Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Suzanna Clarke

The Byronic hero so byronic that Byron himself begins to notice!

Totally stoked for the mini-series to come out!

Dominant Extraverted Intuition (Ne): Jonathan Strange is fascinated by new ideas and loves to explore. He firmly believes that magic should be looked at as a wide, free expanse that is to be explored. This is where he differs from Mr. Norrell, who views magic as a wide expanse, that should be controlled and maintained. In his younger days, he is extremely indecisive about his career. He has thousands of ideas as to what he might like to be, but isn’t overly motivated to pursue any of them. His solutions to problems are always readily creative, and he’s able to think up unconventional ways of doing things on the spot. He is a joker who is full of lively enthusiasm, and he often forgets his obligations in favor of socializing or book-browsing. He has an unyieldingly positive outlook on the future, and carries through even when everyone else sees only the bleakness of life around them. He can typically see the underlying social connotations behind people’s motivations, even when they do not speak them.

Auxiliary Introverted Feeling (Fi): Jonathan Strange is most at peace when he feels that he is being true to his personal ideals. It is this that allows him to part from Mr. Norrell and to write his paper against his teacher. He acts based off of how he feels, but because his Te is tertiary, doesn’t always understand directly what he feels. He knows how it feels (bad or good), not why he feels that way. Then he acts on his feelings. When he writes the paper against his teacher, Mr. Norrell remarks that Strange wrote it for him. Strange, acts on his feelings without questioning why he feels what he does, realizes that Mr. Norrells statement bears a great deal of accuracy. He his of the belief that morality should not be enforced, and this belief carries over into his disagreement with Norrell over whether or not magic ought to have set boundaries. Jonathan Strange doesn’t particularly enjoy the things he experiences in war, but becomes a willing aid to his country because of his desire to help people.

Tertiary Extraverted Thinking (Te): Spontaneity is Jonathan Strange’s comfort zone. He isn’t overly stubborn, and would rather keep his options open and live moment to moment than stick to a linear plan. When he gets an idea, he compulsively pursues it immediately, often only to abandon the next day (in favor of a new pursuit). In fact, he doesn’t always stop to ask “is this actually going to be helpful,” before trying to employ a new idea. Often, other soldiers stay his hand, thus preventing him from spontaneously destroying the wrong army. When it comes to his decisions, Strange typically feels the need to explain himself to others (combination of a Te need to express, and and an auxiliary F desire not to hurt others). He’s quite talented, not just in the field of magic, but picks up new skills rather quickly, surprising even Mr. Norrell with his adeptness.

Inferior Introverted Sensing (Si): Jonathan Strange is totally fine with procrastinating, and doesn’t always keep time very well. He loves his wife dearly, but sometimes forgets to pay her enough attention because he’s so focused on magic. When Strange finds himself a second time in war, he falls back on past experiences to help him know what to do. In contrast, his first encounter with war throws him completely out of balance because it is so far out of anything that is familiar to him. Occasionally, he whimsically dreams settling down somewhere quiet with his wife. He doesn’t talk to anyone (not even his wife) about the painful memories he carries with him from the war.