MBTI Type: INFJ

Isolde is ‘not of the world’ she lives in, for she has no respect nor understanding for its rules, and only abides by them out of a Fe-ish desire to conform. Though Ireland is enemies with England, when Tristan washes up on shore, she attends to his wounds, sneaks away to be with him, and even falls in love with him, showing her capacity to look at him from another angle. She philosophizes with him, and with her handmaiden, wondering about ‘other places’ and ‘the great unknown.’ She often speaks in metaphors, expressing that to not love is to live not a full and meaningful life, etc. She prefers dreaming and idealism to reality, such as when she asks Tristan if there were a world without duty would he be with her? She is not, however, impulsive by nature—when Tristan asks her to run away with him the first time, Isolde hesitates. Running away means leaving Ireland and potentially causing further friction between the two nations; he knows not who she truly is, so she bids him to think upon her from ‘time to time’ and sends him on his way. But later, as she becomes more desperate to be with him, their affair becomes opportunistic and full of risks, as they pay attention to each other in public, sneak off regularly to make love, and court almost constant discovery (her maid asks her if she intends for them to get caught). She has a ‘we’ mentality, in which she and Tristan have become one, and cannot understand why he will not mirror her emotions or change his mind; her Fe needs his love, affirmation, and approval, and his strict principles cause her no end of frustration. She often vocalizes this to him, asking him how he feels, to be with her, and saying that she cannot help her fondness for Marke, even if her heart belongs to Tristan. She plays her role as a wife so well, Marke notices nothing amiss, and Tristan becomes jealous of them. Isolde knows not, instantly, how she feels the first time they make love. She often falls into lower Ti, in wanting to know about things; in asking questions, in pondering the fates of those who ‘came before us’ in their lover’s ruins, and in wondering why things happen as they do (such as why her mother died). When Marke demands the truth from her in anger, Isolde tells him the entirety of it, unburdening her heart in the process—resulting in him allowing them both the chance to run away and live free with each other.

Enneagram: 2w3 sx/so

Above all, Isolde wants love. She chases it. She desperately needs it. She cannot live without it. Being ‘without’ and unable to express this love physically to Tristan makes her miserable. She is warm, generous, and kind, opening up her heart to him almost at once. She takes pleasure in being seductive and approachable. She cannot help showing everyone kindness, including Lord Marke. But she forcefully wants Tristan to abandon his principles and sacrifice everything to be with her. She devotes her 3 wing to the role she plays, to seeming to be a good wife, and to maintaining her sense of calm dignity as much as possible.