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[zillah]

I'm always on the lookout for good female ISTJ characters. I believe Ruby from Cold Mountain is one of these and I believe Ada to be INFP (activity partners). These two very different women seem to get along with ease, complementing each other.

In the film, Ruby (Renee Zellwegger) is made a lot more "colourful" - warmer and more talkative than she is in the book. In the book I'm almost positive she's ISTJ.

Ruby is a dedicated farmer with detailed local knowledge of the most effective way and time to do everything. The driving purpose of her life is Ada's farm and her vision for how productive she can make it with years of hard work (ISTJ).

Everything she knows is learned from watching other people and then working things out on her own (IST), since due to her father's disinterest in anything besides drinking she has fended for herself since she could walk. She has a conservative, stoical nature (IST) and an unemotional manner (TJ). She seems to relish her role of teaching Ada about farm life, telling her a lot of factual details (Te). She makes it clear from the first that she won't be subservient to Ada and drives her as hard as she drives herself (J); she isn't too officious about it, but she sees much work that needs doing if the two of them are to survive.

Ada, unlike Ruby, has a more tactful, indirect way of speaking. (P) When she's alone for an extended period after her father's death she is bothered by other things rather than the solitude and she reads constantly (I). She reads mainly fiction and she sometimes wishes for the characters to do different things than they do (N). She has a lot of private thoughts that seem too personal and fragile to share. (Fi) Her opinions often differ to her father's but she can't wring up the courage to voice them (I_FP). She is very concerned with finding a meaningful "way forward" in her life. (Fi/NF)

Practical skills seem to be alien enough to her that she has little ability to figure them out by herself (NF), and although she is later able to successfully learn these matters from Ruby, when left to herself during difficult times it seems her natural tendency is to languish in endless morbid reflection (INFP). She has a prickly, contrary streak to her and habitually keeps other people at arm's length with a certain degree of calculated shockingness, and when she does wish to express something personal she's more concerned with authenticity then with social convention (not strong in Fe, thus she should be an FP or TJ, and she doesn't seem the latter). She is a person who must have art in her life, and prefers sketching to playing the piano (NF).

Inman to follow... he is harder...

[onceuponatime]

That's because he never talks.

Need to go - will think on this later for you.
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[zillah]

Thanks Once. We do see a lot of his thought processes in the book. He's definitely I. I love all 3 of them. Just have to think about Inman more. Maybe tomorrow I'll have time.

I loved seeing Jack White in the movie too. I had no idea he was in it. He got to sing and everything.

I want to be Ruby and marry Jack White!!

[onceuponatime]

I never read the book, to be honest. I picked it up but the style of writing was off-putting to me so I didn't get very far.

So Inman. And I'm sure you'll have a better perspective than me.

I agree with I. Clearly he's an I.

He is also willing to do whatever it takes to get what he most desires, even overstepping his comfort zone, to a certain extent... He's handy...

I'm going with ISFP for him, I think.
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[HT]

[onceuponatime]

It IS easier when people shorten my name to OUAT for future reference.
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[zillah]

[onceuponatime]

It could be ISFJ.

He's just hard to know.
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