Francine Smith - Personality

Personality

Although she enjoys being a housewife (once criticizing Stan for locking her up without shirts to fold, as she "hates down time"), as well as becoming aroused during spring cleaning, Francine occasionally yearns for something in her life more fulfilling. Sometimes this is in the form of a job - for a short while she was a successful realtor and even sold local newsreaders, Greg and Terry, the house across the street from the Smiths' own, achieved her dream of owning a muffin kiosk (she has tried sleeping with Adam Ant, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and Dexys Midnight Runners to get an investment for one when she was younger) at the mall, and even becoming a surgeon for an organized crime syndicate made up of handicapped people. One time, she joined a group of ultra-chic local ladies by faking an affair with a valet. Stan often neglects Francine, ignores what she says, and has forgotten their wedding anniversary at least twice. Despite this, Francine loves him and seems to be unable to cheat on him; even when her life was threatened she still would not sleep with another man. However, Francine has offered to let Stan cheat on her twice. When Klaus, whose long-time attraction to Francine we are made well aware of, is put into the body of a handsome black man who was once in an Earth, Wind and Fire tribute band, he temporarily manages to win Francine over; however, she does resist him, noticing something familiar about him. It is only until Stan reveals Klaus's identity that she is turned off completely.

Francine enjoys drinking alcohol (she has one bottle of wine for each special occasion, such as "Told Klaus to shut up"), occasionally smokes cigarettes (particularly when under stress), and has a history of using marijuana (which causes her to drink an entire bottle of Sunkist soda in a second) and even cocaine. Francine has an unhealthy obsession with keeping Steve as 'her baby' which has led her to pursue emotionally and physically abusive behavior towards him in an effort to keep him from becoming an independent man. She seems to go on obsessive jaunts and can resort to violence when the need demands. However, she maintains a warmth for animals and an unstoppable maternal instinct regarding her family, including a nonchalant acceptance of Stan's murderous overreactions. She also has an extreme hatred of George Clooney, according to "Deacon Stan, Jesus Man" and "Tears of a Clooney."

Francine has a curious and often perplexing intellect: while frequently displaying extreme ditziness through her social interactions with other characters, such as through failures to reason properly, inappropriate or misguided behavior, and laughing prematurely during jokes, Francine has also shown herself to possess incredible intellectual capacity: she is fluent in French, Spanish and Mandarin, and, in "Stan Time", manages to gain expert-level knowledge of marine biology through self-study in only a few weeks, to such an extent that she manages to get an article on the habitat of the colossal squid published in a scientific journal, gaining her instant international recognition.

Previous to her marriage Francine had a history of sexual promiscuity, most notably as a groupie who slept with numerous rock stars and pop singers and planting a rose bush for every person she has slept with, creating "the world's largest sex garden" which is so big it has a tour group (and is rumored to have, within its confines, a civilization that has never seen a white man). In the second season episode "Finances With Wolves" it is established that the Dexy's Midnight Runners' hit song "Come On Eileen" was written about Francine after the band had an orgy with her but couldn't remember her name.

There are times when Francine has demonstrated that she might be mentally unstable, including her vendetta against George Clooney and her extreme empty nest syndrome. In "Family Affair" she nonchalantly admits she stabbed her college roommate to death and expresses surprise that no one in the family knew before. In "Live and Let Fry" she tells Hayley that she can't handle much, and when someone rings the doorbell she screams "It's too much!". She also becomes violent and angry seemingly at random, once point sweeping Klaus' bowl onto the floor screaming 'Humans are talking!' because he interrupted her. Similarly, in the episode "Stan of Arabia," Francine resorts to physical violence when challenging Stan's Arabian wife, "Thundercat", for Stan's affection; saying "you want to dance bitch; then let's dance" and proceeded to fight her reasonably well. In "Every Which Way But Lose", Francine also admitted that she doesn't know how to vote as it confuses her too much. She just enters a booth, waits ten seconds, then comes out and yells "Democracy!"

Francine has also apparently spent time in prison before, and has recounted her experiences - with varying degrees of horror - on at least two occasions as seen in the fourth season episode "Pulling Double Booty". She also seems to be very experienced with weapons, though whether or not this is because she is married to Stan is never established. She is shown to carry machetes with her in the pilot and has pulled a gun on Stan on more than one occasion. She was also able to make a weapon out of a government-issued rubber shoe Roger had to wear as part of his stint as a prison therapist.

Despite being somewhat an animal lover, Francine has shown a cruelty to small birds, especially when it comes to cooking. In Live and Let Fry, she throws a chick at a window after becoming frustrated about not getting trans fat. During "In Country...Club," she drowns a rare species of bird to cook in a French delicacy for Roger after singing with it.