Character Sevens – Page 2 – Enneagram and Encaustic

CLARA CLAYTON, SEVEN

She has less of a role than some of the other repeat characters, but Clara makes an impact. We know Doc well; any woman he would love needs to impress us.

In order to match with Doc, she has to be a science nerd, and she is. It goes beyond a love of Jules Verne, though. Her telescope has an entire backstory, and she has a lifelong relationship with science. Well done.

She’s obviously brave. A lone woman schoolteacher sets off into the Wild West, arriving by train in a town where she knows no one. It’s easy to forget how risky such a move would be back then.

A practical woman who dares to adventure? Seven. It’s her clinical reactions that define her Enneagram. Doc breaks her heart, she’s leaving. New information tells her Doc loves her, she’s returning. Doc has a model train set with a piece labeled “time machine”, she believes him. Doc’s off to travel through time, she follows. She just does the next thing in front of her, no matter how unrealistic and ludicrous. That willingness is very Seven.

PENANCE ADAIR, SEVEN

The Nevers is a new show on HBO/Max. Because I’m really enjoying it I want to contribute to its buzz, so I’m jumping in. It’s a little early, four episodes dropped so far, to judge a character’s Enneagram but I think Penance is fairly settled.

She’s an inventor, specifically for electricity. We know that she was a natural innovator before becoming “touched”, the word for someone (usually a woman) who’s been gifted by events on a certain day in Victorian London. Now she can see the flow of electricity all around her, helping her design mechanics that can shape that pattern.

She’s an incredibly kind heart, a Christian specifically. Helping is important to her. She’s loyal to the other Touched. She and Amalia run an orphanage, a gathering place for the Touched whose families are horrified by them. She would never do or say anything to hurt someone unless they were an evildoer out to torture (which is a plotline).

Although she will join Amalia, the warrior of the group, in battle, her inclination is as more of a Q: the inventor. In some ways her function is to keep Amalia on the right course, knowing what is just and gentle.

Penance is no Body Type. Her inclination for invention is an important trait. She’s curious. Her kindness, her connectedness to all the other Touched, suggests a Heart Type. However, as thoughtful to others as she is, she can also be socially awkward. She’s not averse to interaction, but she’s more of a loner. I think we’re looking at a Head Type.

Her curiosity, her daring, her social consciousness, suggest a Seven. The actress herself, as wonderful as she is, doesn’t physically represent a Seven. She’s too willowy for that. However, as of now four episodes in, I will call Penance as I see her.

I can’t wait to see if my opinion changes as the season progresses!

UPDATE: The writing on episode five became too chaotic and unstructured for me. I’ve stopped watching with much regret.

ROBERT BARATHEON (TV), SEVEN

In a way, he’s just waiting to die. Stories about killing fill the space around drinking, eating, and wenching. His family is unimportant, the realm is uninteresting. His loss of Lyanna took a lot of caring out of him. It’s ironic that she loved someone else (as we learn later) while he pines. If she hadn’t died, he may have learned the truth about her and moved on.

And his character doesn’t arc. We, the plot watchers, are also waiting for him to die. Motivations swirl about, on hold until he steps out of the way. Credit to Mark Addy for making a placeholder interesting.

What does Robert Baratheon want? What motivation is Addy playing? “I want to die” isn’t right. He’s not even marvelously tragic. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. This is no way to treat a character.

This Robert is a Seven. Life is dull and he doesn’t care. Without luster, without fire and challenge, a Seven will wither. Only the hedonism is left.

CATWOMAN (1992), SEVEN

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina in Batman Returns is one of the great moments in the Burton years of directing the Bat. Is she quintessential Catwoman? I don’t think so. My impressions are colored by the years of Eartha Kitt and Julie Newmar, when Catwoman was uber-sexy. Why did I think Diana Rigg was also Catwoman? Emma Peel, I guess. The leather, the long legs, the sultry tone.

Anyway, Pfeiffer is something else. Her Selina is scattered and marginal, book smart but not street smart. Miss Kitty is on the edge of sanity. She ends up with the leather and the sultry, but she barely holds it all together. Like her home sewn costume, the stitching shows.

Someone mauled by cats in a near-death experience should be walking a thin line.

Pfeiffer herself may not have the Enneagram body for it, but her Catwoman is a Seven. The competency in every day life, the mousy exterior that hides so much passion, and the weird breakout she goes through, are the indicators. She doesn’t have highs and lows as a Four would; everything is a low for her. Even the rush of being a superhero/villain is painful. This is a Seven sliding down into the weakness number, One. Wit is dark, physicality is driven, and pleasure is ascetic. It’s a beautiful portrayal.

CHARLOTTE LUCAS, SEVEN

I should immediately admit that I’m sympathetic to Charlotte. Elizabeth hates her pragmatism when it comes to love and marriage. I kind of respect Charlotte’s reasoned and harsh perspective.

Of course, she’s stuck with Collins, which is an ill fate. But, her parents! She’s a financial burden with no prospects. God, I really admire her grit.

So, what Enneagram number is so unromantic? Well, a One. A Seven. Possibly a Three. An Eight. Is Charlotte a Body Type?

She’s a Seven! Wow, I’m wonderfully surprised. Like Collins, every portrayal of her has been a different number than what she is. Imagine a Seven, the Enneagram number most associated with hedonism, as an undesirable, unmarriageable Regency woman. What a lot of possibilities for character portrayal!

She and Elizabeth have that Head Type connection as the basis of their friendship.

Seven Women are so practical, so efficient. This is how Charlotte can marry someone she can’t respect and yet live a good life. The house is segregated by Charlotte into her private parlor and his garden and office. It’s not personal, it’s business. (Charlotte would make a great mafia don.)

Yes, some aspects of her life are sub-optimal, but look at the positives. She runs her own household and she likes it. Her position and income (her nest) are secure. When she has children they will be safe and healthy.

It’s utterly unromantic, but it’s not the worst. Like I said, I don’t condemn her. Charlotte’s a boss.

GEORGE BAILEY, SEVEN

When I was younger I couldn’t stand to watch George beaten down by life and denied his dreams. Duty keeps him from adventure. Self-sacrifice locks him at home while his brother pursues the world. From a certain perspective this is a very painful story.

What kind of a man takes a job he hates in order to fulfill his father’s promises, marries a woman he loves although she prefers a lifestyle that repulses him, and turns to thoughts of suicide when life wearies him, as all life does?

I’m immediately distracted by tall, lanky Jimmy Stewart, who fits a specific body build. Is George a Four or a Five? I doubt it. He’s not funny enough or contemplative enough for either.

Is George a Seven? Someone who dreams big is more heartbreaking than a practical man. A One, a Three — these heroes would bring a completely different, more encouraging story. Not a Six; a Six expects to be disappointed by life. Not a Two; George sees his house as a millstone rather than a quirky mansion.

Seven, Eight, or Nine? He does save his brother’s life on the ice. Any of these numbers could accomplish this. In every other way he shows no aptitude for physical activity, so I’ll say he’s not a Body Type.

Seven it is. What other number could wish for something more, be the kind of person who could achieve steamer-trunk adventures, and yet honors his commitments? His heroism is quiet, the kind that real men can attain, but it makes for depressing storytelling.

SALLY, SEVEN

A rebel, obviously. She’s very determined to help — stalk? — Jack. She’ll poison the doctor in order to escape. She’s so very mild-mannered while being utterly ruthless! What a great character.

Sally is very likable, very relatable. Her shyness, her doubt, her bravery. She’s also curious.

So many qualities! How to narrow her down to an Enneagram number?

We’re in an imagined reality with Rules of the Magic that work against discovering her, but even with that we can say she isn’t a Body Type. She throws herself out a window and lands with a thud! She’s a trooper about the whole thing, stitching herself back together, but she goes ka-splat.

Wait. A trooper. Is she a Six?

She’s regimented about right and wrong. She even says, “This feels wrong,” about the Sandy Claws plan. Staying with the doctor is wrong to her, and so she won’t comply. Saving Jack is right, and without hesitation she pursues Santa’s rescue. She’s pretty smart about it, too.

Aha! She’s a Seven. Men Sixes are troopers. For women it’s the Sevens. They’re methodical and relentless, while still willing to chase risk and adventure.

Also, something about being stuffed with leaves feels so Seven. What other number would be so practical and sensual at the same time?

FREDERICK FRANKENSTEIN, SEVEN

That’s Frankensteen.

In the Young Frankenstein story, Frederick is Victor’s great-grandson. He is the creator, the protagonist — like Victor — but he’s also a separate character with a different Enneagram. Possibly. What do we know?

He’s actually kind. He loves his Monster. (“This is a good boy! This is a mother’s angel!”) Everything frustrating about the original story — why won’t Victor show compassion toward his creation? — is addressed here. Love begets love. This Frankenstein taps into that.

He’s worried about the world’s opinion, at least for a while. Once his curiosity is engaged, he tosses that concern aside. And when he’s in, he’s all in. He solves the problem! Not only does he bring the Monster to life, he integrates him into society.

The castle, Frau Bluecher, Inga — Igor! — all the oddities, are nothing to him. Strange events come at him and he rolls with it. Accepting of all the weirdness the moment brings? Willing to try obscure paths? Non-judgmental of the loons around him? Seven.

NEWT, SEVEN

She’s a great character. Indispensable. How can I not write about Newt?

Well, she’s a child, that’s why. I believe we’re all born with an Enneagram number, but I’m reluctant to talk about someone not mature. It feels unfair. To ignore such an integral character would also be unfair, though, so let’s poke.

Brave. Way brave. “They mostly come out at night. Mostly.”

Clever. “This little girl survived with no weapons and no training.”

A good judge of others. A realist. “She’s just a piece of plastic, Ripley.”

Not a Five or Six. Not a Four. Not a Heart Type at all. I know a lot of her personality has been tamped down by fear and survival, but her emotions seem to never have ruled her.

Seven Women are very practical, measured, and calm. This is a possibility.

Also, what about the Body Types? Is she physical? I could call her placid and Nine-ish. Not Eight, not One. She’s not aggressive enough.

She’s a monkey, scampering through the vent system. A Nine’s physicality would manifest in different ways, something more overtly athletic. This is the imp movement that is the hallmark of a Seven.

CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW, SEVEN

I’m almost afraid to take a look at him! What Enneagram number could this odd creature possibly be?

Well, he’s cool under pressure. He’s constantly thinking chess moves ahead in order to get himself out of trouble, but he’s also calm and unhurried while he’s doing so. The Brethren Court, Davy Jones’ heart — Jack has a finger in all of the pies.

Head Type?

Although Jack is competent at swordplay, he doesn’t really seem like a Body Type. He’s learned and practiced enough to get through pirate world alive. Nothing more.

Heart? Not really. Feelings are secondary to the objective with Jack. Also, he’s not particularly envious. Whatever he feels, he knocks it back with rum and rolls on.

Not a Five. Too lively. Not a Six. Too laid back.

Seven it is. Would take the Black Pearl over the Flying Dutchman every time.