Showing posts with label infp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infp. Show all posts

Monday, January 16, 2017

A Song of Ice and Fire- Sansa Stark (INFP)


Introverted Feeling (Fi): Sansa is proud of who she is, as a Stark and a proper lady. She has trouble at first sympathizing on a deeper level with others because she’s so in tune with her own emotions. Sansa is a very compassionate girl, even pre-development, but she truly empathizes best when she has some personal connection (ie Sandor’s talk about knights, his saving her, and knowing his tragic back story). In A Game of Thrones she’s very focused on what she values most: becoming queen and enjoying her Southron life, and is devasted when Ned says he's taking it away. She doesn't open up to her deepest emotions easily, and can be cold at times, if a matter isn't important to her herself, leading her to initially be a bit self-centered. She tries to get Arya to go to the wheelhouse with the queen and princess by appealing to her with things Sansa personally likes (lemoncakes and music), not realizing her sister doesn't necessarily like the same things she does. She's sensitive and is very hurt when she hears criticism, even from Joffrey, in spite of knowing his petty insults don't really have any power. Due to her upbringing, she usually plays the part of the obedient daughter because she's good at it and likes the positive reinforcement she gets for it, but after her wake-up call her Fi becomes healthier- about Sandor, who was mean to her, and Sweetrobin, who none of the lords care about. Kindness is very important to her, and she decides she will rule with love instead of fear as Cersei advises, if she ever becomes queen. She finds it a bit hard to stay Alayne sometimes, because she has such a deep sense of self as Sansa Stark.



Extroverted Intuition (Ne): Sansa is at the beginning of the books is very dreamy and doesn't entirely live in reality.  She sees life as a fairy tale like in the songs, sees things as they could be, her idealized version of them: King’s Landing being so magical, Ser Dontos as her "Florian”, Margaery being her ideal big sister (when she’s actually manipulating Sansa). She tends to see the good in people (at first), and later she often correctly guesses the motives of people under Littlefinger's teachings. While Arya immediately dislikes the Lannisters without knowing any of them because Jon insulted them, Sansa senses that Jon is just jealous because he's a bastard (which is true). She sees what’s REALLY going on that others miss, noting that Joffrey is much more of a Lannister than a Baratheon, something the adults never realized. She’s at first willing to ignore Joff’s behavior at the trident to keep her dream of a fairy tale life from shattering. Even after she drops the rose colored glasses, she does keep some optimism and always hopes for a better life later. She struggles to see where Petyr ends and Littlefinger begins, and is never sure of who is the real deal. She learns to make up convincing lies easily and adopt a new persona as Lord Baelish's bastard daughter.



Introverted Sensing (Si): Sansa is proud of her Northern heritage and is always reminding herself that she is a Stark. She constantly refers back to songs, stories, and facts about people she’s learned and compares it to what’s going on currently. She sees Joffrey as the dashing prince who will marry her and fulfill her dreams because that's how it works in the stories. She misses home badly, and at the Eyrie shows her remorse through making a little snow  replica of Winterfell. When in need of comfort, she goes for her favorite books, songs, or food. Sansa fits the traditional role of a noble lady very well and is happy with that position because it's always been good to her.  It’s no secret that she tends to… remember things very subjectively. She’s again, very observant- she notices external details quite well ("[Littlefinger's] eyes did not smile when his mouth did"). She’s worked at becoming an accomplished lady for years and has many talents as a result. She knows what society expects her to do and is able to fit the role of a lady well. She bases much of her Alayne Stone persona as a noble bastard on her half-brother Jon Snow (being fourteen years old, being brave, not liking to dance, etc.).



Extroverted Thinking (Te): Sansa is able to be proactive- Father backing out of his promise and says he's shipping the girls home? Go ask the queen, the authority figure, to stop him. Father on death row? Go to Joffrey at court, charm him, and appeal for her father's life. At her worst, Sansa can be bossy and rude when she perceives something as incompetence, unfair, or irrational. When she and Sweetrobin must cross the narrow snowy bridge alone, she is able to keep herself and the boy calm, coach him and keep him focused until they're safely across. As Alayne Stone, she is able to run a household efficiently by herself and be more blunt in her views with people. She sets goals and works to meet them (get Cersei to convince Father to let her stay, do what she wants to keep the betrothel, win over Harry, etc).

Note: I don't know about TV!Sansa (who is both written differently from her book counterpart and has become inconsistently written anyway), but I would think she is still an INFP. I do think Sansa values social harmony to a degree, but because she's been taught to and because she personally dislikes conflict ruining her good time. Westerosi society values the Introverted Sensing a lot, especially in its women, so Sansa’s been taught to exercise it more- and it helps that both her parents are Si-doms, I don't think she uses it enough to be an ISFJ, and she gets bored or tired of people's company when she's around it too much and lives inside her own head, ruling out an extroverted type.

Monday, March 28, 2016

Disney's Sleeping Beauty: Aurora (INFP)

Contrary to what some in the Disney fandom may think, Aurora definitely has a personality- even a well-rounded one, I dare say. Those who limit their definition of personality to screen time don't seem to have a true grasp on what personality really is. We learn quite a lot about Aurora from her short "I Want" song alone, much less the rest of her screen time. (Also: thanks and credit to Audrey at throughtheroses.tumblr.com!)


Introverted Feeling (Fi): Aurora is a kind girl with strong emotions she keeps inside herself, not always wanting to share how she feels (such as her restlessness and wanting to meet someone). She is comfortable just sitting (or dancing) in silence with those she's fond of, not needing to talk. When faced with the shocking truth of her heritage and being forbidden from seeing the one person she had romantically connected with, she feels quite wounded and doesn't try to hide it, and just sort of gives up after that. Upon meeting her parents at last, she says no words, but simply embraces them warmly.


Extroverted Intuition (Ne): Aurora is imaginative, philosophical, and has a creative side. She creates a metaphor of her life when she observes a pattern with the birds and wonders if there's a connection between them and her own life ("I Wonder"). Despite holding fast to her dreams, Aurora never actively pursues them; instead stays at home and creates a whole little fantasy world with her animal friends. Besides, she's certain her dreams will come true without needing to actively pursue them- and she's right!



Introverted Sensing (Si): Aurora believes in what she's already learned about dreams (that if you've had one repeatedly, it will come true). She is cautious; she doesn't just jump into a relationship with Phillip, but instead decides to meet him back at her cottage, seeing it as the safe option in this new potentially unsafe situation, as it offers the protection of her aunts. She's not at all excited about the luxury of being a princess- she just wants the only life she ever knew back.


Extroverted Thinking (Te): Aurora doesn't use this one much; she can be passive and indecisive at times ("Never!" "Well, maybe someday!" "Oh, no, this evening!"). But she does speak up to the fairies about her own life, and had previously made plans to get to know Phillip better in the safety of home. She doesn't like that her aunts won't treat her like an adult despite her responsible nature.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Pan's Labyrinth- Ofelia (INFP)



Introverted Feeling (Fi): Ofelia is an independent, compassionate girl. She can come off as disobedient to her mother at times, but she cares strongly about Carmen thinks. She warms up quickly to Mercedes the servant, who humors her love of fantasy, while everyone else just sees Ofelia as a child or a nuisance. She can lack empathy- she can't understand how her mother could have felt lonely with Ofelia around and married an awful man like Vidal. She can't make herself care enough about showing up to the dinner in the dress Carmen worked on like she and the captain want to make the family look good, because helping the Faun is more important to her. She never directly says she dislikes Vidal, but she clearly is happy to "disappoint" by not going to the dinner. She eventually cannot bring herself to hand her brother over, even though he's caused much of her grief, because she feels it's wrong to harm an innocent in any way, nor can she tell Vidal that Mercedes is a rebel because she cares about her. She usually acts on her emotions, such as breaking away briefly from her mission to ask the Faun to help her sick mother.


Extroverted Intuition (Ne): Ofelia lives in her own fantasy world, sparked by the many fairy tales she reads. She's always got a story in her head, as implied by her mother requesting her to tell her unborn brother a story to settle him down. The Faun is shady, and she's never certain if he's lying or not. She is given a key to use in the Pale Man's lair, but guesses correctly that it actually opens a different door than the one she was told to use. She sees Mercedes outside and connects her with the rebels (again, correctly). In general, she's a creative problem solver: when she's about to be killed by the Pale Man, she quickly sees another escape out through the ceiling with her magic chalk, and when she needs the toad to swallow the stones, she sneaks a fat bug in with them, knowing he'll eat it that way, and slipping Carmen's sleeping medicine into Vidal's drink so she can grab her brother. The Faun tells her the only way to return home is to draw a little blood from her brother- which she senses is a lie, and refuses to.


Introverted Sensing (Si): Ofelia misses her life with just her mother and no captain back in the city. She has trouble adjusting to her country life living with a cold-hearted stepfather. She isn't shocked by seeing a real fairy, faun, and mandrake because she's familiar with such creatures from all her reading. She has initial trouble believing the Faun when he tells her she's Princess Moanna, because her father, an ordinary tailor, died years ago. She takes comfort from her books, the only bit of her old life she has, as well as hearing a reassuring child's lullaby from Mercedes when Carmen dies and Ofelia's childhood is well and truly gone now, without the only source of protection from the captain's cruelty.  Once she understands what kind of magical world she's dealing with, she works within it well and without question.


Extroverted Thinking (Te): Ofelia is able to believe the Faun when he presents proof (the moon birthmark on her shoulder). He lays out the plan to get her home, and she works at following through efficiently and in secret from everyone at the mill. She eventually comes to take responsibility for her infant brother and gets them both out. But most of the time, Ofelia has rather weak Te, and isn't usually prepared to consider or face possible consequences for her actions.

Note: Vidal is a classic ESTJ villain (his repression of his Ne really comes to bite him when he underestimates Mercedes), Mercedes is an INFJ, Carmen is an ISFJ, and the Faun is an xNTJ. Guillermo del Toro was obviously not thinking of MBTI when he made this movie, but it's a classic one of a dreamer vs. reality, so the character types are a bit stereotypical- the evil TJ villain, the maternal ISFJ, and the heroic NF.