MBTI Type: ESFJ

Elena is always trying to do what’s best for everyone in any given situation—when she realizes, for example, that Klaus is going to kill her and Jenna, she is less worried about her own self than the fact that “Jeremy is going to lose everyone.” Though incredibly up-front about her feelings of hatred for Damon after he repeatedly antagonizes her, when she learns he’s about to die from a werewolf bite, she puts herself at risk to stay with him, comfort him, and tell him what he needs to hear. When Bonnie comes to her, fearful about admitting that she has feelings for Jeremy, Elena tells her what she also needs/wants to hear, which makes her happy—that Jeremy has had so much pain and suffering in his life, she can think of no one better than her amazing friend Bonnie to make him happy. After Stefan goes off the rails and kills people indiscriminately by ripping them apart, Elena reassures him that he can find his way back to himself and come home to her. In this way, she is putting aside her own feelings on a regular basis to consider the welfare of others. Elena is emotionally-based, in how she so often puts herself at risk, or insists on being involved in situations that could save her friends. She hates to make ruthless decisions—when they have the chance to kill all the Originals, she doesn’t want to take it, because she thinks of Elijah as noble (since he proved himself to her). Instead of torturing Katherine, Elena offers her blood in exchange for information, since she’s always trying to find a way to meet people halfway. She can also be something of a control freak, who invasively decides what’s best for others without consulting them (having Jeremy’s painful memories taken away from him, without his permission). Even though she often refuses to talk about things, she can easily put them into words when pressed (she breaks down and tells Stefan that she doesn’t want to become a vampire and how angry she is that Damon has taken that choice away from her—she can’t now have a normal life or kids!). Elena bases a lot of how she interacts with reality on what is familiar to her, and what she knows. She has a strong preference for keeping things the same, and returning to the various traditions and things of personal importance that offer her comfort. Too much change and loss all at once destabilizes her, and causes her to have a meltdown. She chooses a profession that enables her to have a hands-on approach (a medical doctor) and for a long time, wants a human, mortal life. Elena wants to marry and have kids, to be normal, to return to being human after she becomes a vampire. She quickly uses an internal comparison process to draw conclusions based on others’ behaviors, for example that a witch has possessed Bonnie (she’s been “haunted,” something weird happened in the bathroom, and now she’s acting different, more polite). Elena shows flits of insight into others, through her Ne: she quickly discerns Stefan and Damon were both involved with Katharine (“So which one of you dated her first?), because of their competitive behavior and her awareness of their past. Elena is not rational enough to realize that she shouldn’t be there to solve every problem; it’s safer for everyone and for herself if she allows her friends to handle Elijah, Klaus, or whatever threat has arisen in their midst. She also can be ruthless under stress, such as when she decides to kill off Kol (and his entire bloodline) to save her brother’s life, but it’s not normal for her to be so violent or lacking in consideration for others’ feelings.

Enneagram: 2w1 so/sx

Elena sees herself as necessary in the lives of her friends, and takes on the responsibility of looking out for them, protecting them, sacrificing herself for them, and attempting to cure them. She refuses to give up on anyone or anything, but also won’t admit to herself or anyone else that her desire to ‘fix’ people (such as Damon, or Jeremy) is a bit controlling. She needs them to be what she wants them to be, rather than allowing them to be themselves; she needs Damon to change and be less violent and unstable, she wants to rescue Stefan and cure his bloodlust no matter how long it takes, and she will shut down conversations that tap into her true feelings. She says she can’t admit to her feelings for Damon after a summer without Stefan, because ‘if I do like him, what does that say about me?’ She always moves toward people, hoping to find solutions that keep everyone happy, but she also has a strong 1 wing influence. Elena does not like to make decisions that hurt others or in some way forsake her word of honor. She can be dictatorial, in how she tries to control Jeremy, and makes decisions for him to keep him safe. (She removes his pain by having Damon erase all memories of what he has seen, and then sends him away to keep him safe.) Elena feels bad about betraying Elijah, after giving him her word; she sees him as moral and like her (principled). She sees how Damon could be better, and want to actively help him achieve that. She tries to do the right thing, even when it means offering herself as a sacrifice, because she can’t stand the idea of losing those she cares about. She would rather die than let Bonnie die.