#I get estp mostly but I know I’m for sure ExxP

[toxycodone]

Can someone who’s into MBTI help me. Based on vibes…

[cometomecosette]

Off-topic: MBTI and opera - Musetta in “La Bohéme”

I originally posted this on my other Tumblr blog, but I can’t seem to get a response there and I really do want to hear other people’s opinion on this subject. Maybe I’ll have better luck here, since I have more followers. Also, also I know that some of my followers here not only know La Bohéme, but have read Murger’s La Vie de Bohéme too, although the characterizations there might be too different from the opera to be much help.

A long time ago, I analyzed the MBTI personality types of all the main characters of La Bohéme. Unfortunately, I was new to MBTI at the time and only typed them based on the dichotomies (Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, Judging/Perceiving), not on the cognitive functions. Recently I’ve been reexamining their types, this time with the functions in mind.

Surprisingly, I think my original typings were mostly accurate. I definitely stand by my typings for Mimí (ISFP) and Rodolfo (ENFP). But I’m not so sure about Musetta.

I originally typed her as an ESFJ. She’s definitely an Extravert and almost definitely a Sensor. But now I’m second guessing myself, because from a cognitive function standpoint, she definitely contradicts certain ESFJ stereotypes. This is enhanced by the fact that her counterpart in RENT, Maureen, is almost always typed online as either an ESFP or an ESTP. Granted, the characterizations in RENT aren’t identical to Bohéme’s (for example, Mark is always typed as either an INFP or an INTP, but Marcello is definitely an Extraverted Sensor), but it still makes me feel uncertain.

One site I found that typed RENT’s Maureen as an ESFP argued that she’s an Fi-user because she lives passionately by her own desires and doesn’t always care who she hurts in the process. That’s true for Musetta too. But does that inherently mean she’s an Fi-user? Or is it stereotyping Fi as “the selfish Feeling function” (oh, how I hate that stereotype!) to assume so? Until the last act, nearly all of Musetta’s focus is on “How are other people reacting to me?” Her constant attention to the emotions she inspires in men seems like Fe to me. But could an Fe-dom ever realistically be a rebellious flirt who drives her lovers crazy with jealousy? Or do they inherently seek harmony too much for that?

For that matter, ESFJs are known as some of the people who most tend to follow traditional rules. Now I know I shouldn’t stereotype them all as church-going housewives who won’t let their kids call you by your first name. But was it ridiculous of me to assume that an ESFJ could be the kind of girl who insists “I want total freedom!”, who throws plate-smashing tantrums while ignoring all pleas for her to mind her manners, and who never lets a relationship get in the way of a good flirtation?

The truth is that I still want to type Musetta as an ESFJ. She still feels like one to me, not like an Se-dom. Her focus on others’ reactions to her and her own flamboyant expressions of feeling feel very Fe-like to me; her seemingly well-memorized repertoire of seductive tricks and her relishing of the familiar feeling of men’s desire seems Si-like; her craving for freedom can be seen to reflect tertiary Ne, and her cunning moments definitely feel like Ti. I see her functions as working in that order too – she’s obviously not an ISFJ or an INTP, and while she does have some ENTP-like traits, she favors Sensing and Feeling too much to be one, IMHO. In the last act, her warmth, tenderness and practicality as she leads everyone in caring for the dying Mimí definitely seem ESFJ-like too.

Also, she arguably does follow the traditional rules of her social class. As a 19th century grisette, she’s expected to be “of easy virtue” and and available to any man who wants her and who can provide for her. All her life, she’s undoubtedly been flirted with everywhere she goes and needed to use her girlish charms to survive and thrive. The fact that she enjoys it doesn’t necessarily make her an ExxP-style maverick.

Still, I’d fully understand it if someone typed her as an ESFP or an ESTP.

Does anyone out there know both MBTI and opera well enough to share their thoughts on the subject? Is my ESFJ typing valid for Musetta? Or is she an ESxP, or a different type altogether?

[princesssarisa]

MBTI and opera: Musetta in “La Bohéme”

A long time ago, I analyzed the MBTI personality types of all the main characters of La Bohéme. Unfortunately, I was new to MBTI at the time and only typed them based on the dichotomies (Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, Judging/Perceiving), not on the cognitive functions. Recently I’ve been reexamining their types, this time with the functions in mind.

Surprisingly, I think my original typings were mostly accurate. I definitely stand by my typings for Mimí (ISFP) and Rodolfo (ENFP). But I’m not so sure about Musetta.

I originally typed her as an ESFJ. She’s definitely an Extravert and definitely a Sensor. But now I’m second guessing myself, because from a cognitive function standpoint, she definitely contradicts certain ESFJ stereotypes. This is enhanced by the fact that her counterpart in the musical RENT, Maureen, is almost always typed online as either an ESFP or an ESTP. Granted, the characterizations in RENT aren’t identical to Bohéme’s (for example, Mark is always typed as either an INFP or an INTP, but Marcello is definitely an Extraverted Sensor), but it still makes me feel uncertain.

One site I found that typed RENT’s Maureen as an ESFP argued that she’s an Fi-user because she lives passionately by her own desires and doesn’t always care who she hurts in the process. That’s true for Musetta too. But does that inherently mean she’s an Fi-user, or is it stereotyping Fi as “the selfish Feeling function” to assume so? Until the last act, nearly all of Musetta’s focus is on “How are other people reacting to me?” From my perspective, her constant attention to the emotions she inspires in men seems like Fe. But could an Fe-dom ever realistically be a rebellious flirt who drives her lovers crazy with jealousy? Or do they inherently seek harmony too much for that?

For that matter, ESFJs are known as some of the people who most tend to follow traditional rules. Now I know I shouldn’t stereotype them all as church-going housewives who won’t let their kids call you by your first name. But was it ridiculous of me to assume that an ESFJ could be the kind of girl who insists “I want total freedom!”, who throws plate-smashing tantrums while ignoring all pleas for her to mind her manners, and who never lets a relationship get in the way of a good flirtation?

The truth is that I still want to type Musetta as an ESFJ. She still feels like one to me, not like an Se-dom. Her focus on others’ reactions to her and her own flamboyant expressions of feeling feel very Fe-like; her seemingly well-memorized repertoire of seductive tricks and her relishing of the familiar feeling of men’s desire seems Si-like; her craving for freedom can be seen to reflect tertiary Ne, and her cunning moments definitely feel like Ti. I see her functions as working in that order too – she’s obviously not an ISFJ or an INTP, and while she does have some ENTP-like traits, she favors Sensing and Feeling too much to be one, IMHO. In the last act, her warmth, tenderness and practicality as she leads everyone in caring for the dying Mimí definitely seem ESFJ-like too.

Also, she arguably does follow the traditional rules of her social class. As a 19th century grisette, she’s expected to be “of easy virtue” and and available to any man who wants her and who can provide for her. All her life, she’s undoubtedly been flirted with everywhere she goes and needed to use her girlish charms to survive and thrive. The fact that she enjoys it doesn’t necessarily make her an ExxP-style maverick.

Still, I’d fully understand it if someone typed her as an ESFP or an ESTP.

Does anyone out there know both MBTI and opera well enough to share their thoughts on the subject? Is my ESFJ typing valid for Musetta? Or is she an ESxP, or a different type altogether?