Elaine Marley

Elaine Marley-Threepwood
Monkey Island character
A woman depicted in a stylized art form. Possessing long red hair and green eyes, the woman wears a traditional pirate outfit with a blue headscarf. An earring with a large diamond hangs from her left ear.
Elaine Marley in Tales of Monkey Island
First appearanceThe Secret of
Monkey Island (1990)
Created byRon Gilbert[1]
Voiced byAlexandra Boyd[2]
Charity James (Escape from Monkey Island)[3]

Elaine Marley (from Escape From Monkey Island onward called Elaine Marley-Threepwood) is a 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, but instead falls in love with hapless protagonist Guybrush Threepwood. She eventually marries Guybrush and relinquishes her gubernatorial responsibilities to her grandfather.

The character has enjoyed positive critical reception. Several sources 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 some expressed disappointment at the character's reduced lines in The Curse of Monkey Island.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stuff&Things was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AMO Boyd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Charity was invoked but never defined (see the help page).