MBTI Type: ESFJ

Peggy’s warm, gregarious, enthusiastic nature enables her to become the “toast of society.” She feels confident in a room full of people and is good at smoothing over tensions and diffusing problems. Her talents at persuasion lead to Arnold abandoning his loyalty to the Patriot cause. She agrees with him that he is being mistreated by Washington and his army, and suggests discreetly that should he wish to change sides, she has a particular friend, a Major Andre, who might prove useful in that regard. She is a good example of someone using Fe (appealing to others’ feelings) in order to mobilize them toward the end result that she wants. Peggy is also good at “faking” emotions to conceal her true feelings. She convinces Arnold she is in love with him, when that is untrue, and persuades others into believing her innocence in his flight once Washington discovers the truth (she pretends she has gone mad). She finds a polite, veiled, cutting way to put down a woman she knows was Andre’s lover in her absence — framing an insult as a compliment. Others’ encouragement and affirmation keeps her spirits up (Abigail’s reassurances that Andre loves her brightens her spirits, and Andre convinces her to turn Arnold by appealing to her love for him). At times, however, Peggy makes serious mistakes in logical judgment — she rushes into a marriage she does not want, out of an emotional knee-jerk reaction to hearing Andre has taken a lover, then sets up that woman as a spy in revenge, not realizing this might harm them in the long term. She approaches everyone based on her understanding of their previous interactions — at first, focusing simply on being the belle of the ball, and in understanding how things work (what is implied through flirtations, when men are toying with her, and relying on her money and status as a way to keep men whose company she does not favor at a distance). Over time, she begins to involve herself with Andre — and comes to adopt his ideas about how she could influence Benedict Arnold in the long term, and possibly make him into one of their British agents. Peggy is attractive and concerned with the current fashion, a trend-setter in every sense of the word. She can easily come up with ulterior motives and shows some interest in playing games with the men in her life, for a greater cause, but it is always in pursuit of Andre’s vision and not her own desired outcome. Under pressure, she can underestimate the danger to herself and her loved ones.

Enneagram: 2w3 sx/so

Peggy is all about earning love through social approval, by putting on a certain level of performance, and also indulging herself — like most 2s, she does not like to wait for things that bring her pleasure (leading her to engage in a sexual relationship with Andre, even though the society of the time considered that scandalous and it could have ruined her reputation). She is seductive and aware of her own beauty. She agrees to seduce and turn Benedict Arnold, as a way of earning Andre’s love for her. She has an instinctive awareness of what others need, and is eager to provide it for them – being encouraging to Abigail, in challenging and defying Andre, affirming Arnold’s egotism, etc. She is more in touch with her feelings than Andre is, who as a 3 puts business before love – Peggy is fully aware she is ‘buying’ Andre’s affections through helping him spy for the British empire. When confronted with someone she does not like (one of Andre’s former lovers), she shows an unexpected level of 8 disintegration into malevolence (she has the woman arrested and tries to frame her as a spy). She grasps she can delay Arnold’s demands for an instant marriage if she obliges him sexually and does so to postpone the official proceedings. Her 3 wing is very charming, withdrawn, and socially ambitious and appropriate; when her own safety demands she pretend to have gone mad in her husband’s flight, to elicit the compassion of General Washington, she gives a tour-de-force performance of insanity. Peggy is a master at concealing her true feelings and becoming whatever others need and want her to be, all to get ‘the job done’ — which includes eventually giving up on her continual attempts not to marry Benedict Arnold and tying the knot. She focuses on status and her importance to society, masterfully keeping control of her emotions at crucial moments (at one point, she calmly reassures her friends that she is not angry, and then sweeps across the room to insult someone).