7 Ebenezer Scrooge Quotes That an ISTJ Will Sympathize With

It’s always fun to type your favorite fictional characters, whether you’re an INFP excited to see you share traits with Spiderman, or an ENTP who proudly identifies with the witty Tyrion Lannister. But villains have personalities, too, and each type might find they have a lot in common with a few less savory characters. Ebenezer Scrooge, for example, might seem a bit familiar to the practical, fact-minded, and reliable ISTJs who can sympathize with many of Scrooge’s sentiments.

(What’s your personality type? Take a free personality assessment.)

There are a lot of Scrooges out there — from the Muppets’ Michael Caine to the original Dickens masterpiece — and it’s important to remember that while pretty much every Scrooge is an ISTJ, every ISTJ is not necessarily a Scrooge! But whether you love or hate the Christmas season, as an ISTJ, you’re bound to feel at least a little sympathy for everyone’s favorite curmudgeon.

Scrooge Quotes That Make Sense to an ISTJ, at Least on Some Level

1. “Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.”

ISTJs aren’t necessarily known for being stingy or cruel — but they can give off a distinct impression of being cold and aloof. ISTJs, like other introverted types, often treasure their alone time. In fact, a day spent as “solitary as an oyster” may be considered a dream come true!

2. “Why do you doubt your senses?” [said the ghost.]

“Because,” said Scrooge, “a little thing affects them. A slight disorder of the stomach makes them cheats. You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!”

Instead of running and screaming when confronted by something as terrifying as a ghost in his own bedroom, an ISTJ is more likely to use reason to explain the phenomenon. They are practical thinkers, usually calm in the face of distress, and known for making clear, rational decisions.

3. “Scrooge had as little of what is called fancy about him as any man in the city of London.”

Here, what is called “fancy” may also be called the “faculty of imagination,” and imagination is not a natural quality of the ISTJ, a type known for being exceptionally rational and focused on data and statistics. In reality, they mostly gear their lives around facts, rather than the less certain realms of ideas and abstract concepts.

4. “[…] Many thousands are in want of common necessaries […]”

“Are there no prisons?”

“Plenty of prisons…”

“And the Union workhouses,” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”

“Both very busy, sir…”

“Those who are badly off must go there.”

“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”

“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

At their worst, ISTJs can be seen as insensitive — but this usually isn’t intentional. Instead, it’s often the result of their frequent and intense critical thinking; they live by the mantra that honesty is the best policy, and their honesty is based on facts and observation. Leave it to an ISTJ to give you a down-to-earth, honest appraisal of the circumstances. While Scrooge’s words here are harsh, there’s no denying that death could certainly and effectively decrease the problem of surplus population.

5. “You’ll want all day [off] to-morrow, I suppose?” said Scrooge [to his clerk.]

“If quite convenient, sir.”

“It’s not convenient,” said Scrooge, “and it’s not fair. If I was to stop half-a-crown for it, you’d think yourself ill-used, I’ll be bound?”

The clerk smiled faintly.

“And yet,” said Scrooge, “you don’t think me ill-used, when I pay a day’s wages for no work.”

The clerk observed that it was only once a year.

“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!” said Scrooge, buttoning his great-coat to the chin. “But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning.”

Due to their devotion to facts, their hearty work ethic, and their determination to do what is right, ISTJs make superb employees. They may make tougher bosses, though, because they expect their subordinates to go above and beyond their duties just as they, themselves, do. And, when it comes to emotional nuance and social conventions, ISTJs may discover they struggle to connect with their peers and employees, especially when these conventions defy the reason that ISTJs revere.

6. “I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest license of a child, and yet to have been man enough to know its value.”

If there are two words that don’t describe an ISTJ, they are “carefree” and “playful.” Childlike behavior — with all its chaos, creativity, and imagination — does not come naturally to the ISTJ. Instead, these qualities are of value only if they lead to a practical end result. Still, the ISTJ might sometimes think life could be more fun if they were now and then able to throw logic to the wind and simply embrace the moment as other types can.

7. He had no further intercourse with Spirits ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.

The Ebenezer Scrooge at the end of “A Christmas Carol” is almost completely unrecognizable from the Ebenezer Scrooge at the beginning. Although ISTJ types may often be thought of as rigid and inflexible, when presented with logical information that contradicts what they previously knew to be true, they can do a complete 180 degree turn. “I’m more open-minded than I seem,” says one ISTJ. “Yes I always want to do things the proper way, but if your way is proven to be superior to mine, I’ll be open to it – even if I’m reluctant at first.”