MBTI Type: ISFJ

Anne even more than her sisters draws from real life experiences to write her books; she pushes the others to write less about “fantasy worlds” and more about “gritty real life.” She questions at one point if it’s all right to draw extensively from personal experience, since her own experiences as a governess and her brother’s behavior are influencing aspects of her novel. She’s much more grounded than Emily or Charlotte, in terms of talking about the future (she realizes and acknowledges the world they live in, and is concerned as to how they might make their living after their father dies, as spinsters who will soon lose the house, since it belongs to the parish). She’s social, engaging, and free with sharing her feelings, confiding in her sisters, asking for their opinion when she’s considering whether or not it’s all right to publish what she’s writing, and eager to play peacemaker among them when things go wrong. She respects them as individuals, and rarely pushes them to do anything they don’t want to do, but is inclined to go along with the group consensus. She’s very upset when Emily is angry at them, and refuses to admit her true identity to the publishers, since it marks division in the sister ranks. Anne is practical, and wants to understand others’ decisions; she analyzes their current situation and reasons that they’d better start preparing for the future. She’s able to detach from her feelings when making certain decisions. Anne left her former position because of Branwell’s affair with her employer’s wife, showing she analyzed her own feelings about it as well as sensed the inevitable fall-out, and left before it caught her up in the middle of it. She has an active, vivid imagination, and created many stories set in their invisible world. Anne is eager to write with her sisters, and shifts between fear of the future (what will happen?) and optimism (about the success of their books). Anne admits that she misjudged her publisher’s character, and will not work with him again.

Enneagram: 6w5 so/sp

Anne is cautious and doesn’t want to reveal their names, in case the public reject them for what they write, even though it is “earnest and true.” She feels better about collaborating with her sisters and having them all in agreement and consensus, and consults them on their opinions about her stories and what she intends to do—she asks them if they think it is “all right” and “moral” to write what she intends to. She admits that she felt bad doing nothing to stop Branwell’s affair, as if she has taken it on as her responsibility. She anxiously agrees to help her sister clear up the misunderstanding at the publisher. Anne can be skeptical of her brother’s intentions, but also loyal to him in her desire to help him through a difficult time. She is somewhat withdrawn and private, although she is also warm and approachable, and arguably, the “least bleak” of the three sisters. She focuses on what is “good,” but isn’t above talking about what is “dark” in her novels.