Lin Daiyu MBTI Personality Type
Personality
What personality type is Lin Daiyu? Lin Daiyu is an INFP personality type in MBTI, 4w5 - sx/sp - 461 in Enneagram, RLUEI in Big 5, IEI in Socionics.
She is said to be an archetypal 4w5 sx/sp in Chinese literature and while I don't disagree, I think there's something odd about typing her a Sx4. She does fit the Sx/Sp portrait, private, fusion with an intimate other, emotionally intense and passionate etc., but she doesn't fit the Sx4 profile, at least at first glance. Sx4 are described as emotionally intense, angry, competitive and arrogant. They are "the mad four" (compared to the sad 4, so4), who are "more shameless than shameful". Most typical examples of Sx4 in literature might include Holden Caulfield; or for a female version, Emma Bovary. The competitive arrogance and intense envy typical in Sx4 are very visible in those two characters. Those Sx4 traits are not as apparent in her, to say the least. She does fit the "Infatuation" profile (from the Wisdom of Enneagram) a little bit more, but still not as assertive as described. She is a hopeless romantic with hypersensitivity, lamenting the tragedy of fate and her own misfortune & suffering, while presenting playfulness and delicacy in daily lives. At face value, she fits so4 way better, the overtly sentimental "outsider" overwhelmed by shame, putting themselves in the role of victim. However, when taking a closer look at her character, she never really directs her envy at the crowd, or feel shame about being different from others. So4 doesn't fit in and feels a certain sense of otherness, but that comes from "failed attempts" at belonging. That's never the case with her. I see her earlier attempts at fitting in as a survival strategy that comes from underlying fear(6 fix), but never the way So4 are torn between social acceptance and uniqueness. She can be sociable when needed, but her envy (feeling of inadequacy) and competitiveness is always directed at individuals, deriving from her relationship with the intimate other. Why isn't she as aggressive as a typical sx4 then? I think the reason behind this might be deeply cultural. I have not yet found even one typical sx4 in Chinese culture. The same goes for the overly glorified and soft Ennea 7 and ENTP stereotype in China. They are portrayed as less aggressive because they are typically most repressed in society.
Biography
Lin Daiyu is one of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin's classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent, witty and beautiful young woman of physical frailness who is somewhat prone to occasional melancholy. The romance between Daiyu and Jia Baoyu forms one of the main threads of the book.
