Robin Hood

How moral are you? What is your attitude to morals, sex and

honesty?

The fascinating personality test below was written by a Sydney

marriage expert who is a qualified psychologist. It began as a dinner

party conversation gimmick, but it has been prepared in this form for

readers to test themselves. To do the "test" you must give your honest

opinion about morals and honesty of the four characters in our story of

Sherwood Forest.

Forget any preconceived ideas you may about them - this is a

different sort of story from all the others.

"The Sheriff of Nottingham captured Little John and Robin Hood

and imprisoned them in his maximum-security dungeon. Maid Marion

begged the Sheriff for their release, pleading her love for Robin. The Sheriff agreed to release them only if Maid Marion spent the night with him.

To this she agreed.

The next morning the Sheriff released his prisoners. Robin at once

demanded that Marion tell him how she persuaded the Sheriff to

let them go free.

Marion confessed the truth, and was bewildered when Robin abused

her, calling her a slut, and saying that he never wanted to see her

again.

At this Little John defended her, inviting her to leave Sherwood

with him and promising life-long devotion. She accepted and they rode

away together."

Now in terms of realistic every-day standards of behaviour, put

Robin, Marion, Little John and the Sheriff in the order in which you

consider they showed the most morality and honesty. There is no "right"

answer, and the following is the psychologist's estimate of you for each

of the 24 arrangements.

Don't scroll down until you have made your list.

Conclusions:

ROBIN, MARION, SHERIFF, LITTLE JOHN:

You find it hard to accept the permissive attitudes of others, or

to convince them of the validity of your own standards. You are not

disposed to trust people and do not have a very happy life.

(Men) To you "love" involves sex and duty, rather than charity

and forgiveness.

(Women) You blame men for much of the unhappiness in your life.

ROBIN, MARION, LITTLE JOHN, SHERIFF:

Your philosophy of life is a sad hotchpotch of the conventions of

society, your own convictions and romanticism. You are not

unkind, only staid and unimaginative.

(Men) You see a woman as weak but desirable.

(Women) Your resent the arrogance of men.

ROBIN, SHERIFF, MARION, LITTLE JOHN:

As a ruthless authoritarian you are as moral as it suits you and

no more. You do not apply the same rules to men as you do to women.

(Men) We think you are unhappy, although you probably will not

admit it.

(Women) How worthless you seem to think women are.

ROBIN, LITTLE JOHN, MARION, SHERIFF:

You are a moralist with conventional ideas, which some people

would call old-fashioned.

(Men) You probably consider yourself a fair-minded man in a world

which falls badly below your standards. Your inhibitions and sense of

guilt are in the way of your happiness.

(Women) Unlucky in love? Perhaps you hope for too much in a man.

Be a realist, not a romantic.

ROBIN, LITTLE JOHN, SHERIFF, MARION:

You are conventional and puritanical.

(Men) You moralise and see women as a great conspiracy against

man, with sex as their principal weapon. You are missing a great deal

in life.

(Women) Your parents probably played a big part in the formation

of such a guilt complex as yours. Your mind is in chains and it's

time you did something to free it.

LITTLE JOHN, ROBIN, SHERIFF, MARION:

You are not easy to assess. Basically you are ruled by an

inferiority complex and feelings of insecurity. How do you present yourself

to the world? An idealist, a moralist, a conformist keeping up with

Jones's?

(Men) Your conflicting views on sex and morality may lead to

every sort

sexual problem. You have always feared women, probably starting

with your mother.

(Women) It is a shame you have not accepted the ideal of woman as

the equal (and sometimes stronger) partner of man.

LITTLE JOHN, MARION, ROBIN, SHERIFF:

You are fairly broadminded romantic and reasonably contented. You

value kindness greatly and try to live by your ideals. You do not

conceal from yourself, or from others, you strong need for security,

which may be either emotional or material.

(Men) Perhaps you tend to idealise women and credit them with

virtues they don't possess.

(Women) Your experiences of men have not all been happy, perhaps

because you hope for a little too much?

LITTLE JOHN, MARION, SHERIFF, ROBIN:

You are the slightly romantic realist. You respect truth, and are

broadminded and flexible. Whether you are a man or a woman you

are probably a happy person. You like people and they can readily

make friends with you. You are not very adventurous, but this does not bother you.

LITTLE JOHN, SHERIFF, MARION, ROBIN:

You too, believe that morality is another word for common-sense

and suitability, and not something which is universally valid or a

religious truth. Your feeling for security is strong, and you would rate

reliability as one of your virtues.

(Men) Your estimate of women as the inferior sex suggests that

you are a little uncertain of them.

(Women) You are more permissive about the morals of others than

you are about your own.

LITTLE JOHN, SHERIFF, ROBIN, MARION:

You are conventional, unimaginative, and something of a prude. It

would be surprising if your love life was a roaring success.

(Man) You have an old-world authoritarian attitude. One thing is

sure youhave some sorry illusions about women.

(Women) You accept a double standard of morality in which women

are very much the "second sex".

SHERIFF, ROBIN, MARION, LITTLE JOHN:

(Man) We find it hard to imagine you leading a full, happy life.

The warmth and give-and-take of love are not for you. Your sex life

is ringed with unreality, and you neither understand nor appreciate

women.

(Women) If you really believe this is the right order, you baffle

us completely.

MARION, SHERIFF, LITTLE JOHN, ROBIN:

Such an emphatic rejection of ready-made values in probably

partly camouflage. You hate to be thought weak or insecure. You value

honesty, and abominate humbug and hypocrisy.

(Men) Women are very much part of you life, and you are - or

perhaps would like to be - quite ruthless, both with women and life in

general.

(Women) You are tolerant about men and their failings - but we

mean men, for you have no time for boys on men's errands.

MARION, ROBIN, SHERIFF, LITTLE JOHN:

You know the so-called facts of life, but not to enjoy life itself.

You are not a realist and you are inclined to be stubborn.

(Men) Women, you think, are either whores or angels, and you

over-estimate the differences between the sexes. A woman may find

you difficult to live with.

(Women) You are not sure whether truth and morality go hand in hand

or are in opposition. You haven't a very high opinion of men.

MARION, ROBIN, LITTLE JOHN, SHERIFF:

If you are not happy - and we suspect you are not - it maybe

because you feel guilty about your own emotions, and lack confidence in your

opinions.

(Men) No doubt you consider yourself a moral man, and a fair one.

Your fuzzy ideas about morality may make their mark on your sex life.

(Women) You are too concerned about what others think.

MARION, LITTLE JOHN, SHERIFF, ROBIN:

You are essentially a contented person, even if you consider

yourself a little superior. You are moral by your own standards, for you

believe that morality is what best suits the occasion.

(Men) You are sexually uninhibited, more romantic than you may

appear, and more dependent on the approval of others than you care to

admit.

(Women) You like being a woman, you understand what love is, and

frankly enjoy sex.

MARION, LITTLE JOHN, ROBIN, SHERIFF:

We would expect you to be a happy, well-balanced person who likes

people and is liked by others. You question whether many conventional

views on morality are valid under all circumstances.

(Men) Do we detect a sense of chivalry and idealism under the

sophistication?

(Women) You will expect high standards from the men to whom you

give your love.

LITTLE JOHN, ROBIN, MARION, SHERIFF:

You are a cautious type, neutral, and rather insecure. You would

agree with the idea that everybody has his price - and in your own case

it would not be high.

(Men) You are sexually inhibited with an underlying distrust of

women.

(Women) At least one man has made you unhappy, and you are now on

your guard.

SHERIFF, ROBIN, LITTLE JOHN, MARION:

Although you make a brave show of being self-sufficient, beneath

this you are unhappy and rather mixed up.

(Men) You don't understand women - probably you are afraid of

them. You do not know what love is, and you are more likely to boast

about your conquests in a bar than prove them in a bedroom.

(Women) If men attract you at all, they probably be disastrously

the wrong sort.

SHERIFF, MARION, ROBIN, LITTLE JOHN:

If you are not living a happy life the cause is within yourself.

You are a rebel...with a trace of spoilt child about you. You value

truth above morality, but you are reasonably tolerant of those

who disagree with you.

(Men) any problems you have are not likely to be centred in sex.

(Women) Despite your experience and intelligence you are a bad

judge of men.

SHERIFF, MARION, LITTLE JOHN, ROBIN:

You claim to be a realist or even a cynic, but you are more

emotional and romantic and truthful.

(Men) although you are by no means inhibited, your amorous

adventures are as much a matter of fantasy as fact.

(Women) You have been hurt in the past by men - or perhaps a

particular man and will probably let it happen again.

SHERIFF, LITTLE JOHN, ROBIN, MARION:

Not a moralising pattern, but...

(Men) You share with many other men the idea that most women are

fickle and inferior to men. Perhaps a view that you got from your

father? Or as a reaction to a domineering mother?

(Women) You have a pretty poor opinion of yourself, haven't you?

SHERIFF, LITTLE JOHN, MARION, ROBIN:

You have a confused, immature sense of values. You are erratic an

stubborn, and inclined to get angry or sulk when you don't get

your own way. But at least you are not a moral hypocrite.

(Men) "Love 'em and leave 'em" is the motto of a man who is

basically afraid of women.

(Women) Perhaps you would rather be a man than a women?

MARION, SHERIFF, ROBIN, LITTLE JOHN:

Associate morality with honest and truth more than with religious

values. You are impulsive and somewhat unpredictable.

(Men) We suspect that you are a would-be lover rather than a very

successful one.

(Women) You are a realist and a revel, a defender of women's

rights. You like men but despise weak ones.