How to describe Elsa Schneider in Indiana Jones Last Crusade?

Question

Elsa is a very detailed character for the role she plays.

• She is secretly a Nazi
• Is constantly around Indiana
• Gets violent with Indiana but kisses him
• When Indiana finds her with book again Elsa proclaims his love to him
• Dies after trying to take the cup yet the others survive.

I am not sure I would write off Elsa as a simple extra character

How would one describe Elsa, what themes were Steven Spielberg and George Lucas trying to portray in her?

Answer 1

Elsa is essentially a female Belloq (the main antagonist from Raiders of the Lost Ark):

• Both have some genuine feeling for someone from the other sex, but neither lets it get in their way of working for the Nazis.
• Both have genuine interest in archeology
• Finally, both get done in by their ultimate grab for power, trying to possess a relic which could grant them power over their masters, but instead kills them.