INFP 1w9 Characters
Jeremy Northam’s performance as Sir Thomas More in The Tudors presents audiences with one of history’s most famous Catholic martyrs through a deeply human lens. More’s unwavering conscience, loyalty to Catherine of Aragon, and principled refusal to recognize Henry VIII as head of the Church define him as an INFP 1w9 personality type. In this analysis, we’ll explore how his inner convictions, moral struggles, and martyrdom at the Tudor court reveal the classic traits of an idealistic INFP combined with the rigid moral compass of Enneagram Type 1.
A Conscience Above Kings: Introverted Feeling
Sir Thomas More is guided by his principles, which remain unaffected by those around him; though he does not like the king’s behavior, when Chapuys points it out to him, he says it is none of his business. He remains moral and loyal to his wife (“I like my chambers to have my family in them”) amid a highly immoral, hedonistic, adulterous court. When Wolsey tells him he is “stained by the elements he works with,” More insists his conscience is above reproach, and he would never go against his “integrity.” More prioritizes people’s emotions in his decision making; the instant he learns about the king’s intention to divorce Catherine, he demands to know whether “she knows yet.” When others speak of the affair, he reminds them “she is immensely popular throughout the whole of the country.” He urges Henry to “tone down” the harshness of his assault against Martin Luther “for diplomatic purposes.” Ultimately, he dies because he will not violate his principles and sign the Act of Succession, since he believes it is wrong. He tells his daughter that he doesn’t mind her signing it, but he cannot; this is typical of Fi’s strict adherence to one’s own moral principles, but a lack of moral judgment against others who do not feel the same way. It hurts him when his daughter tries to convince him to sign it, because “none of us believes” what he believes, or that he will be damned for not doing so, but even then he does not compromise and he faces his death with the firmness of his convictions behind him.
The Humanist Dreamer: Extraverted Intuition
More is a proud “idealist,” preoccupied with humanism, theological debates (in his hatred for Martin Luther) and other lofty ideas. He has a keen and insightful intuition and is able to read others and situations effectively – when others tell him he’s Henry’s dearest friend, he says that may be so, but “if my head would win him a castle in Spain, he would chop it off.” He sees the escalating problem of heretical beliefs spreading through the court, far better than Wolsey; and tells Bishop Fisher his concerns about giving the king his own way, because “once the lion knows his own strength, no man can control him.” He is clever and insightful enough to keep himself mostly out of the line of fire, until a “friend” traps him into an incriminating statement. He wants to change the world through his writing, and by the same tone, to prevent certain writings from affecting everyone on a moral level, thus he fiercely hunts down and persecutes Reformists, because he sees them as a dangerous moral threat to civilization (their heresy will spread; he tells his daughter that it is better to burn and stamp it out, than for all England to catch fire).
A Loyal Catholic: Introverted Sensing
More does not like to deviate far from religious tradition; he admires those within the Church of “respect” for traditional teachings. He’s leery of what lies ahead, should Luther’s writings catch on in England. Some of his respect for Catherine comes from a natural awareness of how the world works, and how it will become dysfunctional if Henry strays too far from it. Catherine has value because she is tremendously popular, the daughter of a queen and a king, and it will cause a mass diplomatic incident if her husband overthrows her and goes against the papal authorities. When reading through Henry’s pamphlet against Martin Luther, More remarks that he has chosen his words very well, implying that he approves of specific, detailed arguments (in real history, he often wrote back a ten times the length of Reformist writers, to lay out his own case and opinions).
A Sharp Tongue: Extraverted Thinking
When Henry wants to make him Lord Chancellor, at first Sir Thomas adamantly says he does not want that responsibility, but then when forced to undertake it, he uses it to eradicate heresy within the court. He urges a heretic to confess, and to recant, but burns him at the stake after telling his daughter that it will be necessary; and as time goes by, increasingly expresses sharp judgments (seeing the sweat as God’s punishment for heresy). In the end, he dies because he must stand upon his moral principles, and refuses to compromise in his support for the Pope, showing a preference for strong Fi over being logical, objective, or able to compromise. Lastly, he can be sharp-tongued at times, such as when he harshly condemns Henry to his face for throwing a tantrum in public and wanting to throw away months of diplomatic negotiations because he lost a wrestling match to King Frances (“Very well, if you want me to go to them and tell them that the King of England is changeable…”).
Moral Certainty & Dangerous Convictions: The Enneagram 1
Sir Thomas More and Cardinal Wolsey get into an argument in one episode, in which the cardinal looks down on Sir Thomas for his morally superior attitude; in another, he says “I don’t know what you think you achieved to give you the right to look so smug.” Sir Thomas feels good about not being as immoral and corrupt as those around him, but has blinders on in that he believes he is doing what is right so much, he engages in deeply immoral actions (persecuting Reformists and burning them at the stake, a painful death that he finds “necessary” because it will “warn them of the eternal flames to come in hell”). He is preoccupied with being above reproach and doing what he believes is right. He has a secret fear of his own evil, and we see it in the endless hours he spends in prayer, and the hair shirts he wears as punishment – especially in his tearful prayers after he saw a man burned for heresy. This makes him an interesting man… at times, a voice of moral reason and at others, bordering on a tyrant.
The Martyr’s Stubborn Peace: The 9 Wing
1w9s are the more idealistic wing, and at times, unreasonable in their desire for perfection. They have incredibly high standards, but hate to push them too hard on other people in case it backfires and forces them to deal with intense emotions. Sir Thomas is the gentle voice of reason and rightness with Henry, pushing him (politely) to do the right thing, to use less profane language, to stand by his wife. He becomes stubborn in her defense, since he sees it as morally wrong, this divorce. And he cannot stand by and violate his principles when Henry orders him to accept him as the head of the Church. He wants to avoid conflict, but is also at peace with his own decisions.
Faith, Fire & Final Words
Jeremy Northam makes a compelling Sir Thomas More, and outside A Man For All Seasons, probably one of the more realistic depictions of this complicated martyr. The writer of the series understands both what Sir Thomas believed and what his moral failings were, and gives us a fairly accurate depiction of a man unaware of his own hypocrisy, who placed his religious convictions over his humanist principles. Interestingly, I usually don’t weep when Sir Thomas goes to his death, because he seems so firm in his conviction that it somehow feels like the fulfillment of his life, whereas the less “certain” Bishop Fisher’s asking for prayers from the audience moves me on an emotional level.
