Elaine Marley
Encyclopedia
Elaine Marley–Threepwood is a fictional character
in the Monkey Island series of graphic adventure video games
. Created by Ron Gilbert
for LucasArts
, the character first appears in The Secret of Monkey Island
and is one of the core characters in the franchise. Originally conceived as a ruthless island governor
, the character evolved during development into the protagonist's love interest. While the first two games in the series did not feature voice acting, Elaine was voiced by Alexandra Boyd
in The Curse of Monkey Island
and by Charity James in Escape from Monkey Island
; Boyd would reprise the role for later entries in the franchise.
Elaine is the governor of the Tri-Island Area, a fictional group of pirate
islands in the Caribbean
. She is loved by the undead pirate LeChuck
, who never ceases to pursue her affections and attempts to turn her into his undead bride, but Elaine instead falls in love with hapless protagonist Guybrush Threepwood
. Elaine is consistently kidnapped by LeChuck, prompting Guybrush to attempt a rescue, although Elaine is usually more than capable of escaping predicaments by herself. She eventually marries Guybrush and relinquishes her gubernatorial responsibilities to her grandfather, travelling with Guybrush to the fictional Gulf of Melange to cure the outbreak of a voodoo-empowered pox.
The character has enjoyed positive critical reception. Several sources, such as GameSpot
, commended Elaine's aberration of the damsel in distress
stereotype. Elaine has been ranked on a number of lists regarding the best female characters in the video game industry, and has received praise for her visual design and resilient personality. Critics have also complimented Boyd's and James' voice acting for the character in the later installments of the series, though IGN
expressed disappointment at the character's reduced lines in The Curse of Monkey Island.
; Gilbert appreciated the reference, so Elaine was adopted as the governor's name. As development on the game further progressed, the character evolved from being a ruthless governor to the player character's love interest.
When the player talks to a number of characters in The Secret of Monkey Island, a close-up portrait of the character is shown. Elaine's appearance in this portrait was based on Avril Harrison, an artist working at LucasArts. Gilbert always felt bothered by these close-up portraits, stating that "while they were great art, I never felt they matched the style of the rest of the game". In the 2009 Special Edition, these close-ups were redone in the same stylized artwork featured in the rest of the game.
In The Curse of Monkey Island, Elaine realises that Guybrush is her true love, and marries him. However, Ron Gilbert did not intend for the relationship between the characters to develop in this way, stating that Elaine "never really liked Guybrush and thought of him as more of a little brother". Gilbert was not involved in the production of The Curse of Monkey Island; while thinking that the new development team "did a pretty good job of capturing what Monkey Island was about", the relationship between Elaine and Guybrush "was the thing that bugged [Gilbert] the most about The Curse of Monkey Island".
The Curse of Monkey Island was the first Monkey Island game to feature voice acting; in it, the part of Elaine Marley was given to British actress Alexandra Boyd
. Boyd explains that she got the part of Elaine as she had worked with voice director Darragh O'Farrell previously; O'Farrell brought Boyd in to read for the part. Boyd joked that "I figured I got the part because I have red hair like her". Boyd was not contacted to return as the character for Escape from Monkey Island; Elaine was instead voiced by American actress Charity James. Nevertheless, Boyd reprised the role for Telltale Games
' Tales of Monkey Island and the later enhanced remakes of the first two games. Boyd was glad to return, stating that the character "is very well written and it’s fun doing all that shouting at LeChuck and Guybrush! Exhausting but fun". Rather than travelling to Telltale's studio in San Rafael
, Boyd instead recorded her lines for Tales of Monkey Island in London
, communicating with the director remotely with Skype
. The development of Elaine's character was one of Gilbert's aims for Tales of Monkey Island; Gilbert wanted Elaine to "be better informed and more capable than most of the other characters".
setting; her outfit usually consists of pantaloons, a blouse worn under a lightweight tunic, a sash
, boots and a headscarf
. Elaine usually wears gold earring
s, though by Tales of Monkey Island, she wears her diamond engagement ring
as an earring until Chapter 2. Her appearances in The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
are in the form of pixel art
, with appearances slightly differing between the EGA
, Amiga
and VGA
versions of the games. By The Curse of Monkey Island, Elaine is rendered in a cartoon art style by LucasArts artists Larry Ahern and Bill Tiller, although the character's choice of clothing remains consistent. Escape from Monkey Island translated Ahern and Tiller's depiction into 3D graphics, while the later special editions and Tales of Monkey Island produced a more stylized art form for the character. While under LeChuck's influence as his demon bride in Tales of Monkey Island, Elaine is dressed in a Gothic
wedding dress
and a tiara
, her eyes are pupiless and her skin is given a green hue.
. Although Elaine rebukes
LeChuck's advances, he nevertheless pursues her love and aims to impress her by discovering the secret of Monkey Island. The exhibition ultimately costs LeChuck his life, but he returns as a ghost still intent on marrying Elaine. LeChuck's ambitions for Elaine's hand in marriage—whether given willingly or not—form a major part of the franchise's plot.
Elaine first encounters Guybrush when he breaks into the governor's mansion on Mêlée Island in an attempt to steal a valuable idol. Elaine has been fascinated to meet Guybrush since hearing of his arrival on the island and his strange name, however, their first meeting is stunted by Guybrush being too awestruck by Elaine's beauty to say anything intelligible. When the local sheriff
tries to drown Guybrush after a fight, Elaine nevertheless rushes to his aid, confessing that she feels deeply attracted to Guybrush, which he reciprocates. She implores Guybrush to finish his pirate trials before they act on their new-found love, but is kidnapped
by LeChuck and taken to his hideout on Monkey Island when the ghost pirate's crew suddenly raids the island.
Guybrush mounts a rescue attempt, but fails to reach Elaine before LeChuck's ship returns to Mêlée Island for LeChuck's wedding to Elaine. The well-intentioned Threepwood gatecrashes the wedding, but in actuality ruins Elaine's own plan to defeat LeChuck with an anti-ghost concoction. Guybrush still manages to destroy LeChuck, and the game closes with the happy couple watching the fireworks as the evil pirate's ghost form explodes.
. Between the games, the two have broken off their relationship and Elaine has moved to her governor's mansion on Booty Island. When Guybrush appears at the mansion, she presumes he has come to apologize; instead he is looking for a map that belonged to Elaine's grandfather, which leads to fabled treasure Big Whoop. After discovering Guybrush's intentions, Elaine is infuriated and refuses to speak to him. Guybrush eventually becomes trapped at the site of Big Whoop, with Elaine arriving to rescue him. Guybrush falls into a chasm, where he is confronted by LeChuck, recently resurrected as a zombie. As the game ends with Guybrush thinking he is a child in a theme park, Elaine is seen worrying that LeChuck has placed a curse on Guybrush.
.
as the impetus for the whole series, critics lauded Elaine's non-conformity to the damsel in distress
stereotype. GameSpot noted that Elaine is usually much more proficient at escaping trouble "than the so-called hero who comes to save her", while the video game culture journal Eludamos approved of the character for allowing a level of "feminine expression which did not necessary always conform to passive ideals of the damsel in distress". The site That Guy with the Glasses
put Elaine as the eighth best female character in gaming, describing her as possibly the only staple character in the series to have "a shred of sanity and smarts", praising the character's independence and resilience as well as noting that as a woman in the Golden Age of Piracy, Elaine has risen to a position of power far above what would be historically considered normal for the time.
Eurogamer
commended Elaine's design as "worthy of acclaim", naming her the "Best Female Supporting Character" in their 2001 annual Gaming Globes awards, while IGN
described her alongside Guybrush and LeChuck as one of "the most beloved adventure characters of all time". Alexandra Boyd and Charity James have also been praised for their voicing of Elaine; Computer Games Magazine
described Boyd's work for The Curse of Monkey Island as "wonderful", though lamented that she did not speak more in the game, while Macworld
admired the character's depiction in Escape from Monkey Island as "beautiful and plucky".
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Monkey Island series of graphic adventure video games
Graphic adventure game
A graphic adventure game is a form of adventure game. They are distinct from text adventures. Whereas a player must actively observe using commands such as "look" in a text-based adventure, graphic adventures revolutionized gameplay by making use of natural human perception...
. Created by Ron Gilbert
Ron Gilbert
Ron Gilbert is an American computer game designer, programmer, and producer, best known for his work on several classic LucasArts adventure games, including Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games. Gilbert was also co-founder of Humongous Entertainment and its sister company Cavedog...
for LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
, the character first appears in The Secret of Monkey Island
The Secret of Monkey Island
The Secret of Monkey Island is a graphic adventure game developed by Lucasfilm Games and published by the same company after its name was changed to LucasArts. The game spawned a number of sequels, collectively known as the Monkey Island series...
and is one of the core characters in the franchise. Originally conceived as a ruthless island governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
, the character evolved during development into the protagonist's love interest. While the first two games in the series did not feature voice acting, Elaine was voiced by Alexandra Boyd
Alexandra Boyd
Alexandra Boyd is a British actress, who is best known for playing Clarissa Mason in Coronation Street. On British TV Alexandra has also appeared in two episodes of Doctors was Denis Waterman's love interest in New Tricks and has also appeared in Holby City...
in The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts, and the third game in the Monkey Island series. It was released in and followed the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge...
and by Charity James in Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island is a computer adventure game developed and released by LucasArts in 2000. It is the fourth game in the Monkey Island series....
; Boyd would reprise the role for later entries in the franchise.
Elaine is the governor of the Tri-Island Area, a fictional group of pirate
Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation given to one or more outbursts of piracy in maritime history of the early modern period. In its broadest accepted definition, the Golden Age of Piracy spans from the 1650s to the 1730s and covers three separate outbursts of piracy:the buccaneering...
islands in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. She is loved by the undead pirate LeChuck
LeChuck
LeChuck is a fictional character in the Monkey Island series of graphic adventure games. Created by Ron Gilbert for LucasArts, LeChuck was introduced in The Secret of Monkey Island and is the chief antagonist of the series. Gilbert drew on aspects of the characters in the 1988 novel On Stranger...
, who never ceases to pursue her affections and attempts to turn her into his undead bride, but Elaine instead falls in love with hapless protagonist Guybrush Threepwood
Guybrush Threepwood
Guybrush Ulysses Threepwood is the main character of the Monkey Island series of computer adventure games by LucasArts. The voice of Guybrush is actor Dominic Armato in the third, fourth and fifth games, as well as the enhanced remakes of The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's...
. Elaine is consistently kidnapped by LeChuck, prompting Guybrush to attempt a rescue, although Elaine is usually more than capable of escaping predicaments by herself. She eventually marries Guybrush and relinquishes her gubernatorial responsibilities to her grandfather, travelling with Guybrush to the fictional Gulf of Melange to cure the outbreak of a voodoo-empowered pox.
The character has enjoyed positive critical reception. Several sources, such as GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
, commended Elaine's aberration of the damsel in distress
Damsel in distress
The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or monster and who requires a hero to achieve her rescue. She has become a stock character of fiction,...
stereotype. Elaine has been ranked on a number of lists regarding the best female characters in the video game industry, and has received praise for her visual design and resilient personality. Critics have also complimented Boyd's and James' voice acting for the character in the later installments of the series, though IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
expressed disappointment at the character's reduced lines in The Curse of Monkey Island.
Character design
The original script for The Secret of Monkey Island called for a character simply named "the Governor"; Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert had envisioned her as a far more ruthless character. The name "Elaine" was created later in development by Dave Grossman, who wrote the final scenes of the game in which protagonist Guybrush Threepwood disrupts the wedding of antagonist LeChuck and the governor. One of Grossman's options for gatecrashing the wedding is having Guybrush scream "Elaine!" in a parody of a similar scene in the 1967 film The GraduateThe Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
; Gilbert appreciated the reference, so Elaine was adopted as the governor's name. As development on the game further progressed, the character evolved from being a ruthless governor to the player character's love interest.
When the player talks to a number of characters in The Secret of Monkey Island, a close-up portrait of the character is shown. Elaine's appearance in this portrait was based on Avril Harrison, an artist working at LucasArts. Gilbert always felt bothered by these close-up portraits, stating that "while they were great art, I never felt they matched the style of the rest of the game". In the 2009 Special Edition, these close-ups were redone in the same stylized artwork featured in the rest of the game.
In The Curse of Monkey Island, Elaine realises that Guybrush is her true love, and marries him. However, Ron Gilbert did not intend for the relationship between the characters to develop in this way, stating that Elaine "never really liked Guybrush and thought of him as more of a little brother". Gilbert was not involved in the production of The Curse of Monkey Island; while thinking that the new development team "did a pretty good job of capturing what Monkey Island was about", the relationship between Elaine and Guybrush "was the thing that bugged [Gilbert] the most about The Curse of Monkey Island".
The Curse of Monkey Island was the first Monkey Island game to feature voice acting; in it, the part of Elaine Marley was given to British actress Alexandra Boyd
Alexandra Boyd
Alexandra Boyd is a British actress, who is best known for playing Clarissa Mason in Coronation Street. On British TV Alexandra has also appeared in two episodes of Doctors was Denis Waterman's love interest in New Tricks and has also appeared in Holby City...
. Boyd explains that she got the part of Elaine as she had worked with voice director Darragh O'Farrell previously; O'Farrell brought Boyd in to read for the part. Boyd joked that "I figured I got the part because I have red hair like her". Boyd was not contacted to return as the character for Escape from Monkey Island; Elaine was instead voiced by American actress Charity James. Nevertheless, Boyd reprised the role for Telltale Games
Telltale Games
Telltale Games is a leading independent digital first publisher and game developer founded in June 2004 as Telltale, Incorporated. Based in San Rafael, California, the studio includes designers formerly employed by LucasArts...
' Tales of Monkey Island and the later enhanced remakes of the first two games. Boyd was glad to return, stating that the character "is very well written and it’s fun doing all that shouting at LeChuck and Guybrush! Exhausting but fun". Rather than travelling to Telltale's studio in San Rafael
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
, Boyd instead recorded her lines for Tales of Monkey Island in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, communicating with the director remotely with Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
. The development of Elaine's character was one of Gilbert's aims for Tales of Monkey Island; Gilbert wanted Elaine to "be better informed and more capable than most of the other characters".
Personality
Intelligent and highly resourceful, Elaine is depicted as a caring and kind person. She is usually more than capable of taking care of herself; on the multiple occasions that she is kidnapped by LeChuck, she is usually able to escape at her own volition and formulate plans to defeat her adversaries. In addition, Elaine is proficient in personal combat and displays an understanding of strategy in battle, reinforced by calm personality that allows Elaine to use common sense and stay composed despite dire situations. While attracted to piracy, Elaine is initially wary of pursuing a relationship with pirates due to a bad liaison with LeChuck while the pirate captain was still alive. Nevertheless, Elaine falls in love with Guybrush, seeing past his faults in favor of his kind personality and sharp wit. While Elaine is the dominant partner in their relationship, she still has faith in his abilities regardless of Guybrush's hapless disposition.Depiction
Elaine is usually depicted as a beautiful woman with long red hair and with green eyes. She wears a variety of pirate clothing consistent with the game's Golden Age of PiracyGolden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation given to one or more outbursts of piracy in maritime history of the early modern period. In its broadest accepted definition, the Golden Age of Piracy spans from the 1650s to the 1730s and covers three separate outbursts of piracy:the buccaneering...
setting; her outfit usually consists of pantaloons, a blouse worn under a lightweight tunic, a sash
Sash
A sash is a cloth belt used to hold a robe together, and is usually tied about the waist. The Japanese equivalent of a sash, obi, serves to hold a kimono or yukata together. Decorative sashes may pass from the shoulder to the hip rather than around the waist...
, boots and a headscarf
Headscarf
Headscarves or head scarves are scarves covering most or all of the top of a woman's hair and her head. Headscarves may be worn for a variety of purposes, such as for warmth, for sanitation, for fashion or social distinction; with religious significance, to hide baldness, out of modesty, or other...
. Elaine usually wears gold earring
Earring
Common locations for piercings, other than the earlobe, include the rook, tragus, and across the helix . The simple term "ear piercing" usually refers to an earlobe piercing, whereas piercings in the upper part of the external ear are often referred to as "cartilage piercings"...
s, though by Tales of Monkey Island, she wears her diamond engagement ring
Engagement ring
An engagement ring is a ring indicating that the person wearing it is engaged to be married, especially in Western cultures. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and North America, engagement rings are traditionally worn only by women, and rings can feature diamonds or other gemstones. In other cultures...
as an earring until Chapter 2. Her appearances in The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is an adventure game developed and published by LucasArts in 1991. It was the second game of the Monkey Island series, following The Secret of Monkey Island, and the sixth LucasArts game to use the SCUMM engine. It was the first game to use the iMUSE sound...
are in the form of pixel art
Pixel art
Pixel art is a form of digital art, created through the use of raster graphics software, where images are edited on the pixel level. Graphics in most old computer and video games, graphing calculator games, and many mobile phone games are mostly pixel art.- History :The term pixel art was first...
, with appearances slightly differing between the EGA
Enhanced Graphics Adapter
The Enhanced Graphics Adapter is the IBM PC computer display standard specification which is between CGA and VGA in terms of color and space resolution. Introduced in October 1984 by IBM shortly after its new PC/AT, EGA produces a display of 16 simultaneous colors from a palette of 64 at a...
, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and VGA
Video Graphics Array
Video Graphics Array refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution...
versions of the games. By The Curse of Monkey Island, Elaine is rendered in a cartoon art style by LucasArts artists Larry Ahern and Bill Tiller, although the character's choice of clothing remains consistent. Escape from Monkey Island translated Ahern and Tiller's depiction into 3D graphics, while the later special editions and Tales of Monkey Island produced a more stylized art form for the character. While under LeChuck's influence as his demon bride in Tales of Monkey Island, Elaine is dressed in a Gothic
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
wedding dress
Wedding dress
A wedding dress or wedding gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants.- Western culture :...
and a tiara
Tiara
A tiara is a form of crown. There are two possible types of crown that this word can refer to.Traditionally, the word "tiara" refers to a high crown, often with the shape of a cylinder narrowed at its top, made of fabric or leather, and richly ornamented. It was used by the kings and emperors of...
, her eyes are pupiless and her skin is given a green hue.
The Secret of Monkey Island
Elaine Marley debuts in the The Secret of Monkey Island as the governor of Mêlée Island, on which hapless protagonist Guybrush Threepwood is striving to become a pirate. As governor, she attracts many suitors, one of these being the pirate captain LeChuckLeChuck
LeChuck is a fictional character in the Monkey Island series of graphic adventure games. Created by Ron Gilbert for LucasArts, LeChuck was introduced in The Secret of Monkey Island and is the chief antagonist of the series. Gilbert drew on aspects of the characters in the 1988 novel On Stranger...
. Although Elaine rebukes
LeChuck's advances, he nevertheless pursues her love and aims to impress her by discovering the secret of Monkey Island. The exhibition ultimately costs LeChuck his life, but he returns as a ghost still intent on marrying Elaine. LeChuck's ambitions for Elaine's hand in marriage—whether given willingly or not—form a major part of the franchise's plot.
Elaine first encounters Guybrush when he breaks into the governor's mansion on Mêlée Island in an attempt to steal a valuable idol. Elaine has been fascinated to meet Guybrush since hearing of his arrival on the island and his strange name, however, their first meeting is stunted by Guybrush being too awestruck by Elaine's beauty to say anything intelligible. When the local sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
tries to drown Guybrush after a fight, Elaine nevertheless rushes to his aid, confessing that she feels deeply attracted to Guybrush, which he reciprocates. She implores Guybrush to finish his pirate trials before they act on their new-found love, but is kidnapped
Bride kidnapping
Bride kidnapping, also known as marriage by abduction or marriage by capture, is a practice throughout history and around the world in which a man abducts the woman he wishes to marry...
by LeChuck and taken to his hideout on Monkey Island when the ghost pirate's crew suddenly raids the island.
Guybrush mounts a rescue attempt, but fails to reach Elaine before LeChuck's ship returns to Mêlée Island for LeChuck's wedding to Elaine. The well-intentioned Threepwood gatecrashes the wedding, but in actuality ruins Elaine's own plan to defeat LeChuck with an anti-ghost concoction. Guybrush still manages to destroy LeChuck, and the game closes with the happy couple watching the fireworks as the evil pirate's ghost form explodes.
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Elaine's role is significantly reduced for the sequel LeChuck's Revenge, though the majority of the story is conveyed by Guybrush to Elaine in the form of a flashbackFlashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
. Between the games, the two have broken off their relationship and Elaine has moved to her governor's mansion on Booty Island. When Guybrush appears at the mansion, she presumes he has come to apologize; instead he is looking for a map that belonged to Elaine's grandfather, which leads to fabled treasure Big Whoop. After discovering Guybrush's intentions, Elaine is infuriated and refuses to speak to him. Guybrush eventually becomes trapped at the site of Big Whoop, with Elaine arriving to rescue him. Guybrush falls into a chasm, where he is confronted by LeChuck, recently resurrected as a zombie. As the game ends with Guybrush thinking he is a child in a theme park, Elaine is seen worrying that LeChuck has placed a curse on Guybrush.
The Curse of Monkey Island
With Guybrush indisposed at the end of LeChuck's Revenge, LeChuck attacks Plunder Island, the third island covered by Elaine's gubernatorial powers. LeChuck's efforts to buy Elaine's love are again rebuked by Elaine during an exchange of cannon fire; Elaine is angry at LeChuck for having apparently killed Guybrush, who she realises is the true love of her life. The battle is interrupted by Guybrush, who has escaped from LeChuck's curse and helps defeat the zombie pirate. Afterwards, Guybrush proposes to Elaine, giving her a diamond ring found in LeChuck's hold. Unknown to Guybrush, the ring is cursed and turns Elaine into solid gold. Guybrush manages to remove the curse, but both are captured by a reincarnated demon LeChuck. LeChuck plans to turn Elaine into a fellow undead creature, forcing her to accept him as he will be the only other person in a similar condition. Both Elaine and Guybrush escape, with Elaine eluding LeChuck until he is trapped under an avalanche of ice by Guybrush. Elaine and Guybrush marry, and leave on their honeymoonHoneymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
.
Escape from Monkey Island
Elaine and Guybrush return to Mêlée Island in Escape from Monkey Island from their lengthy honeymoon to find that she has been declared legally dead; as a result the governorship of the Tri-Island Area is up for election. While Elaine and Guybrush work on reversing her legal demise, they discover that the other candidate in the election is actually LeChuck in disguise, but the townspeople, feeling neglected by Elaine's long absence, do not believe her. Guybrush leaves to prevent the Ultimate Insult, a powerful voodoo talisman, from falling into the hands of LeChuck's co-conspirator Ozzie Mandrill. Elaine is defeated in the election and LeChuck becomes governor, while Guybrush is captured and marooned on Monkey Island. On Monkey Island, Guybrush discovers that resident castaway Herman Toothrot is actually Horatio Marley, Elaine's long thought dead grandfather. The two escape Monkey Island and defeat LeChuck and Mandrill. Elaine asks Horatio to take over her position as governor of the Tri-Island Area, and Guybrush and Elaine depart.Tales of Monkey Island
Several years after Escape from Monkey Island, Elaine has once again been kidnapped by LeChuck. In his rescue attempt, Guybrush inadvertently releases a voodoo pox over Gulf of Melange, which turns LeChuck into a human. While events separate Guybrush and Elaine, she befriends the now seemingly unmalicious LeChuck, and helps him return monkeys used for his voodoo spells to their homes. Elaine also attempts, without success, to arbitrate between merpeople with access to a cure for the pox and infected pirates. When negotiations break down, Elaine participates in a battle around the Jerkbait Islands to drive off the pirates. However, Elaine becomes infected with the pox and loses control, travelling to Flotsam Island to sack the town and kill Morgan LeFlay, a bounty hunter who she sees as a rival for Guybrush's love. Guybrush cures the pox, but LeChuck turns on him and fatally stabs him; Elaine cradles her husband as he dies. LeChuck takes Elaine captive and appears to convince her to join him as his demon bride; however, Elaine only submits to LeChuck to acquire a voodoo cutlass capable of destroying LeChuck. Guybrush returns as a ghost and maneuvers LeChuck into a position where Elaine can attack him with the cutlass. With LeChuck defeated, Guybrush restores himself to life by using a spell with Elaine's wedding ring, and returns to his wife.Reception
The character of Elaine Marley has garnered a positive reception from critics within the video game industry. Described by GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
as the impetus for the whole series, critics lauded Elaine's non-conformity to the damsel in distress
Damsel in distress
The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or monster and who requires a hero to achieve her rescue. She has become a stock character of fiction,...
stereotype. GameSpot noted that Elaine is usually much more proficient at escaping trouble "than the so-called hero who comes to save her", while the video game culture journal Eludamos approved of the character for allowing a level of "feminine expression which did not necessary always conform to passive ideals of the damsel in distress". The site That Guy with the Glasses
That Guy with the Glasses
That Guy with the Glasses is a website that mostly showcases satirical reviews of movies and video games. It primarily stars Chicago native Douglas Darien "Doug" Walker as "That Guy with the Glasses". The founder and administrator of the site is Michael Michaud, CEO of the parent company Channel...
put Elaine as the eighth best female character in gaming, describing her as possibly the only staple character in the series to have "a shred of sanity and smarts", praising the character's independence and resilience as well as noting that as a woman in the Golden Age of Piracy, Elaine has risen to a position of power far above what would be historically considered normal for the time.
Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
commended Elaine's design as "worthy of acclaim", naming her the "Best Female Supporting Character" in their 2001 annual Gaming Globes awards, while IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
described her alongside Guybrush and LeChuck as one of "the most beloved adventure characters of all time". Alexandra Boyd and Charity James have also been praised for their voicing of Elaine; Computer Games Magazine
Computer Games Magazine
Computer Games Magazine was a computer gaming print magazine. It was formerly Computer Games Strategy Plus, and before that, Strategy Plus, which had been founded as Games International in the UK in 1988. While its initial focus was on strategy games, it covered a wide range of game genres...
described Boyd's work for The Curse of Monkey Island as "wonderful", though lamented that she did not speak more in the game, while Macworld
Macworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
admired the character's depiction in Escape from Monkey Island as "beautiful and plucky".
External links
- Elaine Marley on the Monkey Island Wiki