Cinematographic and Literary Examples

Literary Example

By Lluís Fusté

Timon of Athens

Author: William Shakespeare, 1606-1608

The search has not been easy. The main difficulty lies in the lack of exterior drama in the trait. The Social 7 has a rather intense inner life, but their external life tends to be conventional, despite this. The great adventures are lived in their mind more than in reality, as shown by writers of the stature of Jules Verne or Anton Chekhov—possibly individuals who functioned from the traits of a Social 7. This type is situated between being helpful or kind on the outside, but too cowardly or far-sighted to take on positions of tension in relationships with others or with the world. Novelists and playwrights often use this character as a secondary one. In its most neurotic version, this character just doesn't have the qualities of a leading figure.

This sets it apart from the traits of a sexual or Self-Preservation 7, which exhibit more dramatic excess in their relations with the world and whose actions tend to be less conventional. The Self-Preservation subtype has that strategic selfishness and mafia-like behavior, though without reaching the excesses of an E8, which makes it more appealing to artists. The Sexual 7 transgresses both sexual and mystical conventions, possesses an artistic flair, and has the ability to captivate others with their charm. Both types express a greater drama and, therefore, are more likely to appear in novels, movies, and series.

Below, we present some examples that illustrate the transformation work of people who have developed a Social 7 character.

The first example is the play Timon of Athens by Shakespeare. This work has a simple plot, far removed from his great tragedies, and seems to convey a very clear message. It tells the story of Timon, a wealthy Athenian known for his extraordinary generosity to his friends.

The story begins when Timon receives several people in need of help at his house. He pays the debts of one person, provides a dowry for another, and buys a jewel at an inflated price from a third. Only Apemantus, a companion of his, points out the neurotic nature of the scene, to which Timon responds with humor and benevolence.

This opening scene is followed by a lavish banquet, during which Timon’s guests sing his praises. He always responds humbly, with phrases like, “I have often wanted to see myself poor, to get closer to you! We are born to do good. And what good is more ours than the riches of our friends?” or, “I would like to distribute kingdoms among my friends without ever getting tired.” He gives gifts and money to all who ask him. Meanwhile, Apemantus continues to criticize the grotesqueness of the situation, where kindness toward friends has no limits. At the end of the first act, his servant Flavio reveals that Timon is broke.

In the second act, Timon realizes his lack of money. Rather than worrying, he sees this as an excellent opportunity to receive affection and generosity from the friends he has always helped. As the scenes unfold, we see how different friends come up with excuses to refuse to return the help they once received, and Timon's servants return empty-handed.

Meanwhile, the creditors’ servants urgently visit Timon's house. Seeing himself abandoned by his friends, Timon becomes furious and decides to call one last banquet, inviting all of them. Once they are seated, he serves them a meal consisting of boiling water and stones. To the guests’ surprise, Timon begins insulting and denigrating them for not helping him. The dinner ends abruptly, with the guests fleeing in panic as Timon is branded as crazy, “One day he sends us diamonds, another, stones!” The host then insults Athens and its inhabitants, retreating to the woods to avoid contact with humanity.

In the forest, Timon discovers a treasure, part of which he decides to rebury, saying, “Damned metal, whore of humanity, who brings disorder to the nations, return to the land where Nature put you!” He encounters General Alcibiades and his troops, who are on their way to conquer Athens. Timon decides to give him part of the treasure to aid in the destruction of the city. Apemantus arrives to confront his newfound misanthropy, and they engage in a bitter dialogue about Timon's response to humanity’s shadow.

He is also visited by thieves, artists, and former servants, all of whom receive the same treatment: insults and curses. Even the senators of Athens come to his cave, offering him the command of the city to help them defend against Alcibiades’ attack. Timon mocks them by offering them a tree to hang themselves from.

Timon dies alone. Alcibiades, who has entered Athens as a victor, promises to honor Timon's tomb by the seashore and to recite the epitaph Timon left: “Here lies Timon who, alive, hated all men.”

Shakespeare presents us with a polar, transparent, and allegorical character, questioning boundless self-sacrifice and generosity, while denouncing the perverse games of society.

The work defines the singular madness of the Social 7, which we have described as the compulsion to be extraordinarily generous, helpful, and self-sacrificing, driven by an unconscious narcissistic motivation. Timon of Athens illustrates gluttony aimed at creating an image of extraordinary goodness. His passion for self-sacrifice, to the point of cannibalism, is expressed in an act that elevates his perceived superiority over the rest of humanity. Apemantus describes this in the second scene: “I suffer seeing so many people watering their delicacies with the blood of a single man. And it’s so crazy that it stimulates them more!” Generosity is seen as a sign of true aristocracy, as the original meaning of the word “generous” was “of high birth.” Timon loses his material possessions by investing in his image of kindness. He harbors the delusion that by giving everything, he will receive everything in return.

In the first scenes, we see him intoxicated by generosity, giving what he doesn’t have and even what is not requested. As a true narcissist, he confuses flattery with friendship and absorbs the smoke rising from the eyes and mouths of his flatterers. He feeds them

material possessions. His overflowing passion is encapsulated in this phrase: “I would like to distribute kingdoms among my friends without ever getting tired.” The world, as voiced by Flavio, responds: “Never was there a spirit so crazy by dint of being good.”

Shakespeare here denounces the passion for unchecked generosity, which disregards the instinct for self-preservation and hides a utopian fantasy of human relations. The problem is not goodness itself, but the place from which it stems: naive, narcissistic, weak, and impassioned. As in Greek tragedies, this morality tale warns us against excess—hubris—that demands the material sacrifice of oneself.

In the scene where Timon is pleased to have lost his possessions so he can test the strength of friendship, we observe another trait of the Social 7: naivete. Though cunning is one of the character’s traits, it has a weak spot. Due to a combination of idealism, sensitivity, narcissism, and difficulty expressing his aggressive side, Timon has convinced himself that people are mostly honest and direct, and will respect the rules of the game. This idealized fantasy of honesty makes him vulnerable to cynics and impostors who exploit his weak point: his social image.

This makes him a vulnerable political animal, as he struggles to negotiate directly and selfishly with others (unlike the Self-Preservation 7). In his desire to be seen as a saint, he gives everything to others, not out of kindness, but because he is unable to handle situations where he must defend his own interests. It gives him more narcissistic pleasure to give than to receive. Others take advantage of his generosity. He is a good leader when he must distribute goods, mediate conflicts, or offer advice, but he loses himself in his need to please everyone and in his aversion to friction, so common in human affairs. This is evident in Timon’s shift from abundance to lack.

The work also provides insight into the emotional pain management of the Social 7 when frustrated. We see that Timon lacks the resources to deal with his pain, as the methods he uses leave him stuck in it. Several of these methods appear in the work, which we list below:

Abandonment

Timon decides to leave Athens, feeling hurt and frustrated. His solution is to leave the frustrating situation because he lacks the aggressive resources to reverse it and the maturity to face reality. This makes him a professional dropout. It’s difficult for him to learn when he has a narcissistic wound: he is pushed to change the scene. Additionally, this is one of his favorite tactics to hurt others, as it is one of the most painful actions when

performed by others. We might think that what hurts Timon most is that his friends abandoned him, and all his generosity was meant as a shield against future abandonment.

Escapism

Timon flees into nature and, above all, into solitude. In the forest, he pronounces a sentence that marks a direction of transformation for the Social 7: "Earth, give me roots." Leaving the city, from the social fabric in which he desperately seeks a reflection of extraordinariness and welcome, allows him to land on his narcissistic journey. Freed from the gaze of his own, he can look at himself. This is what has been called the schizoid defense of E7.

But the forest can also be a metaphor for the flight towards the ideal reality, because it is lost in the game between men. Therefore, it is a place of stagnation for a character that hurts so much socially. In the case of Timon, it will be a one-way ticket since he will not perform the necessary wisdom on his trip to the forest to be able to return to the city. Flight and misanthropy are the solutions when you have not been able to assimilate the experience and grow.

Hatred

This is the answer that floods the second part of the work. From the madness of generosity to the madness of hate, it could be Timon's polar journey. And it shows a very denied aspect in this Enneatype, which is sold as a transcended of low passions. Hate, in this case, instead of being a stage of the cross, becomes the final station. Hate in the Social 7 appears as a response to the other for not knowing what to do with the hurt felt. Having difficulty circulating anger, it quickly rots and becomes anger and then hate. We see how Timon goes from philanthropy to misanthropy, both as neurotic responses. The Social 7 also has little resilience to face negative emotions, so, as seen in the work, he runs the risk of getting stuck in them.

Self-pity

In the last pages, we can see another defense mechanism of this character, which is self-pity and self-indulgence. He can remain in the phase of self-pity as a form of self-pity, instead of recognizing his own responsibility and thus being able to grow, as happens with the protagonist of King Lear. He does not become a tragic hero because he lacks the inner resolution that allows human beings to see themselves as they are.

Cinematographic Example

By Lluís Fusté

Living is Beautiful

Director: Frank Capra Year: 1946

The protagonist of the film How Beautiful It Is to Live, by Frank Capra, seems to us to be a good example of the functioning of a Social 7. George Bailey, as the character is called, is a good guy who time and time again decides to postpone his desire to travel and eat the world when confronted by situations that are triggered every time he is about to leave. Whenever he has to choose between his plans and what he considers to be his duties in favor of others, he chooses the latter, ferociously postponing his intimate desires. Isn't that one of the capital traits of those whom the psychology of the Enneatypes designates with the term sacrifice?

The film, which lasts 130 minutes, takes place on December 24 between the sky and a small town called Bedford Falls. Several inhabitants pray to God that night for George Bailey ("I owe everything to George, help him sir" is the first sentence heard in the film). Accessing these prayers, God instructs Saint Joseph to send an angel to help him, because in a few minutes he will try to commit suicide.

Saint Joseph assigns the mission to Clarence, an angel of little intelligence but with a great virtue: the pure faith of a child. Clarence is pleased to be called since, if he fulfills his mission well, he will be able to receive the wings that he has been waiting for two hundred years. As he prepares to descend to Earth, Saint Joseph teaches Clarence about George's life from his childhood. We then attend a flashback that covers most of the film.

George Bailey from a young age was noble and helpful, and early conceived the dream of leaving the miserable town in which he lived since birth and achieving university studies, travelling the world and dedicating himself to the construction of great works, such as airports or extraordinary skyscrapers. But fate and his invariable disposition to postpone himself in pursuit of others, prevent him from carrying out his projects.

At the age of twelve, he saves his little brother Harry from drowning in a frozen river and shortly after prevents the pharmacist he works for from accidentally filling a poison prescription to a patient. As an adult, having finished his secondary studies, he prepares a trip to Europe before going to the University in New York.

But suddenly his father dies and the Credit and Construction Company that he directed with altruistic criteria, for the benefit of the low-income sectors of the city, is adrift. To prevent unscrupulous county tycoon Henry Potter from taking over the Company, George decides to postpone his plans and temporarily take over management of the company. Meanwhile, his brother Harry completes his university studies in New York with George's money.

When Harry returns, he does so married and with an excellent job offer from his father-in-law in another city. Although he is willing to replace George, this ultimately does not happen.

Despite clumsy personal reluctance, George finally gives in to his love for Mary, a charming girl who has been in love with him since childhood. As newlyweds head to the airport for their honeymoon in a taxi, a strange turmoil in the city startles them. The banks have suffered a financial bankruptcy that can drag down your company, as the small shareholders are demanding the return of their money. To avoid bankruptcy, George decides to use the money earmarked for his honeymoon and lend it to shareholders, contravening to his own detriment what is established in the contracts.

Over the years, the company has achieved significant milestones in its construction sector, benefiting the humbler areas of Bedford Falls. George himself, however, lives with his four sons on just enough to get by. When Potter, the petty and insatiable tycoon, realizes that George's company is becoming competition for him in the construction market, he offers to manage all his businesses, with a salary ten times what George currently makes. George hesitates before the offer, but ultimately decides that accepting would be selling out, and he refuses.

On December 24, things take a turn. Uncle Billy, a company associate, goes to deposit the company’s money in the bank, but during an argument with Potter, he accidentally hands him the envelope containing the money. When Potter discovers this, he maliciously decides to keep quiet about it, knowing it will lead to the company’s bankruptcy and jail time for the Baileys.

When George finds out that Uncle Billy has lost the money, he falls into despair. He asks Potter for help, but Potter, of course, denies him. In his anguish, George contemplates suicide, reasoning that at least his life insurance could help his family. At that moment, Clarence, the angel, appears... but let’s leave the outcome for later.

George Bailey's functioning as a Social 7 is evident in a variety of scenes. It begins with his idealism and naivety, as seen when he goes to buy a suitcase and excitedly declares, "I don’t want a suitcase for one night, but for a thousand and one nights!" He adds that it must be large enough to fit many labels: Rome, Baghdad, Samarkand... Later, he asks his

uncle Billy, "Do you know what the three most exciting sounds are?" When Billy suggests something prosaic, George responds, "Anchor chains, an airplane engine, and the sound of a locomotive." These early scenes show him as an enthusiastic, dreamy, kind, empathic, and naive person—a good boy.

As a child, he notices that Mr. Gower, the pharmacist he works for, has received a telegram about the death of his son. Distraught, Mr. Gower turns to alcohol, and, in his drunken state, he accidentally includes poison in a prescription. George notices the mistake and, confused, delays the delivery. When the pharmacist receives a call about the medication, he becomes furious with George and strikes him. The boy defends himself with the following words:

"Mr. Gower, you don’t know what you messed up with the capsules. I know you’re not really mad at me. You’re sad about the telegram. You put something wrong in the capsules. It’s not your fault, Mr. Gower. Look, and you’ll see what you did. I saw the bottle where you got the powder. I told you it’s poison. I know you feel bad."

Mr. Gower realizes his mistake and, overcome with emotion, hugs George, who reassures him, "Mr. Gower, I won’t tell anyone. I know how you feel. I won’t tell. Let me die if I do!" The next scene shows an adult George buying the suitcase he wants for his travels. To his surprise, Mr. Gower has already paid for the largest one as a gift. Clearly, his former employer feels deeply grateful to George.

The protagonist can act in such a noble way, as he does with Mr. Gower, that it seems impossible not to inspire gratitude in others. This reflects a characteristic of this subtype: altruism as a means of eliciting recognition. Additionally, in his interaction with Mr. Gower, George shows his ability to inhibit his own aggressiveness, defending himself with words and displaying remarkable empathy, understanding, and commitment for a twelve-year-old boy. He also exhibits the ability to push aside, at least temporarily, his own needs, emotions, and desires—traits commonly found in the Social 7.

Although the film generally portrays an extroverted and enthusiastic George, there are moments where his more socially competent character comes through, marked by seriousness, restraint, and austerity. For instance, during a family dinner, his father tells him, "You were born old, George." He is also depicted as not being a good dancer and, in his own words, lacking the physique of an athlete. His interests, rather, lie in different directions.

In two or three instances, it is suggested that George is a good reader. In an important scene, after sorrowfully leaving his younger brother’s wedding celebration (as it forces him to postpone his own plans of leaving the city), George is seen walking alone to the public library.

In the same section of the film, we can appreciate his great capacity for self-restraint. The young Mary has returned from studying in New York, and although she had been courted by Sam, a friend of both, George's mother knows that Mary is in love with her son and could be a wonderful wife for him. She encourages George to visit her, but George resists, not wanting to interfere between Mary and Sam. Without realizing how, he ends up walking outside Mary’s house. When she sees him, she invites him inside. George behaves awkwardly and even rudely. Although it is clear to the viewer that George is as attracted to Mary as she is to him, his confusion stems from an inner struggle to suppress the impulse to get closer to her, since his dear friend has an interest in the same woman. How noble George is, and how capable of repressing his own desires, if it’s for the benefit of others!

But fate lends a hand. Just as George is about to leave upset from Mary’s house, she receives a call from Sam in New York. The shot shows Sam with another woman; he is calling to propose a business deal to Mary. When he learns that George is there, Sam decides to inform them both at the same time, forcing them to place their faces next to each other to hear the earpiece. The scene is delightful: we witness George’s final moments of struggle. When Sam says, "It’s the chance of a lifetime," George, with heartbreak, fury, and grief, succumbs and passionately kisses Mary, declaring, "I don’t even want to start any business... I just want to do what I want."

George is a modest and unassuming man. When preparing for his trip to Europe, a friend is surprised to learn that George will be traveling on a ship that transports cattle. George casually mentions that he likes cattle. Later, when he marries, he genuinely enjoys the simple, magical wax Mary prepares on their wedding night, and then settles down to live in an old, renovated house.

With the arrival of four children, George manages to live on little money and even resists Potter’s offer to increase his income several times over. However, as is characteristic of the Social subtype, this is not entirely genuine. When the film narrates the events during the Second World War, we see that, unlike many others, George is tasked with minor, unheroic duties, such as collecting rubber and scrap metal. He does these tasks without any joy. His not-so-secret yearning for greatness makes him uncomfortable.

Similarly, near the end, as George falls into crisis, he expresses a series of judgments that seem not only to stem from the difficult moment he is going through but also hint at deeper, unspoken frustrations. When one of his sons mentions a neighbor’s new car, George irritably responds, "Isn’t the one we have good enough?"

A few moments later, during an argument with the husband of one of his children’s teachers, he reveals a deep wound for no direct reason, anticipating an imaginary reproach: "Perhaps my children aren’t the best dressed or don’t have decent clothes, but..." And when he learns that his youngest daughter, Zuzu, has caught a cold, he bitterly complains to

Mary: "It’s this house, I don’t know how we don’t all have pneumonia; it’s like living in a fridge." And he adds a key phrase: "Why do we have to live here in this miserable city?"

Indeed, George has never felt at home in Bedford Falls. Since he was a child, he imagined himself far from this small, provincial town, in pursuit of broader horizons and greatness. At dinner with his father, George had said, "I couldn’t spend the rest of my life locked up in a miserable office [referring to the company]. I feel like if I don’t get out of here, I’m wasting myself."

Here we see his nuclear narcissism again. George has never been able to accept his circumstances as they are and, deep down, he feels confined, which is very difficult for this subtype. He has always dreamed of an attractive future, one worthy of admiration from others. Time and again, fate put him at a crossroads that made his long-awaited departure difficult. Again and again, without anyone forcing him, obeying only his nature, he chose to postpone his plans and stay. His sense of responsibility and service to others always prevailed above his most intimate desires.

At this point, we can dig deeper, for the film clearly shows in three or four important scenes that his altruism is combined with a stubborn opposition to the unscrupulous Potter. There is a power struggle between them. The tycoon has a special interest in the Credit and Construction Company because it is the only important business in the county that he does not own. George zealously defends it for the same reason: it is a bastion of decency and community service. He is unwilling, under any circumstances, to submit to Potter's money or power.

What’s more, George is repulsed by Potter's use of his money and power. In this regard, the scene in which George first decides not to leave the city is revealing. The death of his father has recently prevented him from embarking on his planned trip to Europe, but he is about to finally leave to study in New York. It is then that the company’s board of directors asks him to take his father's place as executive secretary. George refuses, until the moment when he realizes that if he does not accept, Potter will take control, and the social function of the company will be lost. At that moment, a very close-up of George’s face shows how his expression changes completely: he is unable to tolerate such a thing happening. He accepts the charge.

The denouement not only exhibits George's personality traits but also some of the dynamism that can lead a Social 7 to hell, first, and to his return to life later in a more virtuous condition, in the precise sense in which the psychology of the Enneagram type postulates.

When Uncle Billy misplaces the company’s money, the company loses its financial solvency. "This means ruin, scandal, and jail," are the exact words George exclaims when

he finds out. For anyone, it would be a difficult pill to swallow, but even more so for someone who has put all his efforts into helping others, sacrificing so much for the benefit of others. And it is clear that the checkmate to his public image—the “scandals”—matters a lot to George.

As if that were not enough, he goes to a bar where he, who is not a man to pray, raises a prayer to God, asking for help. At that moment, a parishioner recognizes him as the one with whom he had a telephone discussion a while before. Without saying a word, the parishioner’s husband knocks George down. George cries for help, and receives a blow in response. It is the coup de grace: he feels like a failure in front of his community, family, and friends. He can only expect the rejection of others. It is then that, without losing his inclination to sacrifice (since he has life insurance in mind), he directs his steps to the river to jump into the waters on a dark, snowy night.

Here we see how withdrawal as a solution and abandonment as a form of aggression against others take shape. When he is about to jump off a bridge, he sees that another person has fallen into the water, and the reader can guess what George ultimately did. While the clothes are drying in a lookout post, the other individual, Clarence, now in human form, confesses who he is and his mission. George naturally doesn’t believe him. At one point, he says to the angel: "I wish I had never been born." Clarence sees that this may be the way to help him. Using his supernatural power, he makes George visit the city as if he had never really been born.

Our protagonist discovers that Bedford Falls has changed its name and is now called Pottersville. He finds the grave of his brother Harry, who drowned as a child because he didn’t have his older brother to save him. In a dramatic sequence, George realizes that the city is full of clubs and brawlers. None of his friends or family recognize him, and it becomes clear that his life circumstances have either become much more difficult or his character has worsened, because George never existed.

When he finally meets Mary, who in this past life has become a gray, old maid, George can no longer resist and, in utter desperation, asks Clarence to give him back his troubled life, which he had renounced. Seeing that the city had morally degraded, and that many friends and relatives were worse off, and particularly feeling that he had lost his wife and children, was unbearable for him. He no longer wanted to lose his life. Now, he longed to get it back.

In the last few minutes, we witness a good example, in my opinion, of the manifestation of sobriety as a liberating virtue from the compulsive mechanics of Social 7. Clarence, of course, grants George's wish to get his life back, and we see him arrive at the entrance to the city. Reading the name of Bedford Falls again, he bursts with joy. He runs through the streets wishing everyone and everything a Merry Christmas, including Henry Potter. He arrives home and doesn’t care that the police are waiting to arrest him. He’ll go to jail, but

he doesn’t shy away from it anymore; this is his village and his friends, the only thing that matters. In life, he does what he does. He is happy to get everything back to normal, including the problems.

However, while George was out overnight, word spread about the serious problem he was in, and the community en masse came to give him a cash grant that will get him out of jail. He thus receives fair compensation for his efforts, but first, he has had to go through an experience of death and rebirth that has allowed him to feel happy with the circumstances of his existence—something he had never really experienced in his entire life. What he lived through has allowed him to discover that he does not need to go to another place, nor fulfill dreams of greatness; meaning and happiness are in what you have, with its real limitations. With his family, with his low income, with his old house, in the same small, provincial town he has never left.