MBTI Type: ESFJ

Vannozza is an intensely emotional person, who cannot comprehend Rodrigo’s ability to make brutal decisions when it comes to their family and his political ambitions. That he would throw her over in favor of a younger woman, and force her to separate from him to keep up “appearances” (while smuggling in his “new whore”) is incomprehensible to her, but she puts up with it in order to maintain the peace. Yet, she is also extremely vocal about her feelings on the matter, sometimes with the added benefit of wearing him down. She knows how to read others’ emotions and appeal to them, in order to accomplish what she wants. “What happened to you? You were such a warm child!” Vannozza often compares what her family has become to the life they had before, and in some sense, wants to return to those happier times. Her impressions of the past are not always accurate, but colored through romanticism. Vannozza values the things that last the longest, particularly family ties. She has, quite contentedly, been involved in a relationship with Rodrigo for over twenty years, and is comfortable in her stance as his official mistress and the mother of his children. She knows how the world works, and how to skillfully maneuver her way through it. She is not afraid to embrace change or to alter her tactics, to use different methods to accomplish what she wants. Vannozza senses connections between other people and is able to discern their weaknesses, strengths, and vulnerabilities. She is not afraid to think out in multiple directions, to embrace a larger worldview, or to consider the fall-out of her decisions. She knows exactly how to manipulate the cardinals, by investigating their debauchery and using it to exploit them for monetary gain, in order to help clean up the streets of Rome. Her daughter and her husband’s mistress rely on her, in this manner, to come up with workable ideas in this regard, thanks to her diplomatic prowess (Fe/Ne). Her insights into Rodrigo’s character reveals that she has given him thought, analyzed his decisions and actions, and reached conclusions about them (through Fe). But Vannozza finds it difficult to separate her feelings from the situation at hand; when her request to attend her daughter’s wedding is refused, she is devastated and cannot see the logic in it.

Enneagram: 2w3 so/sx

Vannozza makes decisions with her heart rather than her head, she wants to retain the Pope’s love, and feels angry and distressed that he has brought another woman into their life, because she assumed only she had a position in her heart. After all, look at everything she has done for him—she brought children into his life and gave him heirs, does that mean nothing?! She often falls into 8 aggression in how she confronts him, berates him, and yells at him whenever she is upset with him, allowing her temper and feelings to get the better of her. She blossoms the most when he comes back to her, having lost interest in his current mistress, and seeking solace in her companionship. It strokes her ego to be thus needed, desired, and given a place of prominence once more in his life.