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The editor is a curious person whose personality acts as a foil for the narrator’s. Where the narrator believes in logic, pragmatism, and predictability, the editor challenges these values. She has a breezy manner about her, questions whether the world is really so practical, and spontaneously joins the narrator for drinks. Her interest in the story of the elephant shows an intellectual curiosity, but one that is not so strict and logic-driven as the narrator’s. When the narrator becomes uncomfortable after bringing up the elephant, the editor perceives his discomfort and asks what’s wrong. This concern reveals an emotional intelligence as well. Taken all together, the little that is revealed about the editor shows her to be a well-rounded person, standing in stark contrast to the narrator’s rigidity and difficulty in accepting the unexplainable. 

Moreover, the contrast between the well-adjusted editor and the neurotic narrator helps to contextualize the breakdown the narrator later experiences. The narrator says repeatedly that the problem is somewhere within himself, and it is the editor’s relatively normal behavior which confirms that to him. While she began as someone with whom the narrator longed to connect with, the editor—after growing uncomfortable and confused at the narrator’s confession—ultimately symbolizes his alienation resulting from what he witnessed at the elephant house.

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