Character Eights – Page 3 – Enneagram and Encaustic

DANIEL CRAIG’S BOND, EIGHT

Is this our last Bond? He’s certainly our latest. Can a spy, a killer, a man who must be sexually magnetic but also emotionally available, ruthless while tiptoeing around cruelty — even be written successfully anymore?

Craig’s Casino Royale walked the line beautifully. His Bond was one of the harshest. As an origin story, it showed an early Bond. He loved. In a way, it showed everything a Bond could be and left little for later movies to use.

Do we have another Eight? This is a man with no polish and much potential. He’s incredibly physical, with a brawler fighting style and a flair for parkour. I can’t get beyond how aggressive he is. Poison won’t kill him, gambling can’t phase him, and he refuses to lose. Eight.

Unlike Dalton’s Bond, Craig’s is the right man at the right time. Also, when you get scenes going head to head with Judi Dench as your M, you’ve been blessed by the casting gods.

TIMOTHY DALTON’S BOND, EIGHT

For me, Dalton’s Bond was always the closest to the written Bond. He’s much more of a machine. All the wit or flirtation is not how I remember Bond in the books. Raw, dangerous, and not movie-star handsome were my impressions. No woman would mistake him for a potential love interest. He was on the edge of society.

An Eight again? He has the anger but does he have the leadership? Dalton’s Bond also has another book quality: tenderness for the vulnerable. This Bond is a vengeful angel, smiting the wicked and stewarding the innocent. His Eight is very different from Connery’s. It’s a wired Eight, strung tight. In some ways he’s the most realistic of the Bonds. That slide to Two in strength, that gentle side in an otherwise stone cold personality, is well done.

He is the Bond with the fewest films, though. I wonder if his portrayal was ahead of its time.

SEAN CONNERY’S BOND, EIGHT

Our first movie portrayal of James Bond, Sean Connery’s is still my favorite. How did I see Dr. No or Goldfinger before an era of streaming and video services? I don’t remember. They were magical, though. Dynamic.

And brutal. Even for the time period, when violence would’ve been handled in a sanitized way, Connery’s Bond was ruthless. Shootings were still punctuated then with a music soundtrack. Bang bang was a double scrape across the violin strings while Connery barely blinks. The opening to Goldfinger has Connery manipulating Jill in order to get the angle on Auric. And then the angle on Jill. He’s so confident, so focused, and mostly lacking in regret.

I want to say Eight as this particular Bond’s Enneagram number. Emotions are very sparse. The mission is everything. He’s pleasant enough to people, charming if he wants, but does Bond really care about Moneypenny? It’s a part that he plays — flirt with the secretary — on his way to do business with M. It also annoys M. Two for one.

Why an Eight and not a Four? Connery is too even keel for a Four. Wit is secondary to force. Close call, though.

He’s a socially aware Eight. He’s deadly serious, literally, but the veneer is a pleasure to be around. This light touch that Connery brings helped define future portrayals that stray from the book’s Bond. How much of our understanding of Bond is established by Connery’s choices? Interesting.

JIMMY DUGAN, EIGHT

A drunk. An athlete. A stubborn jerk. Jimmy’s a hard case.

He’s also beautifully written and portrayed. Jimmy has one of the strongest arcs in the movie. But what’s his Enneagram number?

He loves conflict. Oh, he totally knows he’s aggravating that umpire. Not a Nine.

He’s not an Envy person. Dottie’s talent is no problem for him. He wants her to excel and to recognize her gifts. The loss of his career makes him bitter against himself, but he doesn’t measure himself against others.

Possibly an Eight. His “no crying in baseball” line is honest and brutal. (That’s part of what makes it so funny and beloved.) Eights are not ashamed to hurt other people’s feelings. They rip off the band-aid.

Not a One. The mechanics of coaching hold little interest for Jimmy. Not a Seven. An alcoholic Seven would be having much more fun.

Eight it is. When he stops drinking his natural leadership shines through and he becomes a great coach.

ERIK KILLMONGER, EIGHT

Of course he’s an Eight. His anger, his vengeance, his brook-no-arguments leadership are all evidence of his Enneagram number.

What’s truly interesting is that Killmonger is the hero archetype while T’Challa, the actual superhero, isn’t. I believe the filmmakers played this dichotomy on purpose. What does it say when you reverse the superhero trope?

Some people wanted Killmonger to be the protagonist. He’s the corrupted version of a superhero — his methods and goals will cause great harm and he is unrepentant about that — but his core is attractive. That decisiveness and commitment, an unwavering drive, are what we expect in a hero. His origin story is compelling. T’Challa’s just a prince-in-waiting. Part of us wants Killmonger, the underdog warrior, to win.

And yet he is defeated by someone more conflicted, more diplomatic, more democratic. King T”Challa wants to hear from everybody and weigh all sides, as a true leader would. Killmonger dictates and destroys.

In real life humans are more complicated than Killmonger. In stories someone as predictable as Killmonger is a comfort. The catharsis, the sharing of his journey even if it’s a tragedy, is what we crave.

FRANK COSTANZA, EIGHT

Because Jerry Stiller, the actor who gave George’s dad his vivacity, recently passed, I wanted to include his character in the Seinfeld Enneagram study.

I immediately jump to Eight. That loud, instant reaction he does!

And, like most of us, the mansierre burns in my brain when I think of Frank. It just seems like only a Man Eight would have the barrel chest that needs restraining. Gosh, it makes me laugh. And Festivus! Who but an Eight would want feats of strength and the airing of grievances? It really is perfectly, succinctly funny.

As with the other characters, this one’s number is pushed to the extreme. Real life Eights will not engage so brutally and vociferously with others. That’s what makes the humor. He’s a pleasure to watch. Also, a little bit of a wince. Genius.

MARION RAVENWOOD, EIGHT

The first of Indiana Jones’ love interests, Marion will always be my favorite.

She’s tough. She’s impulsive. She’s indomitable.

We’re talking an Enneagram Eight, aren’t we?

The way she manages her saloon, the way she insists on going with Jones, the way she brandishes a knife at Belloq — these are so Eight. There’s not a lot of subtlety in Marion, just worn-on-her-sleeve aggression. When Jones finds her after her capture and leaves her tied up, she’s ready to rip him apart. No grudges, though. It’s all forgiven later.

She’s good in a pinch. Go frying pan! And when it’s time to run she can hoof it. I haven’t considered any other Enneagram number because this one seems so clear. Also, as we’ve seen, heroine Eights are kind of the writer’s go-to. Marion’s great. I sure hope, though, we can find some other heroines who break the mold a little.

MARILLA CUTHBERT, EIGHT

Family usually have some kind of relationship between their Enneagram numbers. Because Matthew is a Five, Marilla’s Enneagram will either be in the strength-weakness number relationship, or in a Head Type adjacent number.

A Five in strength moves to Eight, and an Eight in weakness moves to Five. These siblings have a great dynamic, a great partnership even, because Marilla is an Eight.

No matter how genteel Marilla plays it, you know she wants to take Rachel Lynde’s head off sometimes. Very Eight. Her firmness in disciplining Anne is Eight-ish. Pleas for mercy are not effective on an Eight, and they don’t move Marilla. She’s a hard nut to crack, and when I read the novel as a child her character was very unsympathetic to me. Only later did I appreciate her no-nonsense pragmatism.

Marilla enters very reluctantly into a relationship with Anne, but once she’s in she will defend Anne to the death.

KATNISS EVERDEEN, EIGHT

The entire world pisses her off. Katniss Everdeen is an Enneagram Eight.

She has no patience for her mother’s weakness. She has no patience for the rules of the Hunger Games. She has no patience for Peeta, at least in the beginning. She’s going to win and she’s not always going to be likable along the way. Abrasive is kinda an Eight wheelhouse.

However, with Rue, or her sister? All the tenderness comes out. Eights rarely dip into their softer side, but when they do they are the most caring of any number. Katniss weaving the flowers in Rue’s hair is a powerful moment for the character and the plot because Eights don’t do vulnerability very often.

Don’t forget, also, her archery. Only a Body Type would be that proficient at a physical skill.

Eight Women are one step away from punching someone at any minute. Mostly, they don’t. Unleash an Eight into a dystopian hellscape and you have a very satisfying heroine.

JESSICA JONES, EIGHT

Right off the bat I can’t say what Enneagram number would fit Marvel’s Jessica. Do we count her physical strength? Does a superhero gift relate in any way to the personality typing?

Jessica is a drunk. The horrors she’s seen lead her to want to escape reality. Of course, anyone can fall prey to alcoholism. Does this suggest a number?

She doesn’t quit. Fear, danger, nothing diverts her. She’s very dogged.

She’s not an emotion person. She has no heart and no envy. Scratch Two, Three, or Four. She is a detective, but she doesn’t seem to enjoy the puzzle of a case. She’s there for justice, and for beating people up and taking names. Body Type over Head. We’re looking at an Eight, Nine, or One. Hey, that means her superhero strength is indeed critical.

Her tendency to lead first with anger suggests an Eight. She really does walk around with a chip on her shoulder.

Although I must say, if we discover that every rockin’ superhero woman is an Eight, I’ll be pretty disappointed. The rest of us are tough, too, dangit!