Character Nines – Page 4 – Enneagram and Encaustic

VAN HELSING, NINE

I refer, of course, to the Van Helsing played by Hugh Jackman in the eponymous movie. I love this version of the classic monster tales!

He is brave, of course. He hunts the worst creatures and slays them under the imprimatur of the Church. Physically difficult and spiritually difficult. This is a high action movie, so the stunts are big and the character is daring. Must we immediately decide that he’s a Body Type?

He’s a Nine. Of course. He’s a superhero, after all. Also, he really doesn’t want to engage in emotional conflict. Kill the demons, bless their remains, and move on to the next one. His own personal biography is something he tries to avoid.

Cool, disconnected, physically capable. As a Nine, he would also be a good judge. Fair and impartial. If you’re going to kill a hell-damned abomination, you want to get the judgment right.

For the more traditional Dracula story (with its briefly seen Van Helsing), I really couldn’t think of an angle. Bela Lugosi, Gary Oldman, Frank Langella, Christopher Lee — all great vampire portrayers, but I didn’t want to write about any of them. Another time, perhaps.

DOTTIE HINSON, NINE

Oh, she’s a Nine all the way. Her avoidance of conflict, her superior athletic ability, her calm dependability — so much Enneagram Nine.

I’ve complained before about having Nine protagonists at every turn. It’s so predictable. Here’s a good one, though. Dottie’s Nine traits, her placid nature, are used to play off the other characters’ more exuberant traits. Although Dottie is our heroine, this is an ensemble cast. Actors play their individual beats and Dottie sits right at the center, reacting. It’s a very good use of a Nine character. Everything that we see happen to her, from signing up for the team to going to the team reunion, is instigated by someone other than Dottie. Even leaving the team because Bob came home is a passive reaction rather than a decisive action. It makes for an interesting and sometimes frustrating character arc.

Also, her astonishing athleticism is important to the story. She’s almost physically superhuman, which leads to a lot of conflict. Her mild personality is a great contrast because she doesn’t really know how good she is. Someone like this, one of the greatest athletes of all time in the world of this story, should have more strut. She’s a bit of a mystery.

In the end, though, she returns to the playoffs of her own accord. The Nine can’t resist the battle when all’s said and done.

T’CHALLA, NINE

Most superheroes are a one-off: bit by a spider, traumatized by parents’ death, shipped from an alien planet, fathered by a god, etc. Black Panther comes from an ancestral dynasty. When the former king (his father) dies T’Challa assumes the mantle. Before that moment he’s physically trained and wearing the suit, but he’s imbued with the superpowers because he’s now the king.

All of this is very interesting to me when deciding an Enneagram number for him. A lot of superheroes are Eights or Nines. It’s part of the personality necessary to become that leader. Being a Body Type is essential, in a way. But someone who doesn’t choose? Someone who is passed the crown? He could be anything!

Immediately I want to say that he’s not a Body Type. He almost loses his first fight for the kingship and he definitely loses his second. Although he’s competent, T’Challa doesn’t seem like a natural athlete. The suit and the magic power do a lot of the work.

So, Head or Heart? He’s kind of a softy, isn’t he? The way he seeks out Nakia, who’s way more like a superhero badass than he is, is gentle. He wants to tell her in person of his father’s passing, and he wants to check on her without looking like he’s checking on her. She’s the one on the dangerous mission.

He’s not particularly strategic. His sister Shuri is the brains in the family. She carries a lot on her shoulders. What does he bring to the table?

Uh-oh. I’m sensing a placid Nine. A diplomat. But what about his almost Six-ish fighting trajectory?

None of this seems right. I have huge respect for Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Boseman. They wouldn’t create an incompetent portrayal. I think we’re in a weird zone. He’s got to be a Nine. He avoids conflict until he can’t escape it, and then brings a hammer to correct a problem that could’ve been massaged earlier. His physical vulnerability is probably a plot device so that Killmonger can threaten the world. Every superhero has the underdog moment.

I’m kind of not happy about this, though. I really liked this movie, but now I’m wondering if a soft Nine character build will stand up to repeated viewings.

UPDATE: I’m so terribly sorry to hear of Chadwick Boseman’s passing. What a shocking and tragic loss to his family, the acting community, and the MCU fans. May we who mourn find peace.

CORPORAL HICKS, NINE

Is Hicks onscreen long enough to establish an Enneagram number?

Well, he sleeps! This actually is a character trait, the ability to nod off during a tense drop. We know he’s an experienced soldier, but still not every number could do that. I want to guess a Nine right away.

He’s not a born leader. Corporal. He’s efficient and competent, reliable in a fight. More than a Private but not a Lieutenant. When he’s given command he can lead, but it’s not a position he seeks. Also, when Ripley wants instruction on the pulse rifle, Hicks gives simple, complete directions. He has the leadership skills, just not the ambition.

And he’s got the secret shotgun for “close encounters”. Not a rule follower.

Hudson, Bill Paxton’s wonderful character, is the movie’s Heart Type. Hicks is not. He’s not a Head Type, either. The sleeping, the ease, he must be a Body Type.

He’s not reactionary enough to be an Eight and he’s not zippy enough to be a One. A Nine it is.

JERRY SEINFELD, NINE

Obviously I refer to the character, who may be very similar to the real life Seinfeld, but that is not something we can definitively know. We can discover the Enneagram number of the version of Jerry presented in the TV series, though, so off we go.

He’s incredibly picky, almost phobically so. It’s part of the humor. He’s in the Felix Unger (from “The Odd Couple”) realm of personalities. Jerry’s tidiness initiates or sustains many plotlines.

Wit, clearly. Sharp, quick thinking, and a willingness to say brisk or insulting things if it’s funny.

I’m leaning toward a One so far. But is Jerry a Body Type? Not really. Running a race and winning by cheating is an episode that defines Jerry as non-athletic.

He has a very strange group of friends, particularly Kramer, and yet he is peaceful around them. Their weirdness is comforting to him, I believe. Yes, this is a structure of the humor, but it’s what we have as a tool for judging his Enneagram.

Is this Six-ish? When a Six has decided on something, like who is his friend, he is unwavering afterwards. But is Jerry a Head Type? His comedy and his interests lie more in the social realm. I would guess him to be a Heart Type.

Two, Three, or Four? Not a Two. He’s too fastidious. He’s very successful and life is fairly easy for him. Very Three-like. Although the real life Jerry is not built like a Four, fictional Jerry is very dramatic. And that wit. Tough call.

And yet, after saying all this, I keep coming back to a Nine. It’s the diplomacy angle. The juggling of strange friends, the calm that Jerry mostly carries around, the humor that digs into human foibles. Jerry really doesn’t seem like a Body Type, but something about his social life feels like a Nine. Read the Elaine and George pages for more perspective. They are in his orbit.

They feel, they fail, in ways that he cannot. It’s the kind of symbiotic relationship in which a Nine thrives.

MARGE SIMPSON, NINE

Marge is a bit of a mystery. I’m not immediately sure of her Enneagram number.

She’s not ambitious. Her family, their safety and comfort, are enough for her.

She’s lovingly married to a very ineligible man. He definitely married up, and he would be the first to say so.

Her hair is big. I know that’s just an animator’s representation on the one hand, a defining characteristic that makes her easier to draw, but it’s also a comment about her personality. The creator saw Marge as bold, out-of-step, a bit of an iconoclast. Her hair is BIG.

She’s no-nonsense and brave when her chicks are in danger. Marge’s world seems pretty straight forward. Family, safety and comfort. Her wild-child son and her large-brained daughter are of equal worth to her.

She’s a Nine. Peace is everything. Conflict must be avoided. Public displays of outrageous behavior, or extraordinary achievement, or large blue hair are all the same. She really doesn’t care about seeking or avoiding attention, as long as life rides on an even keel. That’s the Nine Woman style. Accept, support, and love.

INDIANA JONES, NINE

Indy is Harrison Ford and he is Indy. I cannot know Ford’s Enneagram number, but I will guess he shares a close connection with his character’s.

Indy is physical. Swinging on ropes, wielding the bull whip, running pell mell — he is a true action hero.

He’s also smart. Clues, puzzles, deciphering, are all part of his job. He’s a professor for a reason.

Feelings, although present, don’t drive him. I think we can safely say that Indy’s no Heart Type.

I want to say “Nine,” but is that true? He’s not meticulous enough to be a One and he’s not impulsive enough to be an Eight. He rolls in the moment without hesitation, but it doesn’t have that gut-punch command an Eight shows. He’s competent and confident. Very Nine-ish.

The brain stuff can also be Nine-based, if it’s secondary to the physical. Is he a Head Type?

He’s too brazen to be a Five or Six. Seven? No, because he takes no joy in the outlandish gymnastics, mental and physical, he performs. It’s business, not pleasure. Sometimes his outlook toward his vocation is quite grim.

Like most adventure characters, Indy is a Nine. Easy to love, comfortable to watch, and a bit cookie cutter in his personality.

HARRY POTTER, NINE

It quickly becomes clear when studying character Enneagrams that a disproportionate number of protagonists, especially male ones, are Nines. It starts to get a little tedious, actually, to always say, “Oh, look, a Nine again.”

Harry’s a Nine.

Man Nines come in two shapes: extremely heroic, muscular, tall, athletic (you can see why writers would favor a Nine protagonist); and lean, medium-height, and quite prone to wear a beard.

Yeah, that seems strangely specific, but it is a consistent observation.

Harry is the latter. (Minus the beard, of course. If he were to ever be portrayed as a man, the characterization wouldn’t be quite accurate if they left off the beard.)

His ability as a Seeker suggests Body Type. His diplomatic friendship with everyone except his most hated enemies is Nine-ish. His passive nature through his younger years at the Dursleys is classic Nine-avoidance of conflict. And his heroism — he doesn’t particularly agonize or fret, he just steps up — have that placid Nine confidence.

Nines are very likable, which makes them so suitable as a main character. They can veer off into boring, though, so keep a tight leash on your writing. Don’t get them started on an anecdote; they’ll talk forever.

PAUL ATREIDES, NINE

Frank Herbert’s Dune is getting chatter because a new film will be released at the end of the year. People have strong feelings and the latest version looks to be . . . not as we expected.

I wrote in my book an Enneagram storytelling review of David Lynch’s version. His Dune is a weird movie with some gaping holes in its structure, but it’s also endearing for being so very, very strange.

So, what Enneagram personality number is Paul Atreides/Muad’Dib?

I haven’t read the book in decades and I won’t read it now. Let’s assume that Kyle MacLachlan’s Paul is definitive for understanding his Enneagram, okay?

The trickiest part about guessing a character’s Enneagram number is that some human, who has an Enneagram number of his own, portrays him. Which traits are Paul’s and which are Kyle’s?

Physicality will be the greatest stumbling block in deciphering numbers. Casting directors may not find a body that matches what the character’s Enneagram build should be. Also, via movie magic, what do we actually know about the actor? Tall in real life, or short? Are they swole/lean for the specifics of the part? For instance, what does someone like Christian Bale, pumped for Batman and starved for The Machinist, actually look like when he’s comfortably himself?

The minute I focus in, though, I can make some decisions.

Paul is a Nine. He kind of has to be, yes? He’s physical. He can hold his own throughout his military training. He rides the worm competently, which may be part of his destiny but it’s also a physical manifestation.

He’s a diplomat, as the best Nines are. He balances the royal side of being Atreides with the Fremen sympathies. Again, the story suggests that Paul excels at these things because he’s a messiah, but these are comfort zone traits for a Nine. He ends up marrying for political reasons, which is one of those Nine moves that feels coldly calculated to Heart Type people.

He also, when the story reaches fruition, brings the righteous fire. Most Nines aren’t put in life or death situations where they must rouse themselves to this trait, but it lurks in all of them. The sleeper must awaken, baby. MacLachlan communicates all of these Nine qualities, so that’s good. His own personal Enneagram number is a mystery to me, which speaks well for his acting. I would guess, though, that he’s not a Nine himself. The physicality isn’t there, at least in this role. The new film has cast Timothee Chalamet as Paul. He doesn’t look physical enough, either, to be a Nine in real life.

But Paul is a Nine. Seems like trouble is a-brewing for this interpretation of Herbert’s classic.

WONDER WOMAN, NINE

She’s literally an Amazon warrior. Tall, athletic, even goddess-like — Diana Prince is the archetypal Enneagram Nine.

Nines are, for the most part, placid. They prefer peace. The latest Wonder Woman is portrayed exactly like this. She enjoys her physical abilities, her companionship on the island, her family. An invasion turns all that into righteous fuel, and after that she will not be stopped.

She’s a superhero, so her powers are credited to her half-god genetics. This, though, is all just Nine Skills. Blocking bullets with reflexes? Nine. Twirling and sliding through the battlefield? Nine. Indomitable physical will? Nine. The story just pushes normal Nine-ness to a supernatural degree.

Her calm temperament and her effortless abilities make Wonder Woman a beloved DC character. A real life Woman Nine won’t hit all these storybook marks, but she will be an average version of the WW traits. A figurative Amazon warrior.