Wednesday: Wednesday Addams (ENTJ)

The Jenny Ortega iteration of Wednesday Addams is almost unanimously voted INTJ, as opposed to our ENTJ theory. We can definitely understand why. She’s a fairly obvious NTJ, who is also socially reclusive. However, it is common for Te dominants (ENTJs and ESTJs), to be socially introverted. (See 7 Reasons ENTJs and ESTJs Mistype as Introverts). Cognitively, Wednesday Addams doesn’t display the correct strengths and weaknesses for the INTJ personality type. Instead, Wednesday aligns much more with that of an ENTJ. Hopefully, you’ll read our case with an open mind.

Te:

“Of course, I have a plan.”

“I know. She’s both my literary hero and nemesis. And I have two years and 364 days to beat her.”

“Use the words ‘little’ and ‘girl’ to address me again, and I can’t guarantee your safety.”

“You brought a gun to a sword fight. Probably the first smart decision you’ve made today.”

“It’s amateurs like you who give kidnapping a bad name.”

Wednesday is blunt and assertive. She forms opinions quickly, and doesn’t hesitate to share them. In fact, she’s incredibly vocal in that regard. Wednesday doesn’t appear to keep much to herself, or need time to further reflect on what she thinks. Of course, her critical nature goes hand-in-hand with this. Wednesday is quick to dole out judgement in regard to how something has been executed, whether in the positive or the negative (although, she’s usually more negative). For instance, she criticizes her kidnappers for their inadequate job of kidnapping her.

Wednesday prefers to remain in control at all times. She actively looks for ways that people might be trying to control her, calls them out, and actively fights against them. Although, this extends beyond people, and even includes objects or her general environment. For instance, she refuses to get a cell phone or laptop because she doesn’t want to be controlled by technology. This deep-seated need for physical control is a common tendency for high Te users, due to the way Te applies logic or rules to its physical environment for the sake of order.

Wednesday is goal-oriented, which plays into the bull-headed way that she pursues whatever she’s obsessing over. She tends to be incredibly stubborn and determined to achieve whatever goal she has set for herself. For instance, she decides to “beat” her literary hero and nemesis by publishing a book at an earlier age. (She knows the exacts amount of time she has left to achieve this.) Generally speaking, Wednesday knows what she wants out of life, and plans accordingly. Anything not in her plan gets met with instant opposition.

Ni:

“I thought, well, at least I’ll have an imaginative death.”

“Editors are short-sighted, fear-based life forms.”

“I know I’m stubborn, single-minded and obsessive.”

“I’ve always hated the expression ‘write what you know’. It’s a hall pass for the imagination-impaired.”

While Wednesday’s Ni is fairly prominent, it’s not prominent enough to be dominant. For instance, while she does set her sights on long term goals, Wednesday isn’t shown doing any long term, intricate planning. Her tendency to launch quickly into action and adjust as she goes along is more indicative of a cognitive extravert, or at least someone with a higher extraverted perceiving function. However, that’ll be covered more in the later sections.

As for high Ni evidence in general, Wednesday demonstrates a single-mindedness that is common for NJs. Throughout the show, she remains fixated on the mystery playing out behind the scenes, and can’t help but obsess over it, to the detriment of herself and everyone around her. She doesnt’ stop to “smell the roses” or enjoy life in other ways unless circumstances force her too. Many think she’s crazy for the varying theories that she expresses, but Wednesday doesn’t care. In addition, Wednesday has a flare for metaphorical or abstract language. This often surfaces in the creative yet pointed ways in which she insults or criticizes others.

Wednesday expresses a general disregard for anything normal, traditional, or known. She hates the expression “write what you know” because she views it as an excuse for those who lack imagination. This perspective is starkly opposed to that of a Si user, who actively relies on past experience. Similarly, in her determination to carve out her own path, Wednesday avoids gathering information from obvious, concrete sources, such as her mother in regard to their shared psychic ability.

Se:

“I enjoy funerals. I’ve been crashing them since I was old enough to read the obituary section.”

Being your friend should come with a warning label. – Xavier to Wednesday

“I admire your ability to be your own person and trust your own instincts, but that also makes you impatient and impulsive.” – Principal Weems to Wednesday

“Guess I’m the lucky one with the new bestie that doesn’t try to find ways to endanger literally everybody she comes into contact with.” – Enid to Wednesday

Wednesday is quick to launch into action, and she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty. Generally, Wednesday displays a preference for being in the middle of the action, experiencing life in real time. For instance, as a child, she wanted to actually experience grave digging, rather than just being generally interested in it. She also crashed funerals because she enjoyed them. She’s not typically one to just sit on the sidelines, or feel content remaining in a world of hypotheticals and theories.

Wednesday is impulsive and impatient. This is especially the case due to her dominant Te combined with tertiary Se. Her plans are not often well-thought-out, and in many instances, they’re even reckless. She endangers herself and those around her, to the point of nearly getting them killed. In addition, she rarely acts in a subtle fashion, which often brings about drastic consequences. For instance, she takes revenge on the students who bulled her brother, but does so in an obvious way, resulting in her expulsion from the school. She’s definitely not one who struggles with spontaneity, and frequently makes split second decisions with no difficulty.

Fi:

“Emotion equals weakness.”

“It’s not my fault I can’t interpret your emotional Morse code.”

“Honestly, I wish I cared a little more.”

“Emotions are a gateway trait. They lead to feelings, which trigger tears. I don’t do tears.”

Wednesday displays common inferior Fi struggles, rather than inferior Se. While she has a decent sense of personal identity, she’s detached from her emotions and emotions in general. While she spends most of the show claiming that she doesn’t care, Wednesday struggles to interpret other people’s emotions and finds her own confusing at times. Although, she generally tries to avoid feeling altogether. However, at one point, she expresses a desire to care more, which is more in line with an inferior feeler than a tertiary feeler. Tertiary feelers often feel like they care deeply about whatever it is they care about. They’re not so far detached from their feeling function to feel like they can’t care at all.

Wednesday is avidly against displays of weakness, which is a common struggle inferior Fi users have. She describes emotions as weakness, which is part of her rational for avoiding them. She describes friends similarly, as a liability to exploited, and therefore, a weakness. Her personality growth throughout the show has more to do with developing her feeling function, via exploring her own feelings and forming intimate connections with others, rather than developing her already-prominent Se.