MBTI Type: ESTP

Unlike the historical version of Catherine Parr, this one is impulsive and reactive; she marries quickly after the king’s death, so no one gets the chance to marry her off to someone else, because she is in love, then announces it immediately to the king rather than wait. She uses bribes to get what she wants. She brings Elizabeth into her house as a strategy to have political power, which Elizabeth resents once she figures it out (but she also does care about her in a motherly way). She’s also aware of how the world works and how to get things done in it, by using your brain and intellect rather than allowing others to rule through you. Catherine says that what you do doesn’t matter, only what people think you’ve done; she warns Elizabeth off damaging her reputation. She shows a lot of tert-Fe behaviors in that she can be likable and charming, but also emotional when she’s upset. Catherine lashes out at Edward Seymour in public and loses her cool, but is good at smoothing over things with the king, helping her stepdaughters to find their footing at court, and counseling Elizabeth in the ways of power. She’s aware of how things look and cautions others not to risk their reputations (she tells Thomas not to be so ‘free’ with Elizabeth, and she sends her away abruptly when she realizes her husband is having an affair with her). Catherine doesn’t have strong Fe, however, in the sense that she’s not often aware of what’s fully appropriate to the situation; she and Thomas humiliate the king’s daughter in a ‘game’ in which he cuts off most of her clothes and leaves her standing in a shift. Rather than be aware of how uncomfortable and scared Elizabeth is, Catherine joins in on encouraging him on and ripping the girl’s dress. She shows severe inferior Ni in her inability to see far enough ahead; she assumes her husband is just being playful, and gets blindsided by his true intentions (he is grooming and preying on Elizabeth sexually). And she tends to freak out and become negative under stress, certain that all their plans are going to fall through.

Enneagram: 8w9 so/sp

Catherine is a highly assertive woman who gets on Thomas’ case for being too ‘passive.’ She criticizes him for not being more ambitious, for not standing up for himself (and for her), and she also gets into a public argument with Edward Seymour when he demands the return of the crown jewels and points out that she has no right to wear them, since she is no longer the queen dowager, but a common wife. She pays off a priest to marry her and Thomas shortly after the king’s death, because she doesn’t want to wait anymore, and councils Elizabeth that being a woman isn’t about being used, it’s about deciding who you want to ‘think’ is using you (manipulating men for your own power and for your own ends). She’s aware of the political games at court and is playing them, but is also direct and forceful in how she does so. Yet, her 9 wing also goes along with things sometimes. She gets sucked into Thomas’ inappropriate behavior toward Elizabeth one afternoon in which she thinks it’s all a game to ‘unbutton her.’ She goes along with his flirtations even if they upset her (though she does confront him about them several times). And she’s aware that reputation and whether you are liked matters. She can be loving to her stepchildren and play the role of a mother and peacemaker among them, but looks down on those who do not assert themselves.

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