MBTI Type: ISTJ
ISTJs who experience loss and pain find it difficult to communicate that loss or share it with others, and can sometimes withdraw utterly from others in order to deal with their pain—neglecting their responsibilities in the process. This happens to Geppetto, who lived a good life before the bombs took his beloved child from him. He was teaching him woodworking and took great pride in his creations, including the crucifix he never finished in the church sanctuary. But he gets stuck in the past after the boy’s death, giving up on his dreams, sitting by his grave at all times of the year, mourning what he has lost… and then endlessly comparing Pinocchio to his memories of his other child, his REAL boy. He also cannot see much potential in the future, or care about dreaming about it. Geppetto expects him to behave himself and to be a good person, as all ISTJs do since they take their responsibilities seriously. He tries to guide him, mostly by telling him the rules he wants him to abide by, and also being hard on him for his mistakes. Geppetto cares deeply about him, as is shown in his tenderness when he’s not exasperated by Pinocchio’s bad behavior—he tucks him in, carves him new legs after he sets them on fire, and is devastated when he’s run over by a cart and temporarily dies. Geppetto, though, can be stubborn and insensitive to his feelings, sharing his own (“you are not my son!” “why can’t you be good like my real son?”) without fully realizing the affect he is having on the child.
Enneagram: 1w9
When Geppetto raises his own boy, he repeatedly tells him stories with a moral ending and warns him against bad behavior (telling lies will make your nose grow, so we always tell the truth!). He also compares Pinocchio to his dead boy negatively, because the other child was “so good,” and Pinocchio is full of rebellion and deceit. He always tries to do the right thing, regardless of how he feels about it, but can also be stubborn in refusing to admit when he was wrong or in compromising to bring Pinocchio home (he lied and he ran away, and he is hopeless… or so Geppetto thinks for a time, until the puppet tries to change for the better). He also relishes his solitude, does not integrate within the community amid his grief, and shows other withdrawn 9 wing traits, besides his lofty idealism and desire for the puppet to live up to his greater potential. 1w9s can be both rigid and idealistic in their standards for themselves and others.
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