MBTI Type: ESFP

Daisy tends to live in the moment, and is aware of everything going on around her; she is stimulated through the lavish party Gatsby throws to catch her attention. She lives in an enormous, gorgeous house full of extravagant possessions and hands out with all the “beautiful” people. She is impatient to do things and somewhat impulsive, both in her affections and in nudging others into action. She becomes quite reckless, particularly when upset, and enjoys saying things to surprise or shock other people. Even though she is willing to share her thoughts (“I hope [my daughter grows up to be] a pretty fool”), Daisy is more circumspect with her emotions. She does not share them easily either with her husband or Gatsby. Though it would please Gatsby to hear that she never loved Tom, Daisy refuses to say it, because it is untrue. Even though Tom’s affairs hurt her feelings, Daisy does what she believes is right, and lives according to her own moral belief system; she doesn’t try to make anyone else “behave,” showing that she accepts others as individuals and can respect their choices. She acts on what she wants… starting an affair with Gatsby, marrying Tom despite his letter because it is advantageous, even leaving after Gatsby’s death to keep her family intact and preserve her reputation. Daisy has reasons for everything she does, and knows how to fix problems… she is merely reluctant to do so, and insecure about her decisions.  Like Gatsby, she has a romantic and introspective side that delights in what things mean, in addition to what they are on the surface, but she develops no vision for her future; instead, she is reluctant to abandon her life with Tom and face the consequences. She is happy so long as she can think about “running away,” but when it comes time to make her dream a reality, she loses confidence in it and falters.

Enneagram: 7w6 so/sx

Daisy is incredibly shallow—when she first lays eyes on her daughter, she wishes her to be a “pretty little fool,” meaning that the more foolish a girl is, and the more beautiful she is, the happier she will be in her own ignorance. She says she has traveled the world, seen everything, and done everything, and still finds it wanting (a sense of her own frustration as a 7 – they struggle to accept life as it is, because they need it to be something more, better, exciting, and fulfilling than it can ever be). Like a lot of unhealthy 7s, she fills her life with shallow, meaningless experiences in search of a happiness that is never quite within her grasp. She loves Gatsby’s gorgeous house, and all of his silk shirts—and sheds tears over them; when Gatsby asks her what is wrong, she flippantly (and probably dishonestly) says that they are all so beautiful, they make her cry (it’s more likely her sense of loss and not being loved). 7s love to re-frame things in order to make themselves look good, and struggle to face their own mistakes—she says at one point that she just wants to ‘run away’ with Gatsby, presumably so she won’t have to face Tom and admit to the affair, or deal with the unpleasant aftermath of their broken marriage. But that proves too hard for her, and she winds up staying with him, because he can provide for and protect her—her 6 wing’s need for security. She also hates any kind of conflict and feels anxious whenever Tom loses his temper.

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