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.

[1] 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.

in a parody of a similar scene in the 1967 film The Graduate;[1] Gilbert appreciated the reference, so Elaine was adopted as the governor's name.

[2] Boyd was not contacted to return as the character for Escape from Monkey Island;[2] Elaine was instead voiced by American actress Charity James.

[7] In Return to Monkey Island, Ron Gilbert told Eurogamer that "We actually had a very, very early incarnation of the game where their relationship was a little bit on rocky ground... they weren't divorced, but they were definitely not getting along.

[9] 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.

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.

[15] In Return to Monkey Island, Elaine heads up an anti-scurvy initiative and shadows Guybrush through the game as witness to his misadventures.

Set between Curse and Escape, while Guybrush and Elaine honeymoon in the Sea of Thieves, LeChuck intercepts and traps them in a dreamworld.

GameSpot noted that Elaine is usually much more proficient at escaping trouble "than the so-called hero who comes to save her",[17] 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 book highlighted her political power and gender-neutral attire as rare, and mentioned that she subverts the idea of the love interest in video games by being more successful and level-headed than the protagonist, while having her own ambitions.

[19] IGN India, The Guardian, and GamesRadar+ all stated that Elaine and Guybrush were one of the best video game couples,[20][21][22] Eurogamer commended Elaine's design as "worthy of acclaim",[23] naming her the "Best Female Supporting Character" in their 2001 annual Gaming Globes awards,[24] while IGN described her alongside Guybrush and LeChuck as one of "the most beloved adventure characters of all time".

[25] Alexandra Boyd and Charity James too have 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,[26] while Macworld admired the character's depiction in Escape from Monkey Island as "beautiful and plucky".