MBTI: Harley Quinn- ESFP


Sorry, Intuitives, nothing “N” about the Joker’s girlfriend. Extraverted Sensing is Quinn’s buddy; much more than Extraverted Intuition.

The Clown Prince of Crime’s girlfriend is the perfect combination of endless optimism- and a never-ending supply of crazy. Yet fans love her.

Sounds like ESFP to me.

After Harleen Quinzel begin interning at Arkham Asylum due to her fascination with The Joker, she began interviewing him in an attempt to probe his mind. But after a while, Quinzel became attracted to the Joker and eventually broke him out of Arkham and became his on/off again girlfriend and partner in crime.

Originally starting out in the Batman animated series, fans dug her enough that she was added into the actual continuity. Since then, she’s been pushed all over the place from Poison Ivy’s partner to leader (more or less) of the Suicide Squad- but she always goes back to the Joker, no matter how bad he’s treated her.

So how does this relate to ESFP?

We’ll start with Extraverted Sensing, which is the dominant function of the ESFP. While this can do a many great things for the user, it can also be of much harm. The same could be said for any function but Extraverted Sensing may be the most obvious in it’s positives and negatives.

On one hand, the ESFP is able to seize the moment; making the most of their day, their week, or their life. Seeing thing exactly as they are and utilizing whatever tools you have at your disposal is like instantly reacting to a ball being thrown at your face. Extraverted Sensing is catching almost without thinking. You just do.

"...Like THIS!"

“…Like THIS!”

On the other hand, the ESFP can come off as quite a mess, acting and reacting without any perception of consequences. It’s all in the moment which is, suffice it to say, not always good.

Such is the case when a good doctor begins to study a patient out of the desire to help…but ends up breaking the patient out of the hospital and becoming his girlfriend. “Sure, I went to college for years and finally got my dream job- but this guy is so hawt.” As mentioned, Se is in the moment. So that may mean entertaining friends that night with hilarious stories and over-the-top acting…or it could mean robbing a gas station because hey, we could… All is fair in life and love in the eyes of the ESFP.

Harley’s Introverted Feeling is what backs up her wacko Se. Everything is justified since everything is for her man. Killing a few full school buses or leading Batman along, the Joker’s way is the only way because nobody else is as exciting or funny.

In fact, there are plenty of times Harley has been shown to see Batman as a bully ruining Joker and Harley’s good time- something the ESFP is known for believing in a certain state of mind. Her and the Joker could be a happy couple if it weren’t for Batman getting in the way and spoiling everything. Personality Page also points out another issue in the same vein-

“[The ESFP]…may blame their problems on the world at large, seeing themselves as frustrated heroes battling against the odds.


Which would make Batman the villain in this picture.

Not difficult to imagine since her relationship with the Joker has made her denounce her original life plan of psychiatry.

Harley Quinn, ENFP? Nah. There’s not enough there for her to be typed as an ENFP. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of Intuitives lacking in the intelligence department and I wouldn’t begin to correlate personality and intelligence, but Harley’s motives are much simpler and immediate than the ENFP’s would be.

The only times Harley has ever gone off on her own…she teams up with Poison Ivy. And their girl’s nights usually involve the simple things: theft, vandalism, destruction. No over-reaching plan to hold the city hostage or poison the water supply; they just steal a bunch of money and laugh about it.

Nothing catastrophic, but damaging all the same and yet kept simple. People tend to take “simple” and “complex” like comparing “smart” and “stupid” which is not the case at all. An Intuitive may put too much thought into something while the Sensor is more likely to just see exactly what is. And what does Harley want, in her Sensor mind? A good time, of course. And the Joker provides it.

Tons uh fun right here!

Tons uh fun right here!


2 Responses to “MBTI: Harley Quinn- ESFP”

  1. ILE, ENTp Says:

    Extraverted feeling smooching is extremely apparent. I would say that she is NiFe. By no means she fits in MBTI stereotype but from functional point of view like socionics she is clearly an IEI aka NiFe (they are quite rad, rooting for SeTi) and in that typology it is kind of fitting (but extremely deranged Se-seeker which Joker won’t gather hence mirage like relation)
    ESFP and ENTP (Joker) won’t mix. They repel each other like oil and water.

    As an ENTp I find them (NiFe) appealing but we don’t ultimately get each other because I like Si and she likes Se. I don’t seek power, I seek potential (Se vs Ne dilemma).

  2. “An Intuitive may put too much thought into something while the Sensor is more likely to just see exactly what is.”

    This is amazing. So true. Intuitive heroes and villains alike tend to think too much. I would know – I’m an INFJ. It’d be nice just to shut off the computer program in the mind that sees every single possibility that might arise, and just go with the one that works in the first place.



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