MBTI Type: ESFJ

Guppy focuses on social appropriateness and what other people think above all; he is self-conscious and ashamed of his mother’s absurd behavior and giggling; he tries to bolster himself by getting Esther to have a drink with him before the proposal; he turns away from Esther when he sees her socially-unacceptable state of ugliness after her bout with smallpox, and then, a bit shallowly, comes back to propose to her again once she recovers and is once more lovely. He has a kind and compassionate nature, is easily hurt, and easily shares his feelings, confiding in others his desire to help his angel achieve high status, family connections, and perhaps even a stake in the infamous court case (which by proxy would make him rich, if they were married). He’s hard-working and has an end result in mind – he wants to climb the social ladder, find a woman of good means, and resolve the Jarndyce case in her favor, or at least find her an association with a “decent family.” Guppy does not spend much time questioning things, beyond their usefulness. He is an accomplished lawyer, who is quite content to work his way up the long and hard way (unlike Richard, who assumes he will become important right away) and has the patience necessary to deal with tedious court cases. Guppy makes inferences by degrees, taking what he knows about Esther Summerson and assuming accurately that she is related to Lady Dedlock, but his assumption stops there–he does not carry it onto the truth of her parentage. He seems to enjoy routine (always ordering the same thing at the local pub) and his little comforts, and uses what he knows about people to get them to confide in him. Guppy dreams about making Esther his wife and acts on this potential in all he does. He is often thinking and scheming and planning for his future, using whatever opportunities arise in the present.

Enneagram: 2w3 so/sp

Guppy does much of what he does, in the hope of “earning” Esther’s love and approval and hand in marriage, because he believes if he can show her how much he cares, she will accept his proposal. He’s driven by a need for love and acceptance mingled with a strong ego – he finds it hard to look upon hard or sad things, to be humiliated, and to imagine being stuck with a non-beautiful woman. He also aggressively offers to help other people, from running errands for his boss to helping Richard Carstone figure out the law. He bribes Mr. Crook with better and better priced bottles of drink, in order to gain his trust and friendship and hopefully, access to his important letters. His 3 wing is highly motivated to make something of himself and driven; he is hard-working and not inclined to give up on his goals easily, doggedly pursuing them and even lying to himself about his ability to change Esther’s mind.