MBTI Type: ISFP

Abraham starts out the series as a highly principled man, full of honor, courage, and conviction. He refuses to let his father sway his notions of what is good in any given situation, which often causes him to adopt a “me against the world” mentality. If Abe does not agree with it, he refuses to do it – such as participating in the war effort (until he sees the moral right / justice in the Patriot cause), refusing to cater to his father’s Fe-based “pandering,” or even expressing his emotions for his wife. Though he married her out of a sense of duty, Abe still pines for Anna and winds up having an affair with her, callously disregarding all but his own feelings in the process. Later in the series, as Abe becomes hardened and calloused against violence (after killing an innocent, kind man to protect his secret identity), he increasingly falls into Te grips – becoming a man of ruthless action, disregarding any compassion, and plotting the death of any who stand in his way or in some way threaten the welfare of the cause (such as Major Hewlett) – to such an extent that Anna wonders aloud what has “happened to him.” He makes a good spy due to his opportunistic tendencies; Abe can come up with a lie in a matter of seconds, he can adjust quickly to the external world, such as bartering away the bad cabbages to the rebels, then pretending he was robbed on the way home; arranging cover stories and legitimate reasons to be traveling for his trips into the city; improvising on the fly (killing a man, then figuring out how to cover it up with his wife’s help); recruiting other spies, and confidently going behind enemy lines to deliver messages left behind the shells of boiled eggs; preventing Anna from having to sleep with / seduce a general by grabbing and kissing her in front of him (then making crass comments about her cleanliness); he finds and recruits Townsend, after being ‘discovered.’ Though more careful than Anna, Abe can be reckless and too quick to want to leap into action—he often does not think through all of his innovations, leading him scrambling to make up lies and pretend to be a double agent, sometimes forcing him to lash out against others who might reveal his actual identity, etc. Abe initially mis-predicts the end of the war (“It will be over by Christmas”) but gradually becomes more personally invested in a single desired outcome (their victory). He also sees the potential in Townsend as a spy behind enemy lines, despite the man’s skepticisms.

Enneagram: 9w8 sp/so

Abe initially complies with the life his father wants for him — he marries a woman he does not love and is not sexually attracted to, because it seemed like the appropriate thing to do after his reckless pursuit of pleasure got his brother killed. (The sp9 delving into comfortable hedonism to self-soothe.) He does not want to get involved in the politics of the town. Abe flat out ignores things that do not concern him and numbs himself to anything he dislikes. Once he sees injustices, Abe kicks into his 8 wing pragmatism and a desire to ‘even the score’ and steps up as a spy. His ruthlessness can horrify even Anna and his wife (Mary points out he does not need to murder a commanding officer, just make sure the courier never reaches their enemies). He condemns a man to death simply for “being on the wrong side,” when he decides that for the good of the town, Major Hewelett must die. Rather than let Anna Strong marry him under false pretenses, he urges his father to look at the divorce certificate, knowing his father will not let them stand once he knows they are forged. Wanting Robert Townsend involved in the Culper Ring, he tells Caleb to give him an incentive by harassing his father, and blaming it on the Rangers. To save Anna being sexually exploited at Major Andre’s home, he makes certain the commanding officer interested in her finds them canoodling and makes crass comments about her. Abe can be overbearing, doing whatever he likes, refusing to hear alternative arguments, never apologizing for his mistakes, and carrying on a sexual affair behind his wife’s back, unrepentant and largely unashamed of it.