MBTI Type: ESFJ

Our introduction to Sybil is her informing the men at the table that they ought not to “say such things” in front of young, unmarried women, with the implication that she is judging them for socially inappropriate behavior. Indeed, this Fe consensus of “what is appropriate” determines all of her actions, her rationalizations for her wrongful decisions, and her own behavior throughout the course of the story. She deems Eva not worth helping because she is a fallen woman, and tells her she ought to get married to her young man and make a “proper go of it,” regardless of social class differences. She excuses Gerald’s sexual deviancy by saying it’s inappropriate, but “all young men do it.” She believes in having social moral standards, but appears to have no inward morality of her own—devoting all her time to charitable programs that help girls in need of it, but withholding assistance from whomever she deems untrustworthy, unreliable, or unwilling to abide by the rules of society (unmarried mothers who have other options they refuse to take, which would see them “right” according to the times). She blames other people for her own problems; when the Inspector accuses her of not helping Eva, she turns around and says Eva would never have come to her, had not her husband fired her “in the first place.” A lot of what she says revolves around what is expected, and she paints people with a broad brush (“that kind of people…”). At first, she judges things so much on a surface level, she goes off on a rant about the boy who impregnated Eva and how he should be held responsible for what happened (rather than them) … and her daughter has to hint to her that Eric is the person who committed that particular “crime.” Then she quickly sees the big picture. But Sybil spends no time questioning her own actions, just validating her own opinions.

Enneagram: 1w2 so/sp

Sybil has strong opinions and does not mind sharing them, which makes her rather tactless at times – she points out to her daughter during a shopping excursion that she shouldn’t even consider a certain kind of dress because she hasn’t the right figure for it. She withholds a lot of her anger and represses it. Sybil also chastises the men around her for being inappropriate, for indulging their sexual desires, and the inspector for bringing trouble into their home. She doesn’t want to think she has done anything wrong, but she has turned away girls who needed their help at the charity on moral grounds. The Inspector does get through to her, making her feel guilt about her role in the events, but then she just as quickly abandons it when she thinks the entire thing was a hoax. She wants to move on, think of herself as a good and helpful woman, and go back to her life. Her 2 wing can be invasive in its suggestions, but also forgiving of people and their mistakes. She urges her daughter to give George a second chance, despite his immorality.