Category / MBTI

by Charity

Tick, Tick, Boom: Jonathan Larson [INFP 4w3]

Function Order: Fi-Ne-Si-Te

Jonathan is highly emotional, very aware of how he feels about things, and tries to pour that emotion into his work by focusing on what matters to him, sometimes to the exclusion of what makes sense to his audience. Directors and participants at his first live workshop complain that his story is not linear and seems disconnected, that they can’t find or follow a main thread, because his plot is all over the place. Jonathan has a few things he is deeply passionate about, because they have touched him and the people he cares about, such as AIDs. Even though it’s been eight years of working on the same musical, Jonathan is still hammering away at it, finding it difficult to work on anything else, because this is his baby and brain-child. He keeps his mind busy by writing jingles while he considers whether he could do that for a living – instead of writing the last song for his new musical, even though his friends push him to get after it so he can be done with the process. If he can’t think of anything, he can’t write any of it. Instead, he gets caught up in his feelings about turning thirty and not yet having achieved success. He feels pressured to create something brilliant and share it with the world, but doesn’t completely know how to start doing it, how to launch into the world, or even how to keep himself out of the poorhouse, because he doesn’t look for roommates to pay half the rent. (He has gone through a dozen of them in a couple of years, and is far less practical than his actor friend who went on to work in a company and give up on his dream.) Jonathan struggles between practicality, and an all-or-none approach; he takes a job writing jingles only to throw up his hands and say he can’t do this, and make light of the entire thing, causing him to get thrown out; then turns around and says he’s tired of living hand to mouth, he wants a nice studio apartment and to make money. Though others complain that he has to do what he hates to earn money, he points out to them that it costs a lot to put on a musical.

Enneagram: 4w3 so/sp

Jonathan can be rather self-absorbed at times; when he’s wrapped up in his creative projects, he ignores his girlfriend by not answering her phone calls, and failing to realize she can see from the street that he’s in the apartment and ignoring her calls. He doesn’t really have an answer for her about joining a ballet troupe and dancing in another state, because he doesn’t want to leave New York and his dream to help her pursue hers. He finds it hard to do things he doesn’t want to do, like the unglamorous job of working writing jingles (instead of award-winning musicals), and actively resists incorporating anyone’s ideas into his work that he doesn’t deem worthy, such as award-winning Broadway musical writers or directors. Even then, if his heart isn’t in it, he can’t write it – dragging his feet about composing a song in the second half to link the two wholes into a more cohesive piece of storytelling. Jonathan also battles an almost-constant pressing need to achieve, to show everyone his worth, to get something done, to produce a musical that people want to see, and to make a success of himself. He berates himself for being thirty and not yet having made a success of his career, comparing himself to the “giants” on Broadway and seeing himself as lacking because he can’t finish this musical. He’s devastated when people respond positively to his work, but then shrug at the idea of producing this musical and “can’t wait to hear what he does next,” because this is his whole idea, his life, his identity. It’s hard for him to walk away from it to focus on “what I know” (although, that pushes him to create Rent).

by Charity

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Quasimodo [ISFP]

Functional Order: Fi-Se-Ni-Te

Quasi’s beautiful soul shines in everything he does. He is tender, kind and emotional. He is so attached to Frollo, that he wants to please him at all costs, even though it means sacrificing his desire to be out in the world – ultimately, though, Quasi’s need to be true to himself and his desires wins out, leading him to make many decisions that displease his abuser. He shares his feelings with the gargoyles (which may or may not be manifestations of his inner consciousness), but no one else. He’s an intense ball of emotional strength and virtue, who cannot do anything against his internal ethical sense (he cannot let Esmeralda die; he cannot turn down helping Phoebus, or leave the gypsies to their fate, or even kill Frollo). He desires to go outside and live life to the fullest, lamenting that others do not know how good they have it, that they can enjoys such wonderful opportunities as the Festival of Fools (“What I wouldn’t give…”). In order to cope with his isolation and imprisonment, Quasi names and rings the bells, and creates beautiful things for his loft – wood carvings, little buildings, images of the people, animals, and things in the Paris streets. Quasi has no fear of climbing about on Notre Dame, and trusts his abilities, because he’s so much at ease in his environment (“Have you ever done this before”? “No”!). He’s good at noticing things and being opportunistic, even though it means he sometimes rushes into things without thinking (heading off to save Esmeralda). “You taught me that the world is a dark and cruel place; now I know the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you”! Quasi sometimes leaps to conclusions (he convinces himself that Esmeralda loves him, when she doesn’t love him in that way), and doesn’t always think about the long-term consequences of his actions; but he does want to believe in mystical things (“Hmm, I don’t see any – monster lines”, Esmeralda says; “Not a single one. Now, look at my palm…do you think I’m evil?”) He figures out that the “woven band” is a map of the city, even though Phoebus is skeptical. His decisions are mostly based on what he believes is right, but Quasi doesn’t hesitate to act on his instincts, beliefs or impulses, and he finally has a strongly-worded confrontation with Frollo at the end of the film that reveals his true feelings, and his desire to break free from his imprisonment (inferior Te).

Enneagram: 9w8 sp/so

Quasi is a gentle, sweet soul who never gives Frollo any trouble, and is afraid of causing himself to go unloved if he in any way challenges his master. He tries to sluff off his emotional abuse by arguing that Frollo “loves him” and “takes care of me when no one else would,” showing that he has adopted Frolllo’s negative impression of him and taken it as part of his 9 identity. But his 8 wing comes out defensively when challenged or provoked – he is not intimidated by Phoebus and angrily tries to protect Esmeralda from him; he defies Frollo by rescuing her from the fire and uses Notre Dame against his master, even going so far as to turn his anger against Frollo at the climax of the film – but still, his 9ish desire to forgive and forget, to move on and avoid conflict, causes him to flee rather than stab Frollo. Even though he does not like Phoebus, Quasi still agrees to hide him.

by Charity

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Claude Frollo [INTJ 1w2]

Functional Order: Ni-Te-Fi-Se

Frollo is a visionary thinker, obsessed with ridding Paris of the “gypsy vermin”. This sole purpose dominates his policies for over twenty years. Once the Archdeacon stops him from murdering the gypsy child, Frollo immediately has a premonition that guides him forward (“Who knows, our Lord works in mysterious ways…this child may someday be of use to me”.). His manipulation of Quasi comes in handy later when he discerns that “the hunchback” must have aided Esmeralda’s escape from Notre Dame. He then reasons (without evidence) that Quasi knows where the Court of Miracles is, and plants a seed in Quasi’s mind that he intends to kill everyone there, which in turn leads him to the Court of Miracles. Even though Frollo is intensely cruel and manipulative of Quasi, he only uses emotional manipulation on the hunchback – it is not his “go-to” function for everyone else, who receives authoritative orders and stone-cold policies, built on rational reasoning (“Ease up between lashes… otherwise, the old sting will dull him to the new.“; “My last captain of the guard proved a disappointment to me.”; “Such a pity… you had such a promising career ahead of you.”; “Hold off, Captain. I want a lesson learned here.”). Even to Esmeralda, instead of applying Fe-seduction tactics, Frollo simply says, “Choose me, or the fire.” – because the rational thing, in his mind, is not to burn; only a crazy person would choose an irrational, horrific death over him, right? “Hellfire” is the epitome of internal angst, where Frollo wrestles with his intense lust for Esmeralda while weighing it against the only voices that matter to him – those of God and the saints, which are ultimately overridden in favor of fulfilling his selfish desires (“You made the devil so much stronger than a man; it’s not my fault, I’m not to blame”!). He sneers at Quasi for being led by his emotions, and derives pleasure out of dominating and humiliating him, not to take joy in feeling his suffering (evil Fe), but because he wants the hunchback so dependent on him, to be his servant, and he believes Quasi deserves “punishment” for disobedience. His inferior Se is wildly out of control. His own sexual desires terrify, overwhelm and horrify him, leading him to an irrational, destructive, fire-driven destruction of Paris. If that’s not inferior Se out of control, nothing is – Frollo sacrifices his political integrity, his stronghold on Paris, his ties to the Church, his popularity, and even his life, in pursuit of a short-sighted, temporarily-fulfilling lustful urge, handling his desire to merge with the outside world / Esmeralda so badly that his entire great power scheme crumbles in the process.

Enneagram: 1w2 so/sx

Frollo is driven through his need to be ‘moral’ and ‘good,’ yet in the flaming style of low-health-level 1w2′s, he fails to realize his own hypocrisy. He suppresses all his instincts and desires, anything that can be seen as ‘evil’ – and blames God for his sexual lusts before giving into them, in a fiendishly emotional pursuit of Esmeralda that betrays his own severe repression’s consequences. One of his most famous lines betrays his rigid moral superiority – “Look at that disgusting display!” He becomes hyper emotional and violent, moving from 1 into 4 disintegration — a sudden rush of intense emotion that becomes “melodrama” when it comes to dealing with his emotions (throwing a fit and blaming God for his sins, while believing himself superior to the common hordes) and 2 into 8 (aggression and violence). His 2 wing is equally unhealthy – Frollo has a twisted perception of ‘serving’ humanity with his moralistic aggression and his position of power; he confuses his sense of a mission with his self-centered needs and ideals. He’s blind to his own motives (pride), choosing to invade and dominate others and furious when they do not submit to his will. He can be manipulative and calculating.

by Charity

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Esmeralda [ESFP 2w3]

Functional Order: Se-Fi-Te-Ni

Esme is a very dynamic, present woman – from dancing and performing on the streets for money, to participating as a star attraction in the Festival of Fools, to defying Frollo by freeing Quasi despite orders to the contrary, and fleeing into the church for sanctuary. She doesn’t hesitate to act, using a candelabra to attack Phoebus, then saving his life by throwing a stone to upset Frollo’s horse. She leaps into the water and rescues him from drowning, then carries him to Notre Dame to entrust him to Quasimodo. Even though she’s “scared” as Quasi helps her escape, Esme doesn’t seem troubled by his admission he’s never “done this before.” She has a strong moral center, which refuses to stand by and watch Quasimodo persecuted for being different and abused by the crowd, but is mostly concerned with and focused on her own feelings for Phoebus. She is so wrapped up them, she fails to notice the hunchback’s crush on her, nor pick up on his subtle romantic advances. She thinks because he helped her once, and is a kind person, he will help her again – unknowingly breaking his heart by asking him to take care of Phoebus for her. She does not care what anyone thinks of her, much less Frollo, and draws a hard, silent line in the sand – she’d rather burn than be his mistress. Esmeralda doesn’t hesitate to take swift action, aimed at accomplishing something – putting food on the table, misleading Frollo, using the crowd to help her escape, protecting Phoebus, and organizing everyone to leave the Court of Miracles unharmed. Her inferior Ni is her blind spot. When Frollo enters the church and orders her arrest, Esme leaps immediately to the wrong conclusion – that Phoebus was distracting her long enough for his boss to come along; she doesn’t respond well to him, until he later proves himself trustworthy. She also doesn’t think through the ramifications of fleeing inside the church (“gypsies don’t do well inside stone walls”).

Enneagram: 2w3 so/sx

Esmeralda winds up helping out people wherever she goes; she at first consoles Quasimodo when he knocks down her tent, reassuring him that it’s all right, asking if he is hurt, and complimenting him on what she thinks is his mask. Later, she winds up diving into the river to save Phoebus, and then expects  Quasimodo to give him Sanctuary and take care of him, just like he helped her. Esmeralda can’t stand the thought of Quasimodo feeling bad about himself, so she explains to him that his hand doesn’t have any monster lines in it. When locked in the church, she sings to God, asking him to take care of her people and provide for all their needs as Outcasts, while denying she has any needs herself. She also makes decisions through her feelings—believing that Phoebus is trapping and tricking her inside the Church, without realizing he is using Sanctuary to protect her. She rushes to defend her friends from being hanged, explaining that they “helped” her escape and helped the Miller and his family, by standing up to Frollo. When she sees Quasimodo being beaten and abused by the crowd, Esmerelda rushes to help him – and becomes so angry, she defies Frollo. She moves into 8 in stress or whenever she feels threatened, becoming combative and assertive, spitting in Frollo’s face when he asks her to choose him over the fire, or challenging Phoebus to a fight. Esmeralda seems to enjoy the festival as a place to attract attention and show her comedic side.

by Charity

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Phoebus de Châteaupers [ESTP 7w6]

Functional Order: Se-Ti-Fe-Ni

Phoebus is attentive to his environment. He notices Esmeralda dancing in the street as soon as he arrives in Paris, and helps her escape the guards by distracting them and pretending to be lost. He then picks up the coins she dropped and returns them to her, though she’s dressed as an old woman. He gets caught up in the excitement of the moment of her dance, and is aroused by it. He notices her sneaking into the church and goes after her, to warn her to claim sanctuary in order to make her safe. Later, he rushes into a burning building to save a family from death, then seizes and tries to escape on Frollo’s horse. He also notices Quasimodo’s obvious affection for Esmeralda, and pushes her toward him. Though he obeys the rules Frollo sets for the most part, Phoebus often figures out ways around them – he urges Esmeralda to claim sanctuary, knowing that is one way she can defy the judge and stay alive. He sees Quasi’s potential as her guardian and praises him for his friendship to her, knowing it will keep her safe. He thinks quickly on his feet most of the time, reacting as things happen. He shows a lot of tert-Fe, however. He loves to banter and flirt, in an attempt to get people to like him. He freely expresses his true feelings to people, and about them (“Look at that disgusting display,” his boss growls; and he retorts, “YES, Sir!!”). When Frollo sets fire to the famous cathedral, he rouses the peasants into protecting her, by using Fe language (Frollo has lain waste to OUR city…will we stand for it?). Being Fe, he’s also more aware of Quasi’s delicate feelings for “the gypsy girl” and sensitive toward him. His inferior Ni is poor at determining the “secret” of the “woven band.” He throws out various absurd theories that Quasi shoots down as impossible.

Enneagram: 7w6 so/sx

Phoebus has a playful attitude and approach to life. He uses mockery and pulling rank, feigning confusion, to baffle a couple of guards and help Esmeralda escape. He tries to make inroads with Quasimodo with a strong sense of humor and by cracking jokes. Even when he’s about to die, he is somewhat amused by the entire thing. He banters and compliments Esmeralda when they are fighting inside the church, attempting to flirt with her. But his 6 wing is also aware of power structures and his place within them. He does not defy Frollo until the man orders him to burn alive an innocent family. Then, he defies him. He feels uneasy not having people like him, and tries to appeal to them on a personal level (“She’s fortunate to have a friend like you”).

by Charity

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Clopin Trouillefou [ENTP 7w8]

Functional Order: Ne-Ti-Fe-Si

Clopin is here to tell you a story, “of a man and a monster.” He loves to speak in metaphorical terms and riddles, permitting the audience to read between the lines. He’s attentive to his environment, but less in a desire to experience it, and more in a desire to mock, ridicule, and cause things to happen that fit into the broader collective narrative (Clopin does nothing by mistake). Even at the end, he leaves the audience to decide: who is the man, and who is the monster? He’s detached, impersonal and analytical, viewing the story itself as a riddle, rather than taking on a moralizing tone. He can be ruthless, for he intends to execute Quasi and Phoebus for simply wandering into the wrong place, as Frollo’s “spies!” He prefers to ask questions, rather than provide answers. Yet, he has a moral undercurrent; he wants the audience to reach the conclusion that Frollo is the villain, for the decisions he makes and the actions he takes. But, more often, Clopin resorts to playing the audience within the film itself, rousing them to his side, using his comedic talents to get a rise out of people, and enjoying seeing and feeding off their reaction to him and his outlandish, melodramatic statements. He has reduced anyone who is not a gypsy down to an archetype – an enemy of “his people” (who share his ancestry), based on their former interactions; because Quasi and Phoebus work for or associate with Frollo, they are bad and should be executed.

Enneagram: 7w6 so/sx

Clopin is a playful narrator who seems to be out merely to have a good time. He looks forward to the excitement and chaos generated by the Feast of Fools every year, and eagerly throws himself right into the middle of it. He is being silly and absurd even when he intends to hang a couple of “intruders” – by turning his court into a mockery of the real one. But his moralizing also shows the 7’s direct line to 1 – he has a harsh disapproval of Frollo and his methods, having personally experienced his cruelties, and wants to turn others against him also, by asking them probing questions. Clopin is willing to kill outsiders rather than let them lead the law to them. He also has something of a mean streak in how ruthlessly he deals even with total strangers.

by Charity

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Faith [ESTP cp6w7]

Function Order: Se-Ti-Fe-Ni

Faith shows up in Sunnydale and immediately impresses everyone who meets her, because of her super slaying skills and physical prowess. She embodies it to the max, from her open sexuality to her kill first, ask questions later approach to her job. She entices Buffy to go out on the town and party with her when she’s done patrolling for the night, and kicks back to “relax” with casual hookups or beer. It excites her when the mayor offers her a nice place to live, three square meals a day, and all he wants is for her to do little jobs for him. When Faith steals Buffy’s life, she makes the most of it through little sensory self-indulgences – a long bath, a certain color of lipstick, taunting Spike with sexual come-ons, even sleeping with Riley. Faith looks for advantages to exploit, and doesn’t get sentimental about her kills. She isn’t emotionally attached to most people, unless she allows herself to bond to specific ones (such as the mayor and Buffy for a time). Faith’s emotions are complicated. She doesn’t really understand them, or how to cope with them, and runs away rather than deal with them. She feels something with Riley, when he says how much he loves Buffy – it makes her so uncomfortable, she has to rationalize to herself that sex is just sex, it’s meaningless. Since she doesn’t know how to deal with her guilt or cope with her pain, she attacks Angel, hoping he will kill her and put her out of her misery. The original Faith, before her change of heart, was all about digging under people’s skin with remarks – she knows how to provoke reactions, hurt people’s feelings, and sometimes does this for no real reason other than to see them react. Like when she figures out Willow has started to have feelings for Tara while in Buffy’s body, and makes sure she talks at length about Oz, to make Tara – a total stranger – feel like crap. She goes after Angel once she has a bad attitude about Buffy (Buffy tried to get her to talk about her feelings, and admit that killing an innocent person was a mistake, something Faith refused to deal with), deliberately intending to hurt her by stealing her vampire boyfriend and sleeping with him. Faith has no real plans for her life beyond this moment, and never thinks about the consequences of her impulsive decisions in any meaningful way.

Enneagram: 6w7 sp/sx

Faith acts like a tough girl, but deep down she’s super insecure, envious of the friendships and support Buffy has, and clinging to authority figures. She blooms into her “best” self when the mayor adopts her as his daughter, giving her all the toys, support, and encouragement she craves, and becomes super loyal to him and fearful of losing that connection to him. Even though she brags and puts on a tough act in front of Xander and the others, including being super up front about sex and animal passion, she tries to run away from all her problems, out of fear that someone or something is going to attack her (the bad guys just keep on coming). Faith desperately wants her own redemption by the time she reaches Angel in Los Angeles – she wants to be punished for the bad things she has done, which means she has a super ego response about having done them. She is so proactive about taking care of problems, she can prematurely “Slay.” Faith loves self-indulgences and avoidance of serious conversations. She feels unsettled with too much commitment – like it hems her in. As soon as she finishes her job of slaying, her 7 wing wants to go out and have fun – party hard, have random, meaningless sex with someone, drink. The minute it starts becoming meaningful, she gets uncomfortable, because she doesn’t know how to cope with a serious emotional situation.

by Charity

The Originals: Hayley Marshall [ESTP 8w7]

Functional Order: Se-Ti-Fe-Ni

Hayley confesses to Elijah that she freely lives in the moment, with no thought for the future or the past (“If I see something that I want, I take it”). Her actions reflect this – her one night stand results in carrying Klaus’ child, she is often quick to leap into danger and react in a situation, she looks for opportunities to act in her environment to bring about quick resolutions, and she is very present and aware of her strengths and limitations. She has a natural tendency to lead and is not afraid to become aggressive in defending her territory or commanding the pack. She can think her way around any situation, and the facts never stump her for long, because she is confident in her ability to come up with a “work around.” Hayley’s frequently profound comments about other people and their motivations shows her tendency to analyze their motives and behavior and form rational conclusions, which she only shares with prompting. She is unafraid to protect herself and those she cares about, but also has a greater moral concern for her pack, and her family, neither of whom she has known for any length of time. Hayley marries Jackson in order to free the other wolves from their curse of turning on a full moon, despite the fact that it sacrifices her own freedom to love in the meantime. She asserts that she’ll remain faithful to her husband, out of respect for him. Hayley is forthcoming with her emotional opinions, and sometimes chastises Klaus for his “selfish” behavior. She cares how others see her. On occasion, she has flashes of insight into Klaus’ motivations… her assertions are sometimes right and at other times wrong, but she is confident that she knows the truth about the situation. She does open herself up to greater long-term thinking and planning when she becomes involved with the pack, and sacrifices what she wants in favor of helping them escape the curse (inferior Ni).

Enneagram: 8w7 sp/so

Hayley admits to Elijah that if she sees something, she takes it, without regard for whether it’s moral or not. She is aggressive, but also fun-loving, charismatic, and willing and able to talk her way out of bad situations. She routinely refuses to think about the consequences of her actions in her season of The Vampire Diaries, and impulsively leaps into bed with Klaus after being rejected by Tyler, which results in her pregnancy. Hayley is a bit hypocritical, in that she accuses Tyler of using people for his own advantage, after doing the same to him (knowing he would be killed). She doesn’t like to be restricted, controlled, or bossed around, but willingly enters into a marriage she isn’t interested in to protect the wolf pack (because she sees them as family). She grows more into maturity as the series progresses, becoming more responsible and protective of her daughter. She reacts instinctively, and angrily, to protect her loved ones, her pact, and her child. Hayley can be impulsive and hedonistic, but also aggressive and territorial, as she fights for dominance in her pack. She stands up to Klaus multiple times, even though he scares her.

by Charity

My Little Pony: The Next Generation Quick Types

None of the other Ponies have much screen time or character development (not enough to write up detailed profiles for them), so I’ll summarize them here.

Hitch Trailblazer [ESFJ 3w2 so/sp]

Hitch focuses on two things: what other Ponies are thinking about him, and doing his job right by meticulously keeping order in their small town (including preventing littering, his pet peeve). He is a little conceited and overly self-confident, often preening, perking up when others praise him, and feeling humiliated when he can’t do something they can do (such as failing to light a campfire, and then joining theirs reluctantly, but quickly perking up and making friends). He believes in going by the book and protecting what’s known, has a lot of inborn prejudices he must fight through to embrace others, and can be a bit arrogant. But he also genuinely wants to help Sunny, once he discovers the true worth of her mission.

Zipp Storm [ISFP]

It really bothers Zipp that she has to live a lie for the cameras and pretend to have the ability to fly, when it’s not true. She mentions several times that she feels uncomfortable with deceit, because it’s not her. She desperately wants adventures and to fly, so she breaks out her new friends and accompanies them on a journey to find and unite the crystals. She shows them her favorite place in the whole world, a dazzling room with a fan that lets her fly for minutes at a time. But she is rather quiet and mostly stays to the back of the group. I’m unsure of her Enneagram type. She doesn’t like upheaval in her life, and goes along with things to keep her mother happy, but isn’t adverse to causing disruptions when the situation requires it.

Pipp Petals [ESFP 3w2 so/sx]

Pipp has the least amount to do. She’s basically a ‘starlet’ stereotype, obsessed with the Pony version of Instagram and catering to her fans, while being separate from the other Ponies. She focuses a lot on appearances, is fashionable, and willing to go against her culture to assist them in finding and uniting the magical crystals (which she resents were taken from her mother). She pops in to see them initially just to get a photo to share on her social media feed (so she can earn likes and approvals from her many devoted fans).

by Charity

Chernobyl QuickTypes

Luydmilla Ignatenko [ISFP 2w1 sx/so]

Luydmilla’s entire world is her husband, Vasily, and when he is hospitalized with severe radiation poisoning, Luydmilla will stop at nothing to be reunited with him and nurse him through his sickness ignoring the potential danger to herself. She is a loving and passionate woman who is mild-mannered and quiet under normal circumstances, but under pressure she can become forceful and obstinate (inferior Te). Her use of Se shows in her confidence in physically demanding situations, such as forcing a perimeter guarded by soldiers to get to her husband. Luydmilla is pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time of the explosion, and even though she is told that pregnant women absolutely cannot go near the irradiated patients because they’re still emitting radiation and it could severely damage or kill the fetus, she defies this ban and lies about not being pregnant so that she can remain by Vasily’s side. Her bond is with him, not with the unformed individual she’s carrying inside her. She knows her husband’s condition is invariably fatal but still entertains conversations with him about their future together because she knows it will soothe his mind. She cannot reconcile with the thought of Vasily dying alone, so she nurses him diligently throughout his last days, careful not to show how upsetting his deteriorating appearance is to her.

Vasily Ignatenko [ENFJ 3w2]

The exuberant and optimistic Vasily is the heart and soul of his friend group. His positive and open nature makes him easy to like and easy to trust, hence his fireman colleagues barely hesitate to follow him into the burning wreckage after the explosion. Vasily dreams of a more glamorous life for himself and his wife Lyudmilla and is eagerly preparing for his role as a father. He wants to relocate his wife and unborn child to a large metropolitan city that has more culture and entertainment to offer than Pripyat… preferably Moscow. Vasily believes that by following orders blindly he will be justly rewarded for his efforts, not realizing that the government sees him as merely a disposable bio-robot. He is not on-call on the night of the accident but decides to head the rescue team anyway because he believes it will gain him favor with his bosses. Even when he’s literally at death’s door, Vasily retains his unyielding optimism and tries to keep the atmosphere light by cracking jokes. “I told you I’d show you Moscow!”

Sasha Akimov [ISFJ 6w7]

Akimov, a senior reactor engineer, is cautious by nature and does not like to enter a situation he has not properly assessed and thus does not have control of, but he does not have the courage to stand up to Dyatlov when the latter orders they activate the reactor. Akimov is patient and forgiving towards the insecure, inexperienced Toptunov and shows healthy, pronounced use of Fe by taking him under his wing and saying things like “we’ll do it together” followed by a practical demonstration of the job he is expected to do. He is nervous about the shortcuts Dyatlov demands they make, and his focus deteriorates during stress when he is required to juggle multiple unknown variables. When asked by his boss how an RBMK reactor could “explode” immediately following the accident, he can’t offer any answer except “I don’t know”, not wanting to theorize (low Ti and Ne).  

Leonid Toptunov [INFP 9w1]

The bright but sensitive and shy Toptunov is misplaced in the reactor operating crew, where all the other men are much older, more experienced and more accustomed to Dyatlov’s dictatorial command style. He is also visibly uncomfortable with the “macho” work atmosphere, the constant ribbing, and vulgar language used by his colleagues, but he does not speak up on his own behalf, preferring instead to quietly distance himself from them. Toptunov lacks confidence in his own abilities, and is mortified when he finds out Dyatlov will be supervising the reactor control room team. “I’m supposed to do something I’ve never done before with Dyatlov looking over my shoulder??” When the disaster happens, Toptunov melts down alongside Reactor 4, being unable to say or do much except claim “we did everything right!” He is unable to evaluate the situation on his own terms and latches onto whatever his mentor, Akimov, decides, no matter how dangerous or counter-productive.

Colonel Pikalov [ISTJ]

Pikalov is a low-key practical man who manages to remain enviably calm in times of crisis and “do what needs to be done” whilst also retaining a distinct moral ethos. His specialty lies in evaluating hazardous chemical situations and choosing the least terrible option, and in the case of a nuclear disaster that means lives have to be sacrificed. Pikalov refuses to order any of his men to approach the exposed reactor core fire with a high-range dosimeter to find out how high the radiation truly is, but it has to be done, so he volunteers himself, even if it means certain death within five years. His tactics to combat the fire come from a place of traditionalism and the “tried and true”, and he initially struggles to comprehend that the meltdown is not actually a “fire” in a conventional sense, and cannot be managed like one. 

Guest typed by Henrika.

by Charity

The Golden Compass: Lyra [ENTP 7w8]

Function Order: Ne-Ti-Fe-Si

Lyra loves to make up stories, and starts out by telling one about a haunted witch’s gate and how her mother set a curse on it, meaning only she can pass through it without being harmed. Upon learning about Dust, she speculates without anyone telling her that it makes daemons able to change shape for children, but somehow ceases to work as an adult. Researching information in Mrs. Coulter’s desk, she finds papers with the initials Gob and determines from that that Mrs. Coulter must be in charge of the “gobblers,” or people stealing away children for experimentation. Though at first she doesn’t understand how the golden compass works, Lyra looks at the symbols, decides what they must mean in an abstract sense (a serpent means cunning), and then figures out how to use it, once she knows to ask it questions. Once she knows who her mother is, she instantly realizes who her father is, despite them not having an obvious connection. She doesn’t require much proof to believe the experiments are taking away children’s daemons, and talks her way out of trouble with the king of the bears by pretending to be her bear’s daemon and convincing him that she can be his, and would prefer that, because he is so wise and strong. Lyra often isn’t aware of the danger of her own schemes until she has talked herself into trouble, and then she doubts that she has done the right thing, especially when it puts others in peril. She can be false and convincingly charming when she needs to be (to protect herself and others), and is constantly asking questions, trying to figure out things. Lyra figures out how to work the compass by using it, and letting her Ti discern how best to make it work. She doesn’t show much in the way of inferior Si, because she lacks sentiment for anything other than her friends – she wants to move forward and explore the unknown.

Enneagram: 7w8 so/sp

Lyra wants adventures and craves going other places and meeting new people and having adventures; she gets bored cooped up inside the school or in Mrs. Coulter’s home, and is always looking for ways to entertain herself. She is analytical and thoughtful, but also sometimes afraid that she has made a mistake and put her loved ones in danger. She thinks things through and then acts on them, sometimes without being aware of the risk, such as when she confronts the bear she has met about being a drunk and a disappointment compared to her grand expectations for the snow bears. She stands up to Mrs. Coulter and defies her until the woman hurts her and her daemon to make her behave; her 8 wing doesn’t like to be obedient and is somewhat forceful in asserting itself. She tells Pan that they must “conquer our fear” and not let it stop them from doing things.

Pan: INFJ 6w7 sp/so

Pan is more insightful than Lyra and suspicious of Mrs. Coulter and her motives, he tells her to be cautious and thinks they should stick together. He tries to piece together the clues she finds and often leaps to a conclusion before she does, when he has discovered a connection. But he is not good in his environment, often changing shapes to adapt to it, and hiding out in her pocket or sleeve as a mouse. He is fearful, trusts his instincts, and doesn’t like to take risks. He often pleads with her not to go into places where “something is wrong about this,” but will loyally accompany her when she does it anyway. Pan is protective of her, but also glad to hide when he’s scared.

by Charity

Anna Karenina: Anna Karenina [ENFJ 4w3]

Function Order: Fe-Ni-Se-Ti

Anna focuses a great deal on “social appropriateness,” and that for a time keeps her from having an affair, because she isn’t sure how others might receive it and is considerate of how it might harm her relationship with her son and/or threaten her ability to see him on a frequent basis. She tried early in her marriage to establish an emotional relationship with her husband only for that to fail—she sees him as cold, disinterested, unfeeling, and uninterested in the things that she is most passionate about. She tries to convince her sister-in-law to take back her husband even after he shames her with the maid, insisting it would be better for all their children. At first, she tells Vronsky to leave her alone, then how much he means to her, and keeping a running commentary of her increasing fears, emotional responses, and worries up as the story unfolds. She cares to have society accept her and not reject her, taking personally the shunning at the opera because of their double standard (they are fine with affairs, just not flouting them in public). She can be forgiving and persuasive, sharing with Kitty her excitement over Kitty’s impending marriage. She feels tremendous guilt at cheating on her husband (at first) and in stealing Kitty’s love, but ultimately her own desire for love overwhelms her sense of duty and obligation. She has a strong focus on the future, both in planning for it with optimism and in fearing the worst. She is forever thinking out loud and planning for her and Vronsky’s life together. She sees a version of the truth of her husband his intentions and believes it, even though she assigns the wrong motives to him (cruel ones, rather than his altruistic sense of certainty that her lover will eventually abandon her, leaving him to pick up the pieces). Anna becomes convinced without proof that Vronsky is either cheating on her, or intends to, with a princess he has met in society. She is obsessed with the distant future – not wanting to abandon her child, but also wanting happiness in the present (Se); excitedly planning her future with Vronsky, then fearing the day he will leave her. She can’t seem to either live in the future or the present, showing a strong fight between her intuition and sensing. Anna deeply needs sexual connections and passion to feed her Se, which soon grows bored with Karenin’s tepid lifestyle. Anna proves unable to analyze herself or her motives, spiraling further and further into paranoia and irrational conclusions that ultimately drive her to her final desperate action (inferior Ti).

Enneagram: 4w3 so/sx

Anna seems determined to thwart her own happiness at every turn. She denies herself Vronsky at first out of a sense of familial obligation, and then when she allows herself to have him and their affair, she assumes she must be damned, and that it will not turn out well. When she goes away with her lover, she cannot allow herself to be happy in the moment, because she is thinking about wanting to be home with her son and afraid of her husband divorcing her and denying her the ability to see her child. But when they return home, she cannot be happy there, either, because her husband won’t give her a divorce. She assigns mean motivations to him, turning him into the villain. Anna deals with intense feelings of shame, which turn to hatred for her husband when she feels she is in the wrong, and indebted to him for his forgiveness. When Anna believes she’s about to die, she disintegrates into 2 – begging her husband for forgiveness, and being emotionally needy on her deathbed; she later does the same with Vronsky, fearing he’ll leave her and becoming clingy, needy, and desperate, trying to be whatever he needs so he will not leave her. She eventually commits suicide, because she cannot live with herself anymore and feels like she has no one. Her 3 wing cares about appearances, wants to be seen as appropriate and fashionable, and doesn’t like being socially isolated for her love affair. She feels flattered by a handsome man’s affections and easily becomes whatever he wants her to be.

by Charity

Apocalypse Now: Captain Ben Willard [ISTP]

Function Order: Ti-Se-Ni-Fe

“When I was here, I wanted to be there. When I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle.”

Ben Willard

Captain Willard is a sought-after assassin for the CIA because he can always be counted on to pursue the most logical solution to a problem without letting his ego or his feelings to get in the way (dominant Ti). When his superiors send him on a top secret mission to terminate Colonel Kurtz “with extreme prejudice”, Willard is expected to execute his order quietly – and disappear without receiving any credit or attention for his efforts. Willard has an apathetic disposition and struggles to find motivation or purpose in anything he does that does not involve work,  which makes him  an excellent assassin – but a poor civilian and husband. “I hardly said a word to my wife until I said yes to a divorce.” When not on a mission, Willard spends most of his time drunk or high, getting into fights and breaking his own possessions. A loner by nature, Willard prefers to work alone and cannot understand his own or other people’s emotions well enough to successfully blend in, which is why he typically shies away from socialization or group activities, preferring instead to quietly observe and chronicle his findings in his personal journal. Willard’s judgments are logically sound but frequently cutting and caustic, betraying his deep misanthropy and resentment of mankind as a concept. He is fascinated by Kurtz and reluctantly begins to admire the Colonel the more he learns about him, finding his singular but unusual conclusions (Ni), strategically competent decisions (Te) and strong personal values (Fi) intriguing and even appealing. He is typically non-confrontational and soft-spoken, but he sometimes demonstrates petty, childish behavior (inferior Fe) such as stealing Colonel Kilgore’s surf board for no other purpose except to piss him off. Willard is not a natural leader and eschews responsibility for others whenever he can. It is unclear whether he rejects Kurtz’ philosophy and consequently the opportunity to assert himself as the new king because of a deeply held personal belief that it is the wrong path to take, or because he wants to avoid thinking about the consequences if it were true (the US military being corrupt beyond repair and needing to be purged). Apart from loyalty to his employer, Willard has no firm morals or codes of conduct and doesn’t hesitate to engage in a game of chess with Kurtz where “pawns” – ergo his team mates – are sacrificed for the main objective.

Guest post by Henrika.

Although she did not provide an Enneagram type, the mod suggests 9w8.

by Charity

The Pillars of the Earth: Aliena [ESTJ 8w9]

Function Order: Te-Si-Ne-Fi

“It’s easier to kill someone if you’re standing beside them rather than against them. Look at me, Richard. Our enemies have made us strong.”

Aliena

Aliena is well aware of how the world works, and is determined to use whatever resources she can to obtain the earlship for her brother, after their father loses it to Sir William. When they need money, she sees how she can buy wool off local farmers for less than they would receive at the wool market, and sell it for a profit (when they object to the lower price, she asks them if the two days of work they can do makes up for the “penny less” they will receive off her, since they will not need to take those two days off to attend the market). She takes whatever money she makes and sinks it into more wool, and soon becomes a successful entrepreneur in Kingsbury, who can afford to buy a horse and armor for her brother, so he can fight for King Stephen. Though traumatized by her rape, she tells her brother to pretend it never happened and speak not of it, because they need to survive and do what they can to get their ancestral land returned. She made her father a promise and intends to keep it. When her brother hesitates to kill a guard who intends to rouse Sir William and alert him to their escape, Aliena tells her brother to “cut off his head… this is something you must do.” She has a strong family mindset, but can also be somewhat naïve about the ways of the world and the bishop’s cunning and ruthlessness, until he has used them ill a few times. Though her heart is with Jack, she marries Alfred because Alfred can pay off her debts and keep her brother “horsed” for King Stephen. Aliena wants a traditional lifestyle, and to be Jack’s husband once Alfred abandons her, and is not content to have her husband forever working on the cathedral rather than spending time with her and their child.  

Enneagram: 8w9 so/sp

Aliena impresses Jack with her “strong, calm presence.” She takes pride in the fact that the farmers and tradesmen are all intimidated by her, since it makes it easier for her to get a good price for her wool. She says that her assault has “made her strong” rather than destroyed her. She can be aggressive in turning down suitors (initially slapping Sir William for grabbing and kissing her), and smart in how she gets who has the power and how to get it herself. She doesn’t allow her feelings to get in the way of going after what she wants, which is her brother back in their father’s house. Overall, she is fierce and protective of others, but also warm and willing to help them where she can. She cuts a hard bargain and doesn’t like to take financial risks without assurance of payment, but also does not want Jack or Alfred to be upset with her.

by Charity

The West Wing: Sam Seaborn [ENFP 1w2]

ENFP Function Order: Ne-Fi-Te-Si

“Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don’t need little changes. We need gigantic revolutionary changes. […] That is my position. I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet.”

Sam Seaborn

Sam is the person you want writing your speeches, because at the last minute, he can deliver an impassioned text full of radical idealism (“Why should we not say we are going to cure cancer in ten years? Whether we do or not, we have given people something to aspire to!”). He focuses completely on changing the world and improving people’s lives through his communication skills and love of words, and often becomes impatient and frustrated when change takes too long, and he cannot see the results of his desired progress soon enough. He tends to see people more for their potential than accept them for who they are, such as his repeated attempts to find a female escort another line of work, both because of his attraction to her and his disdain for the lifestyle she has chosen to “put me through school.” Sam is so caught up in her potential, he doesn’t think seriously about how this could backfire on him and damage his reputation or that of the president, so he continues hanging out with her until a scandal results from it. He can be, in turns, supportive, loving, and deeply impassioned about things, and blunt, discouraging, and critical of other people, but he throws his entire heart and soul behind the presidential speeches, campaigns, policies, and the moral conduct of their office, in an effort to enact drastic change on a governmental and social level.

Enneagram: 1w2 so/sp

Sam is highly moralistic and disapproving of immoral behavior, but is also determined to do the right thing. He will lecture people on their attitudes which he finds offensive and push them to adopt a more tolerant or progressive viewpoint. When his involvement with an escort causes her pain and draws negative attention to her, Sam is apologetic and tries to shield her from any negative repercussions, but also finds it hard to simply accept that she is willing to prostitute herself to earn money for law school. He repeatedly tries to push her into a different line of work and give her other opportunities, before he’s faced to just accept her for who she is. Sam wants to do good in the world, and while he starts out hard-assed on some things, he is also willing to listen to and consider other people’s views and sometimes adopt them.