MBTI Type: ESFP

Anna is headstrong and impulsive, but also quick on her feet. She involves herself in the spy ring by acting as a go-between and hanging a black petticoat out when it’s time to meet. Anna can usually get herself out of any situation with only a marginal amount of effort, because she’s in tune with what is happening around her and adapts quickly to it (leaping on the chance to join the prostitutes at John Andre’s dinner, enticing an officer into meeting her upstairs so she can sneak a look at his code book, using her “honor” as an excuse to keep Simcoe from raping her, becoming a pot and pan peddler among the “camp followers,” manipulating and intending to marry Major Hewlett and move away to England with him to save his life, then blaming him for ‘forcing’ her to agree to marry him when Abe ruins that scheme, etc). She is relatively fearless and not always reflective of how her actions will unfold in the future. After he lets Simcoe go, Anna tells Abe that he should have “killed him,” inferring that he will cause more trouble in the future; she is surprised Abe could not see through his father’s “bluff” about prosecuting him to the fullest extent of the law. She has an overall optimistic, purpose-driven approach toward the future, which includes extended service undercover with the spy ring. She instinctively senses Simcoe will honor her attempts to thwart his lust by asserting her honor, and hinting they might have a chance “in the future.” She believes in following her conscience and has little interest in doing things merely for politeness’ sake or conventionality. Anna never really talks in depth about her feelings for Abe, but allows their sexual tension to simmer for months, unaddressed but meaningful in the silences. She is a compassionate woman, but also strong-willed and inclined to dismiss any advice she doesn’t like. She follows her emotions and is not always considerate of the feelings of those around her (that their affair will hurt Mary never enters into her conversation, because it feels right and they love one another). But she flat-out refuses to participate in killing Major Hewlett, whom she has come to love; Abe is right in that regard, she has allowed her personal feelings to “cloud her judgment,” and she is willing to break the law and commit bigamy to save his life. Her tendency is to rush in before coming up with a plan, but she can organize events to suit her – including laying out detailed schemes and backing them up with logical arguments (she tracks down Abigail at the market, and convinces her to let her come to Andre’s house as part of the entertainment). She is unafraid to assert the truth, sometimes in brutal tones, and her accusations against Abe are factually correct (his earlier decisions did indeed bring them to this moment). When others present a problem to her, she offers a practical solution (if goods are too costly, we can purchase from the privateers at a reduced rate, and the British will not charge us for it, because it is legal under their new laws).

Enneagram: 8w7 so/sp

Richard Woodhull says of Anna that she “never thinks before she acts,” and it is true, she is often combative, assertive, confrontational, disregards authority, and makes demands upon others. She chides Abe for being a coward who won’t join the war effort or stand up for his beliefs. She even demands to join the spy ring in front of General Washington, rather than waiting for an audience. She almost commits adultery with Abe several times, only to give him and see him in a succession of risk-taking, secret-couplings in her own brewery cellar. She endures the slander and scandal when that information becomes made public, without much shame. Her 7 wing does not like to confront or deal with pain, and tries to find ways around it through distractions. She moves on quickly after her husband leaves. But more interestingly, Anna shows serious ‘growth’ toward 2 in her relationship with Major Hewlett. What starts as a callous ‘using’ of him for her own ends turns into affection, though she cannot call it ‘love’ and will not admit that to herself, or anyone else. She becomes much more emotionally vulnerable and less angry with him, showing the tenderness and willingness to sacrifice herself of a loving 2.