MBTI Type: ISFP

Edwina lives in emotional isolation from the other girls at the school; she deeply internalizes her feelings and chooses to act on them, sometimes without the approval of others (which she does not feel she needs). The most glaring example of this is after McBurney ‘goes crazy’ and threatens them all with violence; she quietly goes up to his room, and tries to comfort him without words / winds up sleeping with him, because his actions matter less to her than her intense affectionate bond. She is very concerned with how she appears, how she conducts herself, and becomes competitive in seeking McBurney’s affections. Edwina acts on her impulses, and has a natural tendency toward physical confidence in daily interactions (she is quick to act, decisive, assumes McBurney will come to her, and makes herself pretty for him) and toward violence: she becomes so angry at him, she throws him down the stairs. She often becomes fixated on single conclusions (her heart sets on McBurney, and she sees in him a way “out of her life”) but is not always quick to guess others’ motivations. Her inferior Te shows in how she acts on her feelings, and the harsh words she sometimes employs with the other students (she tells off one of them for ‘stealing’ her earrings and wearing them without permission, she is a teacher at the school who tries to keep the girls in line) as well as a lack of interest in considering the rational implications of her actions (being in love with this man could cause endless problems, ruin her reputation, and land her pregnant with an illegitimate child).

Enneagram: 9w8 sx/so

Edwina is a quiet and gentle woman who doesn’t want anyone upset with her, who tries to respect Martha’s wishes, but also wants to follow her heart. Even though she longs to travel and see the world, she has done nothing to make this real. It’s something she dreams about, but she feels stuck and frustrated in her life. She immediately becomes attached to McBurney and convinced that she loves him, and merges into his desires and wishes, going out of her way to attract him and side with him, even after he becomes a threat to the other girls. His wishes become hers, and hers become his. She denies that she cares what others think about her, yet is somewhat self-conscious and deferential. Yet, she also has a quick temper at times, and confronts the other girls about stealing from her room, borrowing her earrings (to be attractive) without her permission, etc., and is defiant toward Martha when it comes to falling in love and supporting a potentially dangerous man.