MBTI Type: ISTJ
Newland is a successful lawyer, who finds his world turned upside down when he falls in love with a married woman, while being engaged to another woman. He thought he would have a traditional marriage to May and that would be enough, but Ellen introduces a whole other way of thinking to him that is alluring, different, and unconcerned with what society thinks of her. He is sensible, though, in keeping his engagement, in marrying May quickly, and in arguing for common sense and rationality in Ellen dealing with her husband. It’s only when his own feelings get involved he becomes less rational, blunter in his criticisms of society, and self-absorbed. Newland rarely knows how to express his deeper feelings, and also feels a sense of guilt and shame about his intentions. He tries to hide his desire to have an affair with Ellen behind his need to travel, get away, and not work at the firm for a time. Even though Newland ponders society’s inconsistencies and fallacies in his own mind, and feels drawn to Ellen because she is forthright in her harsh criticisms of it, he constantly defaults to what is “expected” of him by society; he understands society and how it works. He chooses May because to him, she represents “pure innocence” (an archetype). Newland surrenders to his duty and responsibility to his loved one’s once he finds out his wife is pregnant; he sees no other way than to be present in his marriage and to deny his feelings. For a while, his morals are two-faced. He feels guilt about his desires, but covets Ellen enough to want her “just once,” and is convinced that he wouldn’t care what society thinks about them and it wouldn’t bother him to go behind his wife’s back (Ellen disagrees). Ellen’s presence makes him “bold” and want to abandon his constraints, but he often cannot understand her intuitive statements (“I can only love you if I let you go”), and he spends most of his life living as an ordinary, upper-class man. He has a lot of views on society and other people’s motives, but also has a somewhat negative perception of the fall-out of events. Until he meets Ellen, he has longed for but pursued nothing “unusual”; he feels drawn to her free-spirit and constant change, while remaining stuck in his life.
Enneagram: 6w5
Newland is forever thinking about everything, and taking it apart in his mind, which allows him to be attached to what others think and feel about him (his sense of duty, propriety, and obligation to his wife and family) and also analytical about it (arguing that Ellen has a right to her own life and her own happiness, outside of social obligations). He does not just have an affair, he mentally churns it over in his mind and dwells on it, weighing the consequences but unable to pull away from her, even saying he will go to Ellen “if she turns around,” thus giving him permission to approach and violate his standards. Newland rationalizes she ought to her husband’s offer, because it’s the sensible thing to do. He will move toward her, and then back away from her, in turns, feeling drawn to her sexually and then refusing to give in to his urge, then changing his mind and deciding a quiet encounter would be all right. Duty always draws him back to a sense of responsibility; it’s a standard of living and a belief he cannot escape, even if he resents it and tries to hide away from the world in his books and intellectual studies. He doesn’t find his wife his intellectual equal, but tolerates and makes room for her in his heart, regardless. He grapples with a sense of almost present-guilt, such as when he sends Ellen roses but then tells May about it and asks if it was the “right” thing to do (she reassures him it was).
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