MBTI Type: ESFP

Arya hates sitting around sewing or doing nothing – she would rather be hunting, practicing archery, or learning to fight with the boys. She quickly merges into her environment; she uses her likeness to a boy to her advantage, becoming at ease in many different cities and environments. She is quick to act, which many times saves her life – but also places her in dangerous situations. Arya quickly sees the truth of people, with no illusions; she knows the Lannisters are bad news, and is frustrated when Sansa does not share her view. But her inferior Ni can be her blind spot – she’s so eager to take advantage of the “three deaths,” that she “wastes” them on seeking moral justice instead of naming the Lannisters. She finds it hard to let go of herself and embrace the Nameless Girl. Arya is fiercely individualistic, frankly asserting to her father that his designs upon her future are not “me.” Her moral worldview is vivid, influencing all her major decisions and quibbles with her sister (Sansa lying to protect Joffrey is fundamentally appalling to her, but Arya has no problem killing people she believes “deserve” to die based on their moral actions). Moral standards motivate many of her decisions (she wants Lord Tywin’s torturer dead, and assigns him as the first “life” taken). Even though she intensely grieves her family, Arya keeps silent about it, seeking ways to avenge them rather than to share her feelings with others. She struggles mightily with giving up her “personality” to become a Girl With No Name. She feels something, she acts on it – attacking her enemies, messing with her sister, slapping down people who try and force her to behave or shape her in any way she does not like. Arya can be cruel in her statements and decisions – believing The Hound is an immoral person for having killed children, she leaves him to die slowly as punishment rather than killing him as he begged her to. Her arguments are well reasoned, but her decisions more often prompted by how she feels in the present moment. She also loops frequently out of her emotions. The extent of her forward focus is to think about and fixate on the names of those she intends to kill, to avenge her parents’ deaths. Though she becomes impatient learning new lessons, Arya gradually learns to immerse herself in the symbolism of wearing different faces and reject her identity in favor of a bigger worldview.

Enneagram: cp 6w7 sp/sx

Arya is a counter-phobic 6, reacting against her fears with aggression, but she’s also forcefully logical and aware of danger – she knows Joffrey will retaliate against her wolf, so she frees the animal and chases it away with stones, to protect its life. She doubts, questions, and challenges authority, but can also be compliant toward her father and accepting (to a degree) of what is expected of her. Once forced to find her way in the world, she becomes harder and more emotionally reactive, using aggression to cover up her insecurities. She leaps into action and is defensive under stress, needing to take immediate action under stress (moving into 3). Her 7 wing makes her risk-taking and adventurous, seek something new, and fearful of being trapped within the confines of an ordinary life.