MBTI Type: ESFJ

Mirabel has a decided “others-focus” in that every thought, idea, and concern revolves around the welfare of her loved ones, and what she is contributing to the family; she feels because she lacks a discernible gift that she must work twice as hard to be seen as useful and to sustain the family’s survival and reputation. She can never just talk about herself, but sees herself as part of a larger unit, in the way that all Fe-doms do (she even tells Antonio “if you are happy, I am happy!”). She repeatedly represses and puts aside her own feelings to make others happy; even though she is devastated that she never received a gift from the candle, she puts on a happy face and comforts her cousin, encouraging him, reassuring him that she isn’t sad, etc. Her song is all about how she is struggling to put on a happy face, and trying not to be upset or angry for others’ sake, but in truth, she processes all her feelings instantly – her anger, sadness, resentment, even her jealousy over her “perfect” sister. Mirabel tries not to feel upset or mad, because she wants to “shine” like everyone else does. Once she starts noticing the cracks in the house, Mirabel sets out to methodically figure out what is going wrong – by gathering evidence, venturing into Bruno’s room, picking up all the pieces of his vision, and questioning everyone she knows to find out what they know, in the hope of putting it all together in a cohesive whole. She has a lot of fears tied to her Si about how the past might create a path for the future – “it happened to me,” she tells Antonio, “but it needn’t happen to you!” She doesn’t leap to conclusions so much as she slowly discovers them by piecing together what others have told her—about Bruno and his vision, what she sees when she puts it together, and hoping for the best – surely there must be more than one way to see this! She tends to evaluate things on a surface value and take them literally – seeing her embracing what she believes is her sister, she assumes all she has to do is apologize to her and “hug it out.” Instead, once the house crumbles into ruins, she comes to the insight that her grandmother’s attempts to control all of them and repress their magical abilities are the true cause of the candle losing its magic. Mirabel shows low Ti tendencies throughout the film, in her endless questions – she wants to know what’s wrong, why it’s happening, and how to fix it. She wonders, “How do I find a vision?” (because it is an abstract thing, or so she assumes). “How do I save a miracle?” She needs to figure out what’s going wrong to fix it, and feels confident that somehow they can all accomplish this by coming together, accepting each other, and working as a group (Fe).

Enneagram: 9w1

Mirabel wants to be important. To shine. To have an impressive gift, like the rest of them, but since she doesn’t have one, she makes up for it by overdoing her helpfulness instead and by allowing herself to be a doormat. Whatever anyone else wants, she goes along with it, and tries to be sweet and supportive in the process. Even when she finds out her gift is to not have a gift, she is accepting of this and goes along with it. It pains her to be ignored and forgotten, since she feels like no one notices her at all or cares about what she wants or feels. She has an optimistic attitude, and tries to be happy all the time for others, even if she’s feeling upset, but is also jealous of her sister and her “perfect” life, because it’s the one she wants. Her 1 wing constantly tells her to repress her true feelings, that she should not be experiencing unpleasant emotions, and drives her to do what is right. She feels a lot of guilt in the assumption that somehow she is to blame for the ruin of the family. Mirabel finds it hard to apologize to her sister (“I am SO SORRY you have the PERFECT LIFE!”), since it’s to admit she has done anything wrong. She also lashes out angrily at her grandmother, when she realizes the truth about the magic – accusing her of being the one who has ruined everything, rather than Mirabel.

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