Elaine Bennis - A Short Treatise

IMHO, Elaine is one of the more enigmatic characters in the Seinfeld menagerie. Her estrangement from Jerry is never fully explained...it just didn't work out. Why? My guess is she and Jerry both had the "it's not you...it's me" bullet in the barrel and fired simultaneously...and they were both right!

Elaine yearns for love and affection, yet runs from it when she finds it. That she is promiscuous is not in doubt...she'll screw you (literally) if it's in her best interests. She is unabashed in her admittance to Jerry that she faked every orgasm, and can't understand his reaction. As a bitch she is first-rate....every woman is a threat to her. Of all her reactions, perhaps the most nauseating was her new-found care for Jerry when she discovers that he earns big money...better add gold-digger to the list! Only Kramer is immune to her allures...but more of the K-Man later.

That Elaine is easy on the eyes is not in dispute....but be warned...she doesn't know what she wants...but she wants every man to give it to her. A beautiful denoument would have been her falling for the one man whose unrequited love for her never faltered...Newman. They deserved each other, n'cest pas?

Peter

In article , [email] says...

It's Benes...BE-NES.

<<<It's Benes...BE-NES.>>>

I prefer J-Lou.

"Noone" wrote in message news:[email]...

That's Hispanic, right? Lee

One of my favourite episodes. Where EB dates a white guy thinking he's black, and he thinks that she's Hispanic. Top stuff.

DV

On Fri, 19 Oct 2001 12:08:37 +0800, "Peter G Dellys" wrote:

No, I don't think your take on Elaine is as accurate as yours on George and Jerry were.

As I see it. . .
Elaine becomes a "bitch" in years 8/9 when all the characters come off the rails
which were so carefully set down in the 7 years earlier.  I see Elaine as a more
sympathetic, pathetic figure.  Elaine is a lost character, an Alice, a Dorothy.
She is in the big city looking for "love" and "career", lost in a mad dream of
relationships, jobs, and friends who she dislikes but has to settle for, - like
her demeaning jobs from which she can't break out.  She is the educated one,
with the high IQ, is well-read, well-bred but never reaches her more lofty
goals.  She even had to attend her "safety school" and her condescending college
friends, who hob-nob with The Kennedys still don't like her.   She is niave and
trusting but her good intentions are not reciprocated by the men she meets.  The
men who like her are bounders, liars, scammers and perverts.   And the men she
likes turn out to be pro-lifers, doctors who dump her,  a doctor more interested
in her tongue than her, etc...  And when there is a relationship that might go
somewhere she does something that undermines the relationship - her not hearing
Dr. Whatleys new years eve invitation - arguing  about an exclamation point, and
on and on.   Yes, far more pathetic than bitchy.
As for her and Newman - totally unthinkable.

Just my $.0126

Mike

<snip>

[email] (The News Guy(Mike)) writes:

Except ... there is "The Bizarro Jerry" trio of Feldman/Gene/Kevin. The friends she probably thinks she should have: They're polite, considerate, eat well, they read ("Books, Jerry"), and don't pore over the excruciating minutiae, of every, single, daily event.

But she can't choose them, because helping yourself to cereal and self-absorption are too compelling.

On 19 Oct 2001 14:46:23 +0100, Gareth Owen wrote:

Right, she doesn't meet their expectations either - olives out of the jar without asking - pushing people with her "get out!", don't fit in "civilized" relationships. Again - poor Elaine fails to acheive her goals.

Agreed.

Good analysis!

I'd add that her change in the later seasons might not even be that unbelievable. If she were a real person, it's quite possible that she'd be increasingly cynical and frustrated with her personal life. Or perhaps as she experienced career success, her confidence would mutate into arrogance. Just my $0.02.

And at the risk of sounding like George, I did always hope she and Jerry would get back together. I dunno why; I suppose I actually care about these characters and would like to see them happy. Thankfully, Seinfeld never stooped to such cheesy tricks: no hugs, no learning, no "very special episode" complete with a wedding in Jerry's apartment. :-)

On Fri, 19 Oct 2001 16:36:55 GMT, "John Twernbold" wrote:

Yep, no "jumping the shark" for Jerry.

On Fri, 19 Oct 2001, John Twernbold wrote:

Yes. All thay had was the down and dirty 'that' mixed in with 'this' with a few rules.

laura

Yes, followed by Kramer being in charge of picking up the ring, being stuck in traffic, borrowing Rusty the horse to charge in to the wedding at the last moment. You know, how it would have been ruined if someone else had taken over Seinfeld. I think Larry David's rule to entertain the audience is a great one.

John Twernbold wrote:

On Sun, 21 Oct 2001, EastCoastGuyz wrote:

Or maybe even Newman charging in at the last moment (The Graduate).

laura

"That's not half bad!" - J. Peterman

Laura wrote:

"The News Guy(Mike)" wrote in message news:[email]...

and

Probably right :)

Maybe I'm harder on Elaine than most here. Even though the NBC Prez was an asshole (and she didn't know that, so it's not a mitigating factor for her IMHO) her treatment of him was pretty rotten. I think she's a more pernicious character than you give her credit for.

Her and Newman?......in his dreams.....

Peer

I still found it a little strange how she was introduced to the NBC President through Jerry and George with the low-cut dress, yet she almost seems like she doesn't know or even care about the show "Jerry" when they had one of their last conversations before the break-up. She mocks Jerry's observational comedy to him and saying she isnt even into TV, plus she doesn't respond to the concept of a show about nothing. I wasn't really sure of her motive or if this was a story line that worked itself into a corner. Then again, part of it being funny is how the characters are very selfish at times, like how Elaine didn't want to help George from getting suspended from the club for peeing in the shower, not until it served her interests when she found out that guy she was after was interested in someone else.

Peter G Dellys wrote:

President

she

their

She was not introduced but turned up to show Jerry & George that she could still "put asses on the seats". They had infuriated her with their comment that Russel Dalrymple would stare at Gail's cleavage but "maybe not Elaine". "What do you mean Gail !!!" She showed them she had what it takes.

Pete

That's right, she wasn't introduced, she was just there when they were. I guess that they set it up left me with the impression that she were also giving her some sort of introduction.

David

Peter Davies wrote:

guess

her

Yes Jerry and George had to see Dalrymple so Gail was important but the link to Elaine wasn't that strong. Elaine was pulled in because Gail wanted Elaine's shoes in return for information about Dalrymple. The shoe thing was a bit strange but i thought it was a great seeing Elaine mesmerise Dalrymple just because Jerry and George thought Elaine didn't have the equipment. Poor Mr Dalrymple.

Pete

like

could

comment

Elaine certainly proved that she could indeed "Put asses into seats." :-)

Peter Davies wrote:

I wouldn't even go so far that anyone is immune to the song of the Siren that she sings. ...Remember the message that she left on Jerry's machine? And the look all three of them gave her at the end once they found out it was she? .ted