Category: The Gilded Age

GEORGE RUSSELL, FIVE

The second season of The Gilded Age has begun and I’m enjoying it as much as I did the first. Looking over the Enneagram studies I did last time for the major characters, I think they’ve held up well. Someone I didn’t discuss is Bertha’s husband, George. Why didn’t I include him?

He doesn’t immediately speak his Enneagram number to me. When I think about him I wonder if he’s a Null? He’s so good, I hope that’s not true.

He has a placidity that leads me to Nine, but he doesn’t shy from conflict. Bertha is conflict. Her ambition requires it. His own business of finance leads him into many conflicts and he shows no sign of discomfort. Basically, he’s too ruthless to be a Nine.

He doesn’t have the impetuous temper of an Eight, nor the epicurean interests of a Seven. He doesn’t have the vivacity of a One, nor the wit of a Four. He can’t be a Three, that’s Bertha’s character. I see no sign of a Two’s collection. He’s too bold for a Six.

That leaves us with a Five. Really? Could that be true? First of all, that luxurious beard is not Five-ish. It’s Nine-ish. However, he has a cold attitude, an emotional distance from workers’ problems, that is Five-ish. It could also be why Bertha’s social intensity doesn’t bother him. Business is business. The way he looks at the maid when she sneaks into his bed is very Five. He almost laughs at her, then sends her quickly away. Also, to not tell Bertha about the maid is very Head Type. The emotions she feels when she learns — envy, anguish, embarrassment — aren’t something he can foresee. In his opinion the maid was silly and he handled the issue.

Well, I’m surprised. I still say that someone — showrunner or actor — is mixing in a little too much Nine, but I’m willing to declare George a bona fide Five. I didn’t expect that. Now, I’m quite excited! I can see the Mr. Darcy peeking out around his edges.

MARIAN BROOK, FOUR

With the energy of the young, Marian will engage with New Money or Old. She’ll call on a social outcast, befriend a Black woman, and concern herself with the Cook’s problem. She’ll also become romantically entangled with a man her Aunt Agnes has labeled an adventurer.

Marian, always willing to discard convention, is not always right to do so. Her enthusiasm leads her to overstep, such as when she brings cast-off shoes to Peggy’s mother’s home — a wealthy and stylish household — as an act of charity.

The problem with Marian is not just her youth and naivete. Her rebelliousness can feel fresh at times, and then foolish. The story has made her the bridge between Aunt Agnes’ Old Money prejudices and the Gilded Age’s ambition. It’s a difficult straddle for a character, and Marian isn’t always up to the task. Also, I can’t help wondering if the actress, Meryl Streep’s daughter, wasn’t cast for her pedigree — how Old Money! — rather than for the innovation of a New Money unknown.

Marian has a lot of energy — she’s always walking Ada’s little dog, lol — and a taste for conflict. She likes to stir the pot in social situations. Her father, Agnes’ and Ada’s brother, was, by the sisters’ accounts, a selfish terror. He burned through the family money, used up the sisters’ inheritance with no remorse, and left Marian destitute at his death.

She’s a Four. Although her past has hardship, she is undeterred and willing, if necessary, to fail. It takes a certain bravery to step forward in so many social situations. Not every number would persist against such risk.

PEGGY SCOTT, SEVEN

As Agnes surmises and appreciates, Peggy is a very determined person. She leaves her well-off family in Brooklyn, with whom she has a secret grievance, and takes a secretarial position with Agnes. She intends to write fiction, and she lands a second job at a Black-owned newspaper as a journalist.

Peggy knows her own mind, she knows what she wants, and she will pursue it. Meanwhile, she’s kind to people who are kind to her, and she stands as a solid friend to Marian. She’s no Mary Sue, though. This is a real character.

Her curiosity makes her a good journalist. She asks about what interests her, and ends up with an article that appeals to many. She has an energy and an industry, always engaging with the world. And she has an implacable temper. Her father has wronged her and she won’t forgive him.

Peggy is open to life and adventure, yet she has a cool head and won’t act impetuously. She has a steadiness that compliments her joie de vivre. I’m going to say Seven.

ADA BROOK, NINE

A spinster, Ada lives on the charity of her sister, Agnes. She is endlessly kind, and Agnes protects her. Her simplicity is refreshing because she has no guile. She genuinely doesn’t conceive of being mean. Her family, her household, and her little dog, are enough to bring her joy.

She’s not a simpleton, though. She has a quiet savvy that lets her see that the cook needs help and that Marian is over her head in a romantic entanglement. Acting from gentility, she lets people follow their own will, though, rather than imposing her own. She’s a lovely, admirable character, but she could never survive in this world without Agnes’ intervention.

What a beautiful dynamic! What a fascinating sisterhood.

I want to say Two because of her deep heart connection to those she loves. She’s not particularly social, though. She participates in charity events and enjoys her family, but she doesn’t seek out a whirl. It’s quite possible she would be content to never leave the house.

Also, if Agnes is a Six, a Two is a rare designation for a sibling. Ah! Ada is a Nine. A Nine woman is a gentle, nurturing person. Her concern with justice — refer to the cook situation again — is the indicator. And a Six/Nine combination is a great symbiosis. Oh, The Gilded Age gets better on examination, and I already loved it.

BERTHA RUSSELL, THREE

On the New Money side of the street we have a woman so socially ambitious it’s a wonderment to watch her. Bertha runs her advancement into the hierarchy of New York City’s rich as if it were a business. I’ve never seen a female character written so forcefully and yet respectfully. Usually a woman this brash is the villain.

Does she like nice things? I don’t think so. She likes status. But then she hires an innovative architect and a French chef (something not done at that time). Boldness is her profession, and she has an instinct for it. She has a tactical understanding of style, while choosing something for its beauty is secondary.

Three. Envy eats her alive, yet it won’t stop her. She will achieve what she attempts. This is a mesmerizing person who refuses to lose. I couldn’t stop admiring her.

AGNES VAN RHIJN, SIX

The Gilded Age has become one of my delights. The series is engaging, the characters are true to themselves, and the costumes are jaw-dropping. Please try it if you haven’t yet.

On the Old Money side of the street we have Agnes. She is so firm, so determined, so confident in her ideas. Her snobbery towards New Money is unmovable. 

Her compassion is very strict, too. She can spot “an adventurer” from a mile, and she’s always correct. For care of her family, she will cut the rogue to the bone. That her sister or her niece might prefer their illusions is something Agnes would disdain and ignore. Right is right, and the truth must be honored.

This is not a Heart Type, lol. This is a One or a Six. Rules are an iron bound box to her. We never see her step out for a stroll or a turn about the park, so probably not a Body Type. Also, she married a horrible man when she was younger in order to protect and support her family. This is a Trooper.