when she refuses to submit to the punishment. She also helps Carrie to go to the prom, which she organizes. When Carrie falls victim to the mean prank of Christine and Billy (John Travolta), who did it in revenge for Christine being banned from the prom, Carrie, driven by the hysterical laughter most of the prom goers had after the event, suffers a hallucination, which leads her to believe, she was laughing, too, like most of the prom goers did. She is therefore killed, butchered, slaughtered, and murdered like a helpless male sheep by Carrie in cold blood, along with all the others.

1988 Episode[]

2002 movie[]

In this movie she is called Miss Desjarden. She is played by Rena Sofer.

She intervenes after the shower prank. She had her period, when she was ten years old and witnessed, how the desk of the Principal moved five inches, when she talked to him and Carrie and Carrie, enraged, told the principal, her name was Carrie and not Cassie, when they were talking about the incident. Like in the novel, she punishes the girls for having behaved like they did in the shower and in Carrie's closet, especially Christine, the most rebellious and guilty one.

She witnesses at the prom, how Carrie is drowned in blood and how Tommy met his demise at the hands of Chris and Billy. She tries to awaken Carrie from her comatose state and witnesses, how a telekinetic wave comes out of her. She survives the Black Prom along with a handful of students by going into a vent, though only barely, while she witnesses Carrie's strange behavior.

After the disaster she tells Detective Mulchaey, the man responsible for the investigation into it, that the events were unnatural and that Carrie must have had special powers and that she somehow used them to get revenge. She cited the event at the principal's office as supporting proof of her theory.

It was implied she was going to be in the TV series, which was never materialized.

2012 Musicals[]

2013 movie[]

Rita Desjardin is played by Judy Greer.

Miss Desjardin punishes the girls, when she realizes, what they did to Carrie during her first period. When Christine doesn't want to submit to the punishment, she suspends her and puts her out of the prom. She also destroys a last attempt of Christine to come back by exposing her as the one, who made the video of Carrie in front of the principal and her father. She encourages Carrie to go to the prom and even gives her some advice. She is amazed, when she sees Carrie in her new look at the prom. When she sees Sue, she mistakenly believes, she is there to disturb the prom and throws her out.

Unlike in the 1976 film adaption, Carrie doesn't kill her at the prom and lifts her to the stage for her own protection, thus sparing her life from her wrath, while she throws the wires on the wet floor. Later she was scared looking at Carrie, when she flies out of the school. After that she is later seen with a broken arm and traumatized because of these events. She also silently tells Sue, that Tommy is dead.