MBTI Type: ENFJ

Isobel’s entire focus is outside herself, on the greater collective world; she is the queen of “do-good” activities, from frequently championing the cause of the under-privileged to insisting on “updating” the hospitals to accommodate modern science in order to treat more people. She voices strong moral opinions much of the time, often setting her at odds with Violet, whose comments are all driven through “facts” (Isobel disapproves of Violet diminishing her servants, threatening them with needing to find a new position, or otherwise using them ill). She becomes very offended when anyone is mistreated and immediately takes their side. On her worse days, she can turn her moralizing tendencies onto the Crawley family and find them “selfish” for not wanting to continue running their estate as a convalescent home after the need abates. She often gets her feelings hurt and has no problem expressing her displeasure. Her ideas for the family estate are not always practical, or particularly well thought through, for most of them are based on a desire to help people rather than consider the greater logical problems involved. She has little regard for other people’s traditions or way of life, and is prone to immediate and unchanging conclusions—she too rapidly diagnoses Mosley’s hands as being symptoms of an incurable disease and puts him on a difficult regimen of treatment, rather than asking him questions about what he’s been doing lately, and finding out it’s a simple rue bush allergy. (Violet knows what this is at once, which humiliates her.) Isabel pushes for innovation and new things, insisting the doctor use a treatment he’s unfamiliar with, much to his distress (and without understanding his hesitation, since it will help save people) and believing it will turn out all right. Isobel wants to be hands-on with people, but also sees a larger picture—what could be, and pushes people toward it or helps them get there. She doesn’t like to sit at home and do nothing, so she gets as involved as she can and wants to be physically on location for most of her charitable causes. Isobel prefers to live as much in the present as she can, and is willing to take risks if they promise a solution. Whenever she becomes terribly upset, Isobel becomes insulting and can be quite frank, but even then her remarks all come from a place of objectivity, and revolve around how others are treated or treating those around them. She finds it hard to examine her own motivations or alter her strongest feelings through determining whether or not they are valid (inferior Ti).

Enneagram: 1w2 so/sp

Isobel can be somewhat obnoxious in the eyes of those around her, because “she sees room for improvement wherever she looks.” She is direct in correcting any perceived wrongs—insisting people do things her way, and showing her anger when she feels others are not being morally appropriate or fair to the general population. She and Lady Violet frequently butt heads as a result; Isabel will leap to a conclusion, assume she is right, and set off down that path, such as diagnosing someone with a particular illness, only to be proven wrong later. Or she will call out Lady Violet for accepting the annual silver cup for ‘best roses in show’ when it really ought to go to someone else (doing so is wrong). Isabel can be aggressive and confrontational about ‘righting public wrongs,’ and doesn’t mind whom she alienates in the process. She will sometimes get into public arguments with Violet, or make inferring remarks that she should do things in another, better way. She also wants to be useful and needed. Isabel finds ways to serve the public through working at the hospital, being a chairwoman on various committees, and championing the causes of the downtrodden. She can be too eager to help and believing that everyone else should be the same way—she doesn’t understand why the inhabitants of Downton Abbey wouldn’t want to leave their grand old estate as a convalescent home after the war, since it’s serving no useful purpose as it is!