MBTI Type: ENFJ

Miriam is a skilled emotional manipulator who somehow manages to make everyone think she is innocent, compassionate, and caring, despite having her own evil intentions in mind. She can easily smooth over problems between people (when Charlotte wants to fight her on making the bed, she smiles and says it surprises her that they are quarreling about this, when they have so many other things to talk about) and calm down her cousin when she becomes hysterical. She often uses emotional appeals, she seeks protection from other people, and she attacks Charlotte on an intellectual level because she knows what will drive her over the edge into insanity. She felt hurt when her uncle took her to a store “his precious daughter would not set foot in” to buy her a new wardrobe. She also shows severe contempt for her cousin’s “dirty, nasty little affair with a married man.” But though she credits herself as having the brains of the operation, she often questions and leaves logical decisions to Drew (whether the medicine will work, if their scheme will pan out, if the cops will believe the maid fell off her roof by accident, etc). She set up this “game” decades ago, and shows up to finish it only when the opportune moment arises. Miriam told her uncle about his daughter’s affair, then opportunistically profited from the lover’s murder by blackmailing his wife; she recognized Charlotte’s mental instability and sent her nasty letters accusing her of murder, intending to slowly drive her insane; when she finds out the house is condemned and Charlotte must move, she turns up to push her over the edge and finish what she started forty years earlier. Miriam has put all her eggs in one basket, lived in “comfort” off her blackmail, and now needs the rest of the money. She seduces Drew and uses him as an ally, no doubt intending to later get rid of him somehow (“Where you want to go does not much matter”).

Enneagram: 2w3 so/sp

Miriam thinks of herself as a likable and helpful person. When others resist her attempts to assist (or control) them, she feels offended by their refusal to let her do what she intended to do. She reminds Charlotte of all the nice things she has done for her in the past. Miriam seduces Drew into her scheme and then uses him, relying on him to save her when necessary. But under stressful situations, when her facade drops, we see the nasty line to 8 lurking underneath. She browbeats, intimidates, and even physically assaults her cousin Charlotte, she blames her for being weak and pathetic, and orders her around ruthlessly and coldly. Her 3 wing can effortlessly step into whatever shoes she needs to, to get what she wants. She shows different faces to different people, but beneath it all is her burning ambition and desire for equality. This all started because her uncle insulted her, by taking her to buy clothes at a store that she did not believe was “equal” to her stature. She was the poor cousin people took pity on… well, no more!