Typing Fictional Characters – Anne of Green Gables

38 thoughts on “Typing Fictional Characters – Anne of Green Gables”

1. I agree mostly with this. But Matthew never struck me as a J. I had always thought that he was an ISFP. Js tend to be set in their ways, and to me, Matthew seemed too relaxed about things (especially when it came to the upbringing of Anne) to be a J.

   • Thanks! Fair enough. 🙂 I’m not an expert, but rather research for fun! That all said, from all the research I’ve done typing as E vs I or P vs J for instance doesn’t always work. It comes down to cognitive functions. Based on cognitive functions, Matthew strikes me more as an ISFJ than an ISFP. The dominant function of an ISFJ is introverted sensing which is all about protecting the familiar, whereas an ISFP’s dominant function is introverted feeling. Plus ISFP’s tend to have a more artistic side while ISFJ’s are more traditional. It’s why I felt ultimately he fit more closely with the ISFJ. But it’s just my opinion. I could be wrong! 🙂

     • Well, I’ve read others on the subject, and I feel yours is far more accurate than the others I’ve read. I’m no expert, either, but unlike the others I have read (which I disagreed with half of them!) I only disagreed on Matthew, but I see where you’re coming from. He could very well be a very laidback J, or he could be an unartistic P (like me!).

       • Well thank you!. 🙂 Yes, typing is hard especially since people can’t really be put into a box; or at least I don’t think so. I like to look at Myers Briggs as a tool or something that gives an “idea,” but I certainly don’t think it’s an exact science. And it’s definitely all up for interpretation, especially with fictional characters. And I also think there can definitely be many different types of people within one personality type!

   • I used to think ISFP too, but I can’t see any SP being content living life in the same place, doing the same thing day in and day out for a lifetime. Matthew’s not only content with this; he prefers it.

     • Yes, I completely agree with that! He definitely prefers staying where he is.

     • True. But I’m an IN/SP (more N in younger years, S in later years), and while I detest having a fixed schedule – doing the same ‘ole thing day in and day out – I love the house and the town that I live in, and I’d be content with living here the rest of my life.

       • Good points. 🙂

2. Wow, when people on the Internet are let loose to type people, it’s always a ridiculous mess. This is actually good! The only one I’m unsure of is Gilbert. I’ve always seen him more as an ESTP.

   • Thank you! Yes, I debated ENTP vs ESTP. Ultimately through research though I felt he fit better into the ENTP particularly because I think he’s very intuitive. Plus I tend to think of the ESTP as the “Jack Bauer” type! Again, this is all conjecture of course and I could be wrong. 🙂

     • And, from what I remember from the books, Gilbert was somewhat of an intellectual, talking about things that mattered, than of trivial things, which is more of an N trait than an S trait. I figured he was an NTP, just couldn’t figure out I or E. But reading this, Amber, the E fits.

3. What about ENFP!?!?

   • For who? Gilbert or Anne? Or someone else?

4. I’ve thought about and discussed this one at length. I agree with most of these, including Matthew. However, there is an argument for ESTP for Gilbert, and I think that Anne is an ENFP, not an INFP.

   But, still, really good job. It was cool to see this.

   • Why, because she’s talkative? She has a rich inner world, which is where she lives.

     • Yes! I definitely agree. 🙂

     • No, because she is outgoing, social, assertive… and, above all, primarily driven by imagination. This is more indicative of ENFP than INFP. It’s less that she has a ‘rich inner world’, than that she filters the outer world through her imagination. This is Ne, which I would argue she is more than she is Fi.
       Anyway, it doesn’t matter. There is not much difference between most ENFPs and most INFPs anyway. ENFPs are usually just somewhat more social/expressive INFPs and INFPs are usually just somewhat more reserved/serious ENFPs.

     • Extraverts can have inner worlds, too. Then again, are you talking about movies or books? In the books, after Joyce dies, Anne notes how she is afraid of being alone. This is not a sign of an introvert. Anne is definitely an ENFP.

   • Anne is definetly an ENFP.

     • I agree she’s an ENFP.

   • I agree with Amber and Marisa, that Anne is an Introvert. While she was very talkative as a child (as was I, and I’m a huge introvert), she had a rich inner world, as Marisa pointed out. She lived a lot in her head, and if she wasn’t doing chores or with Diana or Gilbert, she was by herself. While she had a lot of friends, there were only a few she kept close to her; the Kindred Spirits, she called them. Now, Ruby Gillis, she would be an E!

     • Yeah, if I were to type Ruby Gillis off the top of my head I’d go directly to an ESFP.

       • That would be my guess, too.

     • I Agree.
       As an INFP myself, I can definitely identify with Anne, we’re so much alike it’s almost creepy
       Your right, INFP’s do have a talkative side (hence the most E of the I personalities), However, we enjoy some solitude and keep a close circle of friends. Also, notice that as she gets older she seems quieter and more reserved?

       Anyway, personally, I’m 100% sure she’s an INFP.
       Thanks

   • Thank you! I appreciate it, especially since it’s all in good fun. 🙂 However, I will stick to my guns. I really do think Anne is classic INFP. Just because someone is an “I” doesn’t mean they can’t talk a lot or even be outgoing. I realy think it comes down to the functions. Anne is more inside her own head than out. Plus going with the cognitive functions, I really don’t think Anne’s dominant function is extraverted intuition which is what an ENFP is. Plus, looking at her temperament she’s got the classic INFP vomit mouth that spews out when personally criticized!

     • Speaking from functions, it is a balance of perception (in this case, perception of the world through the lens of imaginative intuition), and judgment (moral consternation, detached from input and abstracted). So, is Anne more an imaginer, or a moral ruminator? An Ne or an Fi? “Living in her head” is a tricky thing, because does it mean she is stuck in her head morally ruminating.. or stuck in her imagination, filtering the world through it? If the former, Fi and thus INFP… if the latter, Ne, and thus ENFP.
       Also, it’s been said that the films portray her more focused on extraverted imagination than introverted ethical rumination, than do the books.

     • Hi, I watched movie and I felt similar as Anne. In fact, my mom said that she could see Anne in me. Later, I found out more about myself and took the personality test and the result INFP. As I read more about INFP and some other personality, I felt that INFP is 100% fits me. I even send two closest friends of mine and they said it sounds so much like me. That’s when I found out through personality test for fictional character is Anne, Anne the Green Gables, I was like, “no wonder!” So I tends to be talkative when I am closest with my friends. I can be outgoing but my dominate is still Introvert.

       Thank you for sharing your perspective.
       Crystal

       • Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Crystal! 🙂

   • I disagree. Anne is definitely an introvert.

5. I’m so happy that Anne is an INFP like me. 🙂

   • SAME!!

6. It makes so much more sense to me that Anne would be INFP than ENFP. It really does. She lives in her head too much to be E, I think, and she often has moments of needing to be alone to think and recharge. Plus I think she’s more aware of her own feelings first, which typically the E function in ENFP means being more aware of others’ feelings first. It amuses me when people think INFP means quiet all the time, I know several who are anything but. And Gilbert I would totally put as ENTP, they have a way of pulling out things from us INFP’s few other types can. It describes him far better than ISFJ, which I’ve heard him typed before.

   • I completely agree! I’m most likely an INFP myself and I can talk people’s ears off. 🙂 Anne needs time to recharge. Plus, people tend to confuse being introverted with being silent! It’s just not true. And yeah, I really believe Gilbert is an ENTP as well. I’d never heard the ISFJ one for Gilbert. That’s just odd as I don’t see him as that type at all! Anyway, thanks for your thoughts.

     • I have a very good ISFJ friend, who is NOTHING like Gilbert, lol. But the ENTPs I know are exactly like him 😉

7. Wow! I’m so glad I found this post (posted two years ago too!)! I’m currently re-watching the entire Anne of Green Gables series again, and am in a crazy ‘Anne fan-girling’ mood. I love reading about all the MBTI types and just finished reading through all of these comment! It made me overjoyed to see you put Anne as an INFP (probably because I myself am an INFP. Hahaha!). I can see where a lot of people are coming from though when they say that Anne is Extroverted, because sometimes I, too, think that she has more ‘E’ than ‘I’. But I absolutely understand where you’re coming from and will say, too, that she is an INFP because it makes me extremely happy. 🙂

8. I could totally see an argument for either one, and I think that the book/movies/miniseries portray her differently based on the actress who plays her. In the new Netflix show she really seems like an INFP and truly lives in her own world, but in the older movies she seems very much an ENFP and seems much more extroverted in general. I think she is meant to be an INFP in the books and ultimately I think is an INFP (because L.M.M. created her character in the book first) but Meagan Follows is an extrovert and I think pulled some of that into her character in the Canadian films. I would argue if I had seen only the 1985 film with Meagan and not read the books that she was absolutely an ENFP based on her character in those films. Honestly, I think that’s why there is so much debate.

9. Love it! Personally I would change Anne to ENFP and potentially Matthew Cuthbert to ISFP (not as confident about that one)… My justification for Anne is that INFPs are simply not able to display the kind of confrontational ability Anne has… We would much sooner suck it up in the moment and work things out slowly in a quieter way …

   • It is a continuous debate! I still fall on believing Anne is an INFP, though. She’s just a talkative version of an INFP.

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