INFJ 3w4 Characters

Angier spends his entire life on an imagined obsession: even when Cutter tells him how Borden does his trick (a double), he insists that is “too simple,” and seeks a more complicated solution—one that takes him to Colorado Springs and a machine by Tesla. He goes on from there to plan and perfectly execute the ultimate take-down of his adversary, by sacrificing himself for 100 nights and framing Borden for murder. Everything about his life, he forces into his singular fixation—even pushing his mistress to become involved with his enemy, so he can find out more of Borden’s secrets. Angier is extremely poor at reacting to his immediate environment; when Borden shows up to sabotage his bird trick, he cannot react fast enough to stop him. He will take enormous risks, however—ones that could get him thrown in jail or even killed (and do, later in the story). Angier seems to get a bit of a “high” from performing dangerous tricks (inferior Se). He has the “showmanship” required to be a great magician that Borden lacks; he points out that his enemy has no capacity to entertain, engage, or show off his tricks to the audience. Angier is up front with his feelings and has certain moral standards he adheres to (he refuses to kill birds) but over time, his moral quandaries wear down in pursuit of his goal (he engages blackmail, deception, and theft, and he’s willing to die a hundred nights in a row, just to frame his rival). He urges his mistress to use emotional manipulation on Borden. Angier is a chronic “over-thinker,” who makes tricks more complicated than Cutter tells him they need to be; he is obsessed with figuring out how Borden does his single trick. After he sees a new show, Angier goes home and tries to think out how it was performed; his solutions are extremely creative and outside the box (“he lives his illusion; his illusion is his life”—Ni/Ti). He “believes” in the impossible.

Enneagram: 3w4

Angier is a hard-working showman, always able to find the right persona to appeal to the crowd; he wears a warm, friendly face to cover up his deeper ambitions and logical precision, realizing that people need a “show” in order to fully engage with his tricks. As a social 3, he wants others to admit he is the best—he’s incredibly competitive. He wants to get things done. He needs to understand and then perform. His 2 wing makes him also crave love and admiration from his family, and not above using deception or manipulation to get what he wants. He is incredibly focused on his art and performance, and not very warm or consoling so much as he wants to be “the best” in his profession, which is more of a 3w4 trait than a 3w2 trait.