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Type the 'A series of Unfortunate Events' characters

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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Here is what I am thinking the types are as I read this thread.

Violet: INTJ
Klaus: INTP
Sunny: ISTP
Count Olaf: INTJ
Mr. Poe: XSTJ
Justice Strauss: ESFJ
Uncle Monty: ENTP
Aunt Josephine: ISFJ
Phil: ESFJ
Sir: ESTJ
Charles: IXFP
Dr. Orwell: ENTJ
Lemony Snicket: INFX

And it's been a while since I've read anything but the first 2 books so I dunno about the rest. What do you think?
 
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Such Irony

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Both Violet and Klaus are really bright but Violet is more practical and mechanically inclined and Klaus is more theoretical and bookish. I'd say ISTP for Violet and INTP for Klaus.

Sunny, I'm not sure, she's just a baby who likes to bite everything. I want to say some sort of SP. I was actually thinking ESTP but I really don't have a good idea.

Count Olaf, yeah, INTJ

ENTP for Uncle Monty

Poe and Strauss, not sure, ESXJ works.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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I can see how Violet can be practically minded and such. It just seems like she uses a lot of Ne (though I'm pretty confident she's not ENTP). Always thinking and trying to imagine new ideas. I also thought possibly INTJ because of the practical side, where she always creates things with a purpose, but she comes off as more doing it for fun and curiousity when by herself.

I thought of Sunny as an introvert, because she seems to connect with objects much more than people (well she is a baby, but she still doesn't seem very interested in people), but she cares deeply mainly for her siblings and not really much about anyone else and later when she starts cooking, it seems a rather ISXP sort of pursuit. The F was mostly just conjecture. Being a baby, she is still very hard to type.

I thought Poe at least was a clear-cut STJ. All about details, rules, organisation, business etc. He cares about the Baudelaires yet will often be entirely concerned with making sure everything fits in to the way the bank wants it, the legal documents and such. He seems to be a bit of a logical negotiator, and I thought ESTJ was most likely, but I could also see I. Justice Strauss I was less sure about. I think she's an F actually.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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What do you think of Snicket for J vs P? Or do you think I'm way off?
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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Just started reading 'The Wide Window' and I think Aunt Josephine is an INTP. She seems to fit in with the pointless obsession over a topic of logic thing. Also, after reading closely into it, I think Violet is an INTJ (Hey, if I'm right, that means we have a non-villainous INTJ!) as all her inventions seem to be strongly for a practical purpose, eg. she tries to think about how to get the engine on the ferry to work without puffing smoke out into the environment, how to create an alternative method of cooking food etc. I think it's moe J practicality than S practicality. She often gets stuck in her head imagining new inventions and stuff. I think she's definitely an N. Why is nobody replying to this topic but me?
 

Noon

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I have no idea about Violet's type. Perhaps ENFP? ENTP? I've thought ITP, but she is so polite and will hold back some of her thoughts if she believes they will cause the listener any pain. All of the Baudelaires are described as polite and well-behaved. When they're in trouble, she scans the environment for ideas so that they can be applied in an immediate context, although when doing it for fun she does like to take her time. She also misses a lot of things that Klaus gets because she focuses more on their circumstances while Klaus focuses on the overarching themes of the plot and how it can end/where it is going, but she brainstorms a ton. A ton a ton. Her brainstorming and off the fly idea generation/application is how she saves the day.

Klaus reads a ton and that is what he brings to the table for the others. He has a wide vocabulary, extensive knowledge base, and he is great at figuring out puzzles (deciphering Aunt Josephine's message, for example). I think INTP with accepted Fe or INFJ. INFJ is slightly more odd because he retrieves from memory a lot. In either case, it is his knowledge base and gift with puzzles that saves the day.

Aunt Josephine is definitely ISFJ. She is very concerned with appropriate/acceptable behavior and speech and corrects these things when they are wrong (Fe). She likes things to be proper according to what she is used to (Si). She chides the children over the smallest details, and will even interrupt them mid-speech to correct them on one. Grammar is also a dry subject chocked full of details that a Si dom would not mind if they were really passionate about, and the tert Ti helps a lot with her verbal precision and overall understanding of the system. She is very cautious and safety oriented because inferior Ne makes her wary about every negative possibility. She dislikes the lake, but lives over it because of the familiarity. She also wants to hold on to the connection she had with her late husband (dwelling in the past is the hallmark of an unhealthy ISJ). She also buys the children really 'traditional' gifts -- a doll for Violet, a truck train set for Klaus, a rattle for Sunny. I personally loved her character because I think we can be so alike in many ways.

I believe Olaf is ENTJ.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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Ah, a reply! I think your analysis of Aunt Josephine is much better than my observations, which were very weak because I was a little confused by her (it's hard to type someone with that much weird anxieties and stuff, I was mainly going on the Ti and Si of INTP). Violet is REALLY hard to picture as an extrovert or any kind. She's so reserved. You're right that she does do a lot of brainstorming on the fly, though I think that's probably more to do with their situation than anything else. I typed her as INTJ, since apart from her introversion I've previously mentioned that I'm fairly sure on, her inventions always have a lot of practical value. She's always thinking of them as a way to achieve particular goals as opposed to Klaus's interest in knowledge for the sake of it. She also seems the more dutiful of the two, especially in taking care of Sunny, but that could just be because of gender roles putting her in a more matriachal position.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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Introverted iNtuition
INTJs are idea people. Anything is possible; everything is negotiable. Whatever the outer circumstances, INTJs are ever perceiving inner pattern-forms and using real-world materials to operationalize them. Others may see what is and wonder why; INTJs see what might be and say "Why not?!" Paradoxes, antinomies, and other contradictory phenomena aptly express these intuitors' amusement at those whom they feel may be taking a particular view of reality too seriously. INTJs enjoy developing unique solutions to complex problems.

Extraverted Thinking
Thinking in this auxiliary role is a workhorse. Closure is the payoff for efforts expended. Evaluation begs diagnosis; product drives process. As they come to light, Thinking tends, protects, affirms and directs iNtuition's offspring, fully equipping them for fulfilling and useful lives. A faithful pedagogue, Thinking argues not so much on its own behalf, but in defense of its charges. And through this process these impressionable ideas take on the likeness of their master.

That's a description of the Ni Te in INTJs that I think fits fairly well with Violet.




Also, I can see how Olaf can seem ENTJ at times. Overall I think he seems more introverted, but he does have some somewhat extroverted traits. In the movie version he seems pretty ENTP.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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I have no idea about Violet's type. Perhaps ENFP? ENTP? I've thought ITP, but she is so polite and will hold back some of her thoughts if she believes they will cause the listener any pain.

But why is that an extroverted trait? If anything, introverts are more likely to be shy, reserved and not want trouble if they can avoid it.
 

Noon

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I forgot how she was in The Bad Beginning, but it could be that the circumstances have caused her to appear more extroverted as the series progressed. All of the children are forced to step far outside of their comfort zones in each book. I also think that she feels compelled to step in for her parents simply because she is the eldest, as well.

I can see INTJ to a certain extent. She is indeed reserved, with amazing focus that enables her to quickly sort through her ideas to find what is most useful. She also does seem to be more CtC than GtG and spends an equal amount of time implementing her ideas as she does contemplating them. With inferior Se, however, would an INTJ be so attentive to their environment? I can't really imagine it (being inferior Se) and what it's like, so I'm only guessing. Maybe it's that her development is speeding up because of the stress. Inferior Se would explain why she overlooks small details that Klaus can dive in to.

But why is that an extroverted trait? If anything, introverts are more likely to be shy, reserved and not want trouble if they can avoid it.

Is not an extroverted trait, but in my opinion a trait that would clash with dominant Ti/inferior Fe. Because ETPs have tertiary Fe, they are often more charming and sociable than ITPs, but I don't know how much more tactful or polite they would be, only that it seems logically feasible for them to be so.

I hated the film version. The comedic factor made it more appealing to the targeted audience, but it ruined the series and Olaf's character for me. Blech.

I think Olaf seems more In Charge than CtC.

edit: Maybe Violet is INFJ. She does not possess the bluntness of Te and is always described as charming.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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What's CtC? Also, if Violet was INTJ, do you think the Fi would explain her politeness? But then again, Klaus is probably an INTP, and he's also polite. I dunno, politeness is a hard thing to type. They do sometimes speak out when they have good reason, but are usually silenced quickly. I have an INTP friend who is rather polite, so... yeah, it's difficult to type politeness I think.
 

Noon

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What's CtC? Also, if Violet was INTJ, do you think the Fi would explain her politeness? But then again, Klaus is probably an INTP, and he's also polite. I dunno, politeness is a hard thing to type. They do sometimes speak out when they have good reason, but are usually silenced quickly. I have an INTP friend who is rather polite, so... yeah, it's difficult to type politeness I think.

Fi is really empathetic, but not always polite. I think that Fi in the INTJ contributes to their skill for tuning other [less useful] opinions out, if anything. It's difficult to sway an INTJ from his/her purpose.

CtC (chart-the-course) is one of the four interaction styles. They're explained in this thread.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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I can't decide based on that whether Olaf is more IC or CtC. He does a lot of plotting by himself and in the second book he sat and waited all night waiting in case the Baudelaires tried to mess with the plan, which is pretty CtC, though he often uses methods of manipulation as part of his plans, improvising with stories and communication, which seems more IC. I think.

Also, I think that the fact that I saw the movie before I read the books made it much easier to enjoy it because I wasn't worrying about them being similar. I actually really enjoyed it as a comedic and artistic movie. It wasn't a terribly faithful adaption in many respects, but it was certainly very enjoyable.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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What do you think of Snicket himself and how he is written as a behind the scenes character? I think you could probably tell from his writing style and allusions to his personality and history throughout the book.
 

Noon

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I get In Charge based on his behavior with his troupe and other associates. He's extremely directive and initiating, results oriented, and likes moves to be made with maximum efficiency (he is incredibly frustrated with the careless mistakes of others). He doesn't really care about keeping the team on track. He cares more about doing whatever it takes to realize his plan. I could never see him as a follower or team worker, to be honest. He always has the need to be leader (he does not like being challenged or disobeyed).

Because of dominant Te/inferior Fi, he has no problem at all with stepping on thousands of toes in order to carry out his plans. When really, really invested, he can nearly overlook the humanity of his troupe and think of them merely as tools. When trying to weasel his way into the childrens' lives, he always appears charming and 'good-intentioned' to the adults, but that is not his true self. He always regresses to his true self sooner or later.

I think he also has a more commanding presence than an INTJ would, and certainly more control over/impact onto his environment. Retreat into improvisation and brute force when his first plan fails is due to tertiary Se. I think how he does it in some books is a good example of tertiary temptation.

Perhaps it's only a bit relevant, but I think it's typical for writers to choose ENTJ as their villain archetype.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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The most common villain archetype actually seems to be INTJ I think, followed by ENTJ, ESTJ, ENTP and then maybe some Fs. I wonder if there are ever any ISFP villains though. I think they seem least likely.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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Here's a challenge. Count Olaf's theatre troupe.

Hook-handed man (Fernald):
Bald man
White-powder-faced women (they're the same aren't they?):
Person of indeterminate gender: ISTJ

That last one is the only one I can think of/remember. He/she's just like a robotic drone.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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Just been reading the 4th book. I'm really unsure about these ones atm.

Sir seems to have the commanding air of an ESTJ (I think he's a defo STJ) but he doesn't seem overly social, so maybe ISTJ.

Phil seems to be an ESFJ I think.

Charles is probably an ISFP. He does seem a bit idealistic at times, despite being totally unwilling to stand up for himself, so maybe N. Would also fit with his strong desire for a library.
 

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

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Okay, read the second half. Dr Orwell seems ENTJ. Sir is an asshole.

I didn't like the ending to this one. It was too farfetched. I know these books do stretch the boundaries of realism, but a baby defending against a sword with teeth? And gum being long and strong enough to pull a log back but not massive enough to be thrown towards the machine? My favourite book on rereading so far has been the Wide Window.
 
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