Personality traits in handwriting

1. Classification of Sentiment

In the Morettian method the basic classification of sentiment in selflessness or selfishness is meant in a psychological sense and not a moral sense. This pair of opposites is used not only to attribute to one of these a positive value, but rather to capture the individual in its globality and dynamic tension, in that selflessness, characterised by the rounded handwriting and selfishness, characterised by the angular writing, are in reality two opposites that cannot be realised in principle.

The true 'Curve', psychologically speaking, does not exist (Moretti, 1972, p. 59)

says Moretti. It cannot exist, neither psychologically nor somatically, in that, even in great selflessness, the individual

cannot help but conserve that which belongs to the inalienability of the same Self (Moretti, 1960, p. 35)

otherwise

Man would fall into the both physical and moral indolence, it would form a selflessness unworthy of human dignity and freedom. He would become, humanly, a formless being… (ib.)

Selfishness, which Moretti considers as 'care of the Self', and in this sense it acquires significant importance for individual psychic evolution, also cannot be realised in principle: absolute selfishness cannot exist, as angular writing cannot exist absolutely. This would also be a psychological and somatic impossibility. But "we, by fixing the opposites… understand things better. And that precisely because, in this way, we consider them in their dynamic part and not in their simple static position." (Moretti, 1972, p. 59)
An individual's evolution is determined by both impulses: selflessness is necessary for openness, adaptability, the ability to accept, that is for all the qualities that allow the possibility of obtaining the qualities of others through relationships. Selfishness necessitates the development of individuality in that, through personal defence actions, it maintains personality distinct from all others.
The process of individualisation develops through the tension exercised by these two opposites: too much selflessness is not positive, in that it provokes an impersonal adaptability to the environment (the individual yields too much); too much selfishness neither, in that it creates excessive closing and consequent involution of the character.
In the Morettian vision, the ideal derives from the equilibrium of the two tendencies, in that an extreme psychic bias causes on one side a lack of protection of Self's rights (extreme Curve), and on the other a lack of openness and trust towards the infinity of resources that do not come from the Self (extreme Angular).

Here we can see the predictable effects of an excessive identification with only one of the two poles.

CURVED		ANGULAR
Adaptability, sociability	Quality	Tension, aggression
I am angry because I can't ever do what I want and others always walk all over me. If I do what I want I feel guilty!	Dark side	I am tired and exhausted because I always have to do everything, I cannot trust anyone and if I don't take care of it everything goes down the plughole.
First of all I must be good and selfless, otherwise the others will get angry with me, they disapprove of me and I am unable to defend myself, I can only run away.	Underlying conviction	All the others are spineless and naive, they never get anything done. But you must also beware of types like me who only want to cheat others.
Lack of strength	Injury	Lack of trust

Although where possible Moretti takes advantage of the polarity in the definition of graphological signs and the respective psychic qualities, by formulating pairs of opposites, the Curved/Angular dyad assumes a particular importance, in that it is an indication of attitudes of sentiment that are the foundations for the activation of the process of individual evolution.
All the other graphological signs, though maintaining their particular significance, are part of the curved or angular movement, that is to say in the altruistic and egoistic movement of Self. The importance attributed to this distinction was so great that Moretti constructed the entire somatic graphology on the basis of the two fundamental signs, Curved and Angular, that is to say on the two principal passions of selflessness and selfishness understood as the care and affirmation of Self.

2. Distribution of the Curved/Angular signs

No graphological sign can be understood until after it has been classified within a rather large group of individuals, in order to understand the social diffusion of the psychological tendency that we are going to examine. In this case it becomes interesting to ask oneself: but are writings generally more curved or more angular, or do they constitute two equally distributed groups?
Without any pretension of supplying statistical data, it appears with absolute obviousness that yes, writings are very much more curved than angular. Indeed, we can assert that sharp A Angles and B angles, consequently above average, decisively constitute an exception compared to a softer general pace.
As we know, this does not necessarily imply a dominance of selfless sentiment, in that the graphologist is able to see, near to the more or less curved line, the other graphic indications of Self defence other than the actual angle, placed in the area of personality.
However it is possible to affirm that the predominance of the curved line indicates the predominance, in human beings, of the impulse to socialise, adapt, cooperate, and that the individuals with an excessive angularity are relatively more rare, in that this becomes a socially disturbing factor.
Therefore, human evolution based on socialising and adaptive impulses has an important individual psychological foundation.
However, we also know that the impulse to socialise contains within itself a danger, which is that of betrayal of personal individuality, of its specific aspirations felt as opposed to the collective Self. The Curved sign, in itself, signifies this: predominance of the adaptive impulse. For this the realisation that in human beings, as a rule, the social and socialised tendencies predominate, allows us to also understand what can be the danger inherent in this psychic disposition: the fear of being different to others, being strange and consequently isolated. It is the danger of conformity, or rather of adhering totally to social expectations and not respecting one's own process of individualisation.
The individual need to do and think like all the others, has been subjected to numerous experiments by various researchers, and the existence of a stable and lasting disposition to conform has been effectively recognised as present in the individual, that is the need to adhere to that which is affirmed by others, to act in the same way as others, even if this is contrary to what is suggested by our own subjective experience, which becomes invalidated in this way.
If we enter into the dynamic play and the relationship of interdependence that is established between the two forces, Curved and Angular, we can comprehend, moreover, that if on one side the extreme Curve leads to a conformity that lacks the necessary tension to rebel, the few individuals that possess a significant impulse of self-determination and Self defence (extreme Angular) manage to predominate much more easily not only due to their generic personal disposition to activate their own resources to the maximum, but also due to the lack of courage in the majority to directly oppose them and with the necessary strength. In this sense the Angular sign instinctively understands how much and with who it can push itself in abusing its power without, in fact, risking anything at all.

3. Instinctive activation and indirect activation of individual energy potential

As we have already seen, A Angles are the sign of instinctive activation of the personality, that is to say the individual enters into the field directly to defend itself and to distinguish itself from all others, and translates all this into direct actions. For this Moretti identifies in A Angles the sign of competition, and also envy when the angle is too accentuated, and competition in itself does not depend on the specific abilities of the individual, but rather the strength of the impulse to distinguish the individual properties that the personality feels. It is an apparently social movement, in that it shifts externally, but is functional for the defence of the specific qualities of the Self.
In this sense the A Angles belong to individuals who want to follow a career, because they feel the impulse to fight and compete.

• Sharp 'A Angles' and 'B Angles' (A. De Gasperi)
  

On the contrary, a person gifted with profound, original and constructive intelligence, but with below average A and B Angles, can ask himself:

Why don't I feel the impulse to compete, to fight at the social level to reach a higher position, even though I have the abilities?

The A Angles, as they are an indication of direct activation, of instinctive reaction against an offence or an obstacle, make the action effortless, in that the individual, in reality, cannot stay still. But, says Moretti

It is necessary, however, not to confuse the impulse with the reflection from which the determination of the wish to act arises. (Moretti, 1968, p. 17)

In other words, we do not forget that the activation of the personality also exists through less instinctive lines, such as those given, for example, tenacity, deliberation, inflexibility, by other personality qualities that enter in the field in other ways. The angle goes straight to the action and gives the ability of self-command. The Curve feels the fear of effort, fighting and disruption of harmony necessary to develop Self; therefore it feels the desire to let everything go, unless other character qualities intervene.

The Curved and Angular signs also compare differently for that which regards the expectations of the Self regarding the action.
The Curve is the sign that can result in the underestimation of the obstacles and the strength of those obstacles: it a sign of self-confidence and superficiality because it does not adequately consider the difficulties that are necessary to overcome in order to complete a task, and when it touches them its first instinctive reaction is despondency.
The Angular sign, conversely, is the kingdom of hope, of he who trusts above all himself and does not fear difficulties, in that he has the strength of self-command. However by tendency he always and above all trusts himself and tends to be pessimistic regarding the things of others. Therefore it is pervaded by sentiments of distrust and breaks concerning the dynamics of betrayal.
The Angle, therefore, in its positive and not extreme significance, is a defence against the naivety of the Curve that believes anything is possible because it has not considered the difficulties, and if it makes mistakes of a practical nature it is because it trusts too much in itself.
The Curve is afraid of sacrifice and effort, consequently it tries not to put itself in dangerous situations, because it does not want to make any effort to defend itself. It enters, moreover, in the inconstancy of too many ideas and when it comes to applying them, once the initial fervour has passed, it can enter into the indolence, in the non-action, unless the Self is not supported by other non-instinctive motivations.
The Angle, on the contrary, roots itself in its own research, it tends to fix itself on an argument that interests it personally and does not let itself be distracted easily.

The instinctive and impulsive movements in the two poles are, therefore, the following:

• Curved = instinctive depth of the selfless sentiment that includes compassion;
• Angular = instinctive reaction of activation and defence of the Self through the two movements of attack and resistance.

• Lidia Fogarolo
• January 1st, 2003