Barry Lyndon MBTI Personality Type
Personality
What personality type is Barry Lyndon? Barry Lyndon is an ISFP personality type in MBTI, 3w4 - - 468 in Enneagram, RCOEN in Big 5, SEE in Socionics.
Barry is rather opportunistic, but his conduct is a bit different from with other cunning protagonists (like Frank Avagnale in Catch Me if you Can). Barry's personality does not really change from his core attributes in the various situations he finds himself in (while other opportunistic characters are often expressed as ExTPs, who have tertiary Fe and Trickster Fi; which allows them to adopt whatever traits they need to serve their needs). Instead, he rather spins stories other people tell him to adopt, and through often pure luck and circumstance he sees his way through. The story tends to just sort of "happen" to Lyndon, and then Lyndon reacts to each situation based on how he feels. Barry being sent to manipulate Chevalier and then immediately deciding to go against it because he felt in awe of Chevalier's noble presence, seems like evidence of Fi-Se. Also, Barry is incredibly impulsive, and is prone to making plans or spinning stories that don't work under scrutiny, and indicate not a great deal of foresight. For example, Barry wanted to duel Quinn to the death because he felt insecurity that his "girlfriend" chose an English Captain over him (just for her to choose the captain anyway). He joined the English Army in order to hide from his pursuers (just to desert the military shortly after). He confided to Chevalier in mere minutes after meeting him (not knowing how Chevalier would react; he could've had him killed for all he knew). All these indicate that his actions are mainly motivated by feelings (Fi-Se), and his willingness to dive into each situation with little regard for his personal safety. His bravery is actually one of his key few positive traits, and his adaptability ends up serving his needs more than anything else (and despite his low Te, and no Ti). I would argue that Barry is more likely a 4w3 instead of a 3w4. For one, an enneagram 4w3 is far more likely a type for an ISFP than the latter. Barry certainly has a strong 3 bent, but I think he is more focused on his identity overall (and his status is just an aspect of that focus), and he is more in-tune with his feelings than a 3w4 would be. An E3 would be far more likely to suppress their feelings in order to become more efficient at whatever they're doing, but Barry mainly succeeds through luck, and hardly suppresses factoring his emotions into his decision-making. I think making Barry an E3 sort of misses the point of the whole movie, since Barry actually does very little to his own to secure his fortune. Lots of the events just sort of happen to him, and Barry just responds to it. Very little of it was due to his own personal initiative. Barry has dreams of creating his own identity, and sees the aristocracy as a key way of doing that. Enneagram 3s are more representative of higher form Te users (such as ExtJs), who utilize pre-existing systems to achieve their own ends. Therefore, performance is a prerequisite to succeed in these environments. Barry doesn't seem to value this as much, otherwise he wouldn't make decisions that frequently put him at odds with other people after they've outlived their immediate usefulness. Stanley Kubrick had a sort of negative/ callous view on the world, and Barry Lyndon is arguably his most pessimistic film. This movie has probably the most gorgeous cinematography ever, but the story and character of Barry Lyndon is incredibly dry because the argument Stanley is trying to make is that life doesn't matter lol. A person like Barry can get by just purely on circumstance and good-fortune, and then end up exactly the way he started with little initiative of his own. "Money, well-timed and properly applied, can accomplish anything” - Barry Lyndon's Mother
Biography
Played by Ryan O'Neal.
Related Personalities
Lord Bullingdon
Lady Honoria Lyndon
Chevalier de Balibari
Reverend Samuel Runt
Captain Potzdorf
Barry’s mother
Captain Grogan
Captain Feeny the Highwayman
