MBTI Type: ISFP

Maria has one line in particular where she sings about how other people feel about the Jets does not apply to her, because she does not share their opinion; that she doesn’t see why skin color or racial divides should keep her from loving Tony. Even though she’s been brought up in a culture that keeps her away from “gringos,” Maria doesn’t let it stop her from falling in love with one. She trusts her heart to lead her right and pursues it immediately into a romantic relationship with Tony. It thrills her to take a few risks, to sneak out onto the fire escape, to go up town and pretend to get married in a church, and to run away together when it becomes necessary to escape. Maria mostly focuses on acting on how she feels in the moment—including kissing Tony five minutes after they have met and knowing she is in love. She cares about dancing (“I just want to dance!”) and how she looks. While singing “I feel pretty,” she dresses herself up in props from the store and places great emphasis on the combination of how she feels and looks, being a result of being loved by a “perfectly wonderful boy!” Maria goes from fighting with Tony to sleeping with him, in a very short time. She also changes her mind about shooting herself, after he is killed on the street (“how many of you can I shoot, and still leave one bullet for me?”). She frets a bit more than Tony (him being a “it’s all great 9”) about the possible negative fallout of knowing each other, but also does not let that stop her. Maria can be blunt under stress—telling off Anita for not letting her care about Tony, and saying that her experiences in New York are not MINE.

Enneagram: 6w7 sp/sx

Maria is way more cautious than Tony and more dependent on knowing if things are okay according to outside standards; though she asserts herself as being her own person and insists she won’t abide by Bernardo’s rules, she wipes off her lipstick so he won’t see it, and then worries about him discovering Tony on the fire escape. She doesn’t want Tony to go to the fight, even to make peace between the two rival gangs, because she fears something bad might happen to him. Though immediately “in love,” she is a little more hesitant than Tony to proclaim it, and less eager to run away with him, until she figures out that they must leave, or he will wind up dead. Despite being anxious, her 7 wing makes her a little assertive and willing to take risks. She DOES see Tony even though it’s dangerous, because she feels like doing it and doesn’t think she should deny herself things. She also longs to have beautiful things and sings about being pretty and self-indulgent. She sings instead of working, and doesn’t think anything of it. She is also willing to forgive Tony even though he murdered her cousin, and prefers to think about their love instead—ignoring a huge problem in favor of clinging to her happy feelings instead.

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