MBTI Type: ESFP

Amy is a highly extroverted girl, eager to interact with the outside world. She is a painter and artist who notices things about others and includes them in her work. She constantly compares herself to others, and attempts to outdo them, in terms of being fashionable (Se-doms are always on the cusp of new things). As a child, she is upset at the thought of missing the theater and so determined to go with Jo, Laurie, and Meg, she offers to purchase her own ticket. When Jo refuses, she pays her sister back by burning her manuscript — something she has cause to regret, when she later realizes Jo does not intend to forgive her for this, much less include her in their ice skating outings and other fun things with Laurie. She has high moral standards she imposes on Laurie — she tells him off for being drunk in public and not doing anything worthwhile with his life, which she measures through Te (hard work reaping good rewards). Amy as a young girl can be quite selfish and temperamental, melodramatic, and eager to earn sympathy from her sisters. She feels things deeply, including Jo’s slight toward her the night of the opera, and admits that she chose to burn Jo’s book because “I wanted to hurt you,” and she knew it would work. Her Te can harshly put people in their place, but also measures her own success by how much she accomplishes and whether she can measure up, society-wise. Amy, if she cannot be the best, will simply stop painting. Amy’s low Ni frets about displeasing Jo by accepting Laurie’s proposal, and interprets his pleas for her not to marry elsewhere as him being on the rebound; she refuses to play second fiddle to Jo. She also tells him to make something of himself; that he should have a profession and contribute to the world. Amy often thinks about her future, both in terms of her ambition (her desired success as an artist) and how when she marries, everything she has belongs to her husband, including their potential children.

Enneagram: 3w4 so/sp

Amy says either she will be the best painter in the world, or she will not paint — she refuses to be a “middling” talent. She talks as a child about how much she wants to become famous and known for being an artist. She competes at school for appearances’ sake (borrowing and bartering in pickled limes at recess). Like most 3s, Amy has trouble admitting to her mistakes — she tries to worm her way out of apologizing to Jo for burning her book, and she displaces the blame onto her teacher for her raw hand after she is caught drawing a caricature of him in class. She takes her acting seriously, but refuses to faint in an “undignified manner.” Amy is bold, assertive, and confident. Her 4 wing is melodramatic. Amy wails about being mistreated and how any mishap that befalls her has ruined her life. She can be temperamental and tantrum-throwing, but also deeply insightful when she feels prepared to work on self development.

Reviews: Little Women (1994), Little Women (2017), Little Women (2019).