Category: Downton Abbey

LADY SYBIL, THREE

We don’t get as full a portrayal for Sybil as we do for the other sisters. Partly, that’s because she marries and leaves, shortening her time onscreen. Partly, though, it’s because the writers have designated her as the rebel. Sometimes her character makes choices to fit this mold, rather than as an inherent trait.

So, how far astray is she written, lol? What is her number? 

She’s always described as kind. She’s loved by everyone, upstairs and downstairs. Not only does she support the maid Gwen in her desire to become a secretary, Sybil works on her behalf, scheduling appointments, traveling with her, and writing her resume. Sybil walks the walk. This includes her nursing during the war. She wants to serve, insists on getting the training, and then puts herself in the middle of the soldiers’ recovery without flinching. She’s seen as an angel, with no class consciousness.

Is she a real character? Someone this perfect risks being a Null.

Ah, let’s call her a Three. She knows her own mind, and is tireless in pursuit of what matters to her. I’ll be curious to look at her parents’ numbers and Branson’s just to be sure. Off the top of my head, I suspect Lord Grantham will be a Nine. That his baby is a Three makes sense. 

Lol, isn’t it funny how close a Three and a Null can end up being? One is reasonably perfect, and the other unreasonably so.

LADY EDITH CRAWLEY, TWO

Edith has a lifelong antagonism with her sister Mary. Does her Enneagram number provide a clue why?

Ah, she’s very much an Envy person. Mary is mean to her, but Edith wants more than niceness. She wants Mary’s position of respect in the family. Mary is unflappable, while Edith is gently injured by every unkindness. Command comes easy to Mary (because she’s the eldest, and an Eight); Edith struggles to find her place.

Of course she’s a Two. That’s why she and Mary are at loggerheads. They’re each other’s strength and weakness number. It’s also why Edith can never get ahead. A Two is supportive and caring — an easy person to take for granted, especially when an Eight sucks all the oxygen from the room.

And Edith has a moment when she does something cruel. She informs the Turkish embassy, solely for revenge, of her own sister’s indiscretion with their diplomat. When a Two slides into weakness, that Eight quality dominates in a poisonous way. Edith is very unlikable in that sequence, but now we see she’s true to her character. We just prefer her as the nice, dependable Two person.

LADY MARY CRAWLEY, EIGHT

She’s feisty and acerbic. Independent. Angry, even. Dockery’s portrayal is strong and consistent, but what is Lady Mary?

What about a Body Type? She’s the only daughter who rides. Look at those adjectives I just listed, lol! She’s an Eight. She has a chip on her shoulder, but she won’t be defeated. That’s very Eight. 

And when she really cares, as she does often with Anna, she slides to Two, her strength number, and becomes the most generous and thoughtful person possible. 

Oh, I like this. I get tired of Eight women being casually deployed by Hollywood as “strong women”. Here’s an Eight with all the beauty and all the warts inherent in the Enneagram number. Well done.

O’BRIEN, SEVEN

She and Barrow are a team — my “evil smokers” — until they aren’t. She’s incredibly loyal. It’s only after Barrow spikes her nephew’s career that she turns against him. Her malignant twist against Cora is only because she thinks her loyalty has been spurned.

Is she, like Barrow, a Heart Type? She’s not particularly sociable. She connects downstairs with Barrow and upstairs with Cora. No one else has her friendship.

I’m leaning toward Seven. She’s extremely competent at her job, but she’s not a stickler for rules at all. Her interest in gossip, the thing she and Barrow conspire about, is mostly a desire to know things. She has a Head Type relationship to the world, and she doesn’t give a tinker’s dam whether or not anyone else likes her. 

Have I also just described a Five? Wait, no. She likes to gather knowledge but she doesn’t like to share it. A Five is a bit of a know-it-all who can’t resist educating the world. Because the plot focuses on her machinations, it’s easy to forget that she’s incredibly efficient and thorough as a lady’s maid. We often see her mending and tailoring at the servants’ table. The rules, though, are malleable. She’s a Seven.

THOMAS BARROW, FOUR

Hello, Envy person, lol! What’s funny is that he’s very good at his job when he isn’t scheming. He should have every expectation of rising in the service ranks. No one likes him, though, so no one wants to work with him. Lord Grantham and Mr. Carson try to get rid of him over multiple seasons.

Of course, underneath the villainous “evil smoker” (as I called him and O’Brien in my breakdown reviews) is a tender heart that wants to be loved. Because he’s gay in a social era of illegality and punishment, he can’t love. He tries and fails, risking freedom and his job. Prejudice against him, and the extreme caution he must exercise, explains some of his envy and separateness.

However, he’s also someone who likes yanking people’s chains. He and O’Brien love the downstairs game they play. They both like access to the upstairs and hearing the gossip. Thomas isn’t looking to break from his role in service, unlike other characters. He just wants to get to the top and become butler for a great house.

He must be a Four. It’s the self-wounding in the war. A Three wouldn’t choose that path. And he can’t be a Two, lol, because he has no collection. Also, Barrow feels the ups and downs so deeply. His gentleness with the children — he’s the only servant who gives piggyback rides — is that sweet side of the Four when joy is let out for a spin. And his suicide attempt is the darkness winning for a moment. He’s a Four drawn and acted with full complexity. Well done.