MBTI Type: ESFJ

Julia has a warm and gregarious nature, and doesn’t hesitate to share her feelings on situations, happenstances, disappointments and opportunities (not to mention good food) – in a mature and balanced way. She keeps a running commentary as she works her way through things (including wondering if a word she just invented is a “real” word). She asks her husband to please not talk about politics in front of her father, since she would rather not have a ‘public scene.’ Julia sets out to match up her sister with a tall, handsome young man, and is surprised when her sister forms an attachment to (and later marries) a much shorter individual instead. Though happy for her sister becoming pregnant, it pains her that she cannot have a child of her own, and she easily cries confronted with the news. Soon tired of having nothing to do in Paris, Julia tries out different potential skills and interests (hat making, French lessons, Bridge lessons, etc), and finally hits upon a cooking class. She becomes so fascinated with this, she undertakes it as a full-time preoccupation. She loves food. She loves cooking it, discerning between different textures and tastes, and improving on French recipes – simplifying them for American audiences. She sees the “use” for cooking, and how to help others improve their lives by no longer cooking “out of a box.” Julia loves to throw dinner parties and lavish her friends with exquisite dishes. She has the patience and steadfastness to go through her cookbook, over and over again, until it is perfect, including cooking the same dishes again and again to find the ideal spice measurements. Julia believes they should let one of their contributors ‘go’ and insist she receive a much smaller cut of the profits, because she has not done the work involved, but upon hearing that the woman is going through a divorce, changes her mind and insists now is not the time to trouble her with the details. Julia tends to have an optimistic ‘can do’ attitude, but also has some wariness about the future – she asks people not to share her recipes, for fear someone might steal them. She also worries that after eight years of tedious work on their one project, they won’t be able to find a publisher willing to take on such a detail-driven volume. But her concerns are for naught – she manages to become famous and have her own cooking show.

Enneagram: 9w1 sp/so

Julia is indeed unflappable. A duck falls on the floor? Pick it up, slather it in fresh butter, and try again. Something flies out of the pan and spills all over the counter? Oh, well. It’s a learning experience. She is always happy, good-natured, and looking for the bright side. She doesn’t want to think ill of anyone or complain about them, and even when she’s upset, she will look on the bright side. She asks her husband not to argue with her father, or bring up politics, when he visits, because it will just cause trouble between them. Julia has a laid-back demureness to her, but also fierce determination – she won’t let criticism deter her from her desire to become a cook, she works tirelessly on her cook book for eight years, and she quickly reverses her position on asking a friend to take less credit for their combined efforts, after learning she is going through a divorce. Her 1 wing is principled, prim, and proper, she admits that she is somewhat ‘old fashioned’ in her values; Julie finds it amazing that Julia was ‘almost 40 and still a virgin’! Julia also objects to Julie’s blog because of the four-letter words she includes in some of her posts.