MBTI Type: ESTJ

Thorin is a natural leader who takes on the mantle of reclaiming the lost dwarf kingdom and believes himself capable of being its king, even when others tell him he should not reawaken the dragon or risk his life on this venture. He is an intense strategist able to react quickly to unknown situations—such as when he figures out how to use Smaug to light the fires in the mountain, then leads him to the great hall, where he covers him in molted gold. He assumes this will kill Smaug, but he is wrong—it merely makes him angry and unleashes him on the world of men. Thorin is fierce and direct, always choosing the most straightforward way to achieve his goals—he is highly prejudiced against the elves, and resentful of them based on his people’s interaction with them, but also willing and able to put those prejudices aside and seek Elrond’s knowledge of the moon runes. When something fails, he wants to use force to get it instead—after he cannot find the door by the last light, he tries to force it open and then gives up without considering any alternatives. He is also a judge of character based on people’s competence; he thinks Bilbo is soft and will not last a week among them, but is glad to be proven wrong. He considers the consequences of their actions when dealing with Bilbo, which influences his opinion of the hobbit (Thorin believes he will get hurt or lost, or abandon them, because he is afraid). Thorin can be brutal in his assessment of others, and downright cold when he becomes infected by the dragon gold. There, he makes ruthless tactical judgments that conflict with his formal core (he does not want to negotiate, nor risk their numbers in battle, and intends to “hold up” under the mountain and outlive everyone else). He has a weird blend of subjective remembrance for the past, and an assumption that the fate that befell his forefathers will not also claim him. Thorin approaches every situation with expectations based on previous experiences; his hatred of the elves stems from their failure to intervene and help his people defend the mountain from the dragon, and he assumes all the elves will be the same as the rest (judging Elrond by Thranduil’s behavior). He has allowed this to build into a longstanding tradition of resentment between the two races. Thorin is tied to the past, in his desire to reclaim his former home and in his fondness for their dwarf traditions, histories, stories, and songs. He is practical, rational, and believes what he has seen and remembers, which means he’s wrong about the white orc’s demise. Thorin is not good at reading others’ intentions; as his madness increases, Thorin becomes more unsettled and suspicious. His paranoia leads him to accuse various members of his group of keeping secrets, hiding, and stealing things from him. Thorin does not want to open his mind or see new perspectives; he resists changing his opinion of the elves to the bitter end, but is also optimistic about his own future, convinced he can reclaim his throne, and does not believe the dragon sickness from the gold will effect him. Thorin also has inferior Fi issues. He is abrasive and sometimes unkind, because it’s more rational to avoid feelings for direct action (he orders Kili to stay behind in Lake Town, because “you will only slow us down,” despite knowing that his nephew has thought about this day all his life). He does not talk about the immense pain the loss of the mountain and the death of his family caused him, so much as he wants to reclaim it. Thorin does not always behave how others would like him to; he stubbornly sticks to his own feelings about elves even when it inconveniences Gandalf and risks offending Elrond. It takes a great deal to earn his admiration, but he does admit how much he likes Bilbo and how proud he is of him once Bilbo proves himself. In the end, Thorin sacrifices himself to save his friends – but also to have revenge on the white orc.

Enneagram: 8w9 so/sp

Thorin is forever rubbing Gandalf the wrong way, because he’s belligerent and offensive. He’s also always convinced of being right, even when he is wrong, and defensive of himself prematurely. He assumes people are going to get on his wrong side, and so he lashes out at them first – insulting Elrond in his own home, refusing to deal nicely with the elves, telling Thranduil to go eff himself instead of agreeing to return the precious stones to him (thus ending their feud, and getting help from the elves), and accusing Bilbo of deceit and working against him. He has a chip on his shoulder and is just waiting for someone to knock it off, to the point where he alienates some of his own friends toward the end of his life, for having an all or none mentality. Under stress, he shifts into 5 behaviors – he becomes paranoid and skeptical of Bilbo. He is not sure he can trust the wizard, either, and would not trust the elves farther than he could throw them. But most of the time, his 9 wing allows him a quiet sense of confidence in the presence of his enemies, and to ignore the things that seem inconsequential. But his temper often gets the best of him, and he feels a need to directly assert himself all the time.