MBTI Type: ESFP

Bash was a hard-working man of the sea, who enjoyed traveling from place to place, trying out new kinds of food (but always preferring his home cooking, and forcing Gilbert to ‘wait’ to taste it), and meeting new people. Until Gilbert came along and offered him a chance of a different life, Bash did not consider settling down – and then, he uses an opportunity (after being shoved into the mud) to meet, befriend, and start doing kind things for Mary around the house, as a way to get to know her – and then he proposed to her, having known her but a short time. Bash loves to be outdoors and often takes their child to the river to sit and enjoy the fine weather. He sometimes answers others’ through his fists, though he does not intend to start a fight with Mary’s son, and winds up getting hurt. He attempts to get rid of a toothache by yanking out the rotten tooth by tying it to a string tied to a door, and having Gilbert slam it shut. Bash is a good-natured, free-thinking man, who often clashes with his SFJ mother because he does not share her values, fears, or social inhibitions – he scorns her acting “like a servant” and is terribly insulted when returning home after a long time away that she pretends in front of her employer that he is a tramp looking for a handout. He has a fierce sense of right and wrong, and is angry when it appears that Gilbert Blythe will not be keeping his half of their shared bargain – that they would work the farm together (Gilbert instead wants to go to medical school). Bash wants to be among people his own color, and with whom he can identify, so he’s insistent on visiting The Bog. He tends to judge situations prematurely, such as when he sees Mary hugging a strange man in her home, and assumes her involved with someone else – and each time Bash does not want to deal with something, he simply leaves – forcing others to go looking for him. Unlike his wife, he can be harsher, stricter, and angrier, about others’ slights or snubs, and is not as good at covering up his true feelings. His Te can be sharp and critical under pressure; but more often, he responds to his feelings through direct action. (Such as sneaking onto upper decks, and risking ‘being fired’ since he’s going to leave anyway.) Bash’s intuition is rather poor, since he does continually misjudge situations; but he had a clear idea of what to expect from Gilbert, and is upset when Gilbert appears to change his mind (since this seems to prove to him that Gilbert cannot be counted on, after all).

Enneagram: 2w1 sp/so

Bash is warm and friendly, taking Gilbert under his wing when they first meet and introducing him to his mother’s fine home cooking, showing him where to go, and what to do on board ship. He is eager to start a new life in Avonlea on a farm, but expects something in return – Gilbert’s loyalty and trustworthiness. He offers to help Mary out around the house as a way to get her to like him, and because he likes to take care of people. (He resents it when his mother comes to “help him out” with the baby, also.) His 1 wing has fierce moralizing opinions. He is disapproving of Mary’s son’s inappropriate behavior (his stealing from Gilbert, and upsetting his mother) and often calls him on it, fearlessly to his face. He doesn’t often start fights, but he does finish them. If offends him, when he thinks Gilbert is going back on his word.