George is
neurotic, self-loathing, mostly selfish, and dominated by his parents, yet also prone to occasional periods of overconfidence that invariably arise at the worst possible time. Throughout
Seinfelds early seasons, despite doing poorly on his SATs and being afraid of embarrassing himself on an IQ test (as depicted in "
The Cafe"), George is depicted as moderately intelligent – he mentions interests in the
Civil War and
musical theatre, and in some early episodes appears almost like a mentor to Jerry – but becomes less sophisticated, to the point of being too lazy even to read a 90-page book (''
Breakfast at Tiffany's''), preferring to watch
the movie adaptation at a stranger's house instead. In "
The Abstinence", it is discovered that George has what would appear to be genius-level intelligence but can never access it because his mind is always so completely focused on sex. One
Chicago Tribune reviewer noted that, despite all his shortcomings, George is "pretty content with himself". George exhibits several negative character traits, among them dishonesty, insecurity,
anxiety, and extreme frugality, many of which seem to stem from a dysfunctional childhood with his
eccentric parents
Frank and
Estelle, and often form the basis of his involvement in various plots, schemes, and embarrassing social encounters. George's extremely narcissistic parents only accept things from George when events revolve around them, and George is blind to see that at the same time his parents treat him like a
second grade child. Episode plots frequently feature George manufacturing elaborate deceptions at work or in his relationships to gain or maintain some slight or imagined advantage or (pretend) image of success. He is shown to have an intense fear of commitment. He had success in "
The Opposite", where on Jerry's advice he starts to do the complete opposite of what his instincts tell him to do, which results in him getting a girlfriend and a job with the
New York Yankees. His anxiety is also evident in "
The Note", where he begins doubting his sexuality after he receives a massage from a male masseur. George refers to himself in the third person (a habit known as
illeism) when under extreme stress (e.g. "George is getting upset!"), after befriending a person with a similar trait in "
The Jimmy". George flees a burning kitchen during his girlfriend's son's birthday party, knocking over several children and an old woman so he can escape first in "
The Fire". There are moments where George exhibits remarkable courage, but usually accidentally and often in support of inane lies he would rather not confess to. For instance, in "
The Marine Biologist", he goes into the sea alone to save a beached whale because his date, a woman on whom he had a crush in college, thinks he is a marine biologist. George often takes impressive measures to build and maintain relationships with women. In "
The Conversion," he goes through the process of converting to the
Latvian Orthodox Church as his girlfriend's parents would not let her date somebody outside their religion. The one relationship he holds long-term, with his fiancée Susan, is the one about which he is seemingly least enthusiastic, as shown by his ongoing attempts to postpone, and later cancel, their wedding, and his rather nonchalant reaction when she dies. He is interested in nice restrooms, and his personal bathroom habits border on obsession. In "
The Revenge", he quits his real estate job solely because he is forbidden to use his boss's private bathroom. In "
The Voice", he admits that one of the reasons he is staying at a job his boss has asked that he resign from (for feigning a disability) is that it gives him "private access to one of the great handicapped toilets in the city". In "
The Busboy", he claims to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the locations of the best public bathrooms in the city. He proves this in "
The Bizarro Jerry", when he directs Kramer to "the best bathroom in midtown" at the offices of Brandt-Leland, even describing the layout, marble, high ceiling, and toilets that flush "like a jet engine". In "
The Gymnast", he told Jerry that he always removes his shirt when using the bathroom because "it frees me up... no encumbrances". When working for the Yankees, he suggested having the bathroom stall doors stretched all the way to the ground (letting people's legs not be seen while in the stalls). The obsession even comes up in the Seinfeld reunion staged on
Curb Your Enthusiasm: years after the series, George is said to have made a fortune on a smartphone app that directs its user to the nearest "acceptable" public toilet anywhere in the world (though he loses most, if not all, of his fortune to
Bernie Madoff). George and Jerry have been best friends since meeting in high school gym class. The extreme closeness of their friendship is occasionally mistaken for
homosexuality; "
The Outing" deals with a reporter from a
New York University college paper mistaking George and Jerry for a gay couple, and, in "
The Cartoon", George dates somebody who Kramer insists is merely a "female Jerry". ==Other information==