Verity's Book

Characters - 16 Personality Types

I love to test out my characters' personalities. So when Silmarilz1701 tagged me for just that... I jumped on the bandwagon! (Never mind that it took me two months to actually sit down and finish this thing)

I test for the 16-personality types via personalityjunkie.com, which, I've found, gives excellent descriptions and sometimes goes more in-depth than the main 16-personalities site.

These are the results for several of my main characters in the series. Some of them I had already figured out, while others I tested for the first time today. Hope you enjoy delving a little more into my characters with me!

Mordred: INFP

The first time I tested Mordred, it was with the main site's test and he actually came out ENFP. That was due entirely to my inability to determine whether he actually was introverted or extroverted. Later, I realized that as socially-oriented as he is, he really does get his energy from "alone-time", and when I did the test on him again some time last year, he got INFP -- the same as before, only introverted.

After the test, of course, I read up on it and was delighted to find that INFP fits Mordred like a glove. "Creative, quirky, humane, and individualistic" -- you couldn't find a better description.

INFPs are called open-minded and experimental. Nothing could be truer of Mordred. Despite his tough upbringing, which did lead him to grow up more narrow-minded and distrustful than he might have been, as he grows older he becomes increasingly quick to understand and sympathize rather than judging without grounds. And he is always ready to try something new, even at the cost of pure common sense.

INFPs tend to be drawn to creative endeavors: photography, poetry, music, etc. Again, this is perfect for Mordred because one of his clearest traits is his fascination with words and beauty -- especially words. He likes playing with them(particularly in the realm of insults *uncomfortable cough*), and more than that, he has a "way" with them -- a knack for stating things in clear, well-chosen terms. And if he doesn't write poetry for Lethira, I'll eat my hat.

INFPs tend to be highly sensitive people -- sensitive to their own feelings, and those of others. They are particularly prone to -- I quote from the article -- "to empathize with and develop attachments to those unable to help or care for themselves—animals, children, the less fortunate, victims of injustice, etc." Also tend to be animal lovers. All of which is Mordred to the highest degree.

One of my dearest discoveries about INFP was the validation of Mordred's choices and actions regarding his older brother, Ahearn -- one of the most integral parts of his character. He doesn't care about money. Imagine my ecstasy when I discovered, in the middle of the INFP article: "Amassing wealth or material goods is rarely high on INFPs' priority list. Money is valued only to the extent that it furnishes the time and freedom to explore their deepest passions."

INFP's curiosity will lead them to ask probing questions in conversation and be a good listener. Again, wholly accurate. The listening aspect is a trait that Mordred shares with his brother Fenris, and one he is not always willing to utilize, but paired with it is the ability to converse in a thoughtful, scintillating way. He always wants to know the why behind everything. Just look at his conversations with Jedediah Crayes.

And, they often have little concern for convention and routine. Which... yeah. Mordred rarely disobeys outright rules/commands, as long as he can see the reasoning behind them. But where nobody actually told him not to do something... And the way he goes chasing after all those oddball assignments in The War...

Derek Kenhelm(2nd generation; shows up in Sorrow and Song): ESTP

Derek is my hands-on, fun-loving, free-spirited boy. He's like his father, Mordred, in that his emotions come with great intensity: when he's happy, he's really happy, and when he's mad, he's mad. But if Mordred is Vesuvius, Derek is Mount St. Helens.