MBTI Type: ISFJ

Boldwood seems uncomfortable with anything he has never encountered before; he shuns Bathsheba when she sells wheat, because her uncle used to do it and she is the only woman in attendance… but once she flirts with him by sending him a valentine, he opens himself up to greater possibilities… with the risk of losing himself in them. He becomes convinced she must marry him for practical reasons, in order to secure both their happiness, and meticulously plans the details of their life together, down to buying her presents, stocking his wardrobes with clothes for her (all with labels in them), and feeling “secure” in that she will say yes. Boldwood picks up on the unspoken feelings between Gabriel and Bathsheba, particularly on his side; he is considerate enough to warn Gabriel of what he wants from Bathsheba, but also appeals to him for reassurance that he makes the right emotional decisions; he confesses his thwarted love, how hurt he was, and what he hopes for, from the future for them both, in Gabriel. He seeks his affirmation that he is doing the right thing, and from the moment he falls for Bathsheba, turns his focus entirely to accommodating and pleasing her (reassuring her she can continue to run her farm, have her independence, that she need not feel ‘attraction’ for him, etc); he also proposes a number of rationally-thought-out reasons for her to marry him, as the primary argument (financial security, inheriting his farm once he dies, etc) that shows a strong central reasoning process. His inferior Ne shows in his inability to sense the rather cruel, malicious undertones to her valentine (assuming her feelings to be romantic, because sending a valentine is what a woman does when she has feelings for a man) and in daring to “dream” of their life together; but he has a meltdown when his careful detailed planning falls apart, and her husband turns out not to be dead after all, so he commits a crime of passion based on negative potential outcomes.

Enneagram: 2w1

Boldwood is a man so desperate for love, he is generously willing to marry Bathsheba and allow her to keep her independence, her separate farm, and everything else she enjoys in her current situation. Her valentine sparks in him a desperate need to serve her and take care of her, even after she rejects him; he often checks on her, to make sure she is all right and safe. When he hoped to make her his wife, Boldwood buys her everything she can think of, stocking his mansion’s drawers with jewels of all kinds and beautiful things for her to wear – in a sense, purchasing her affections and lavishing love upon her. His 1 wing is principled, dutiful, and steady. After shooting her husband in a crime of passion, he walked himself down the street and turned himself into the jail.  

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