Joker (2019): Analyzing Arthur Fleck’s Personality Type

Arthur Fleck from Joker (2019) is a complex character that fascinates many. Unfortunately, there’s only one movie so far focusing on this character, which makes determining Arthur Fleck’s personality type rather difficult. Some of you may find that odd, if you very decisively landed on a specific personality type for him. However, things are a bit trickier for us, because the moment we publish an official conclusion, we open ourselves up to scrutiny. In addition, we avoid relying on stereotypes and tropes as much as possible. As a result, our standard for evidence is high. We want to publish quality content that is both informative, thorough, and accurate. Therefore, we try to be absolutely certain before publishing our conclusions for all to see.

Because of this, single movies can be tricky. Sometimes, the main character gets enough development, while other times, we find ourselves wishing there was more material. There is a second movie coming out in 2024 for this iteration of Joker. Until then, the game plan is to share our observations with you, and the implications those have on Arthur Fleck’s personality type. Once we’re able to watch the second movie, we’ll [hopefully] make a final decision on his personality type, and publish a conclusive analysis.

So, without further ado…

Let’s Discuss Arthur Fleck’s Personality Type

“When I was a little boy and told people I was going to be a comedian, everyone laughed at me. Well, no one’s laughing now.“

“I hated school as a kid. But… my mother would say, “You should enjoy it. One day, you’ll have to work for a living.” No, I won’t, ma. I’m gonna be a comedian!”

In a sense, this movie starts out as a classic tale about a boy with a dream. Unfortunately, it’s an unrealistic dream, one that he’s been told by at least several people that he won’t be able to achieve. In spite of this, Arthur ignores them all, intent on becoming what he desires to be. It doesn’t matter that he’s constantly receiving feedback that he’s not actually funny. Typically, this sort of problem falls in line with a Fi dominant, or a IXFP. Fi causes them to see themselves a certain way, and deny any feedback to the contrary (inferior Te). If there was Fe in Arthur’s stack, we would expect that external feedback to be more impactful, causing him to lose hope, give up, shift his view of himself, etc. Instead, he constantly chooses to differentiate himself, and pursue the career of comedian, rather than settling into a community or search for a place where he belongs. Support for his Fi view of himself is further demonstrated through his fictional relationship with the girl in his apartment. In his fantasy, she would tell him that he’s funny and affirm his murderous actions as heroic. This acts as a portal into how he views himself within his mind’s eye, and how it skews from reality.

What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? I’ll tell you what you get! You get what you deserve!

Comedy is subjective, Murray, isn’t that what they say? All of you, the system that knows so much: you decide what’s right or wrong the same way you decide what’s funny or not.

After trying so long to achieve his dream, Arthur grows cynical and jaded. He starts blaming his misfortune and his failure on the flawed system. This is a common way for inferior Te to manifest. When an IXFP is unable to work within the system and fulfill their dream, inferior Te provokes them to blame the system and even go to war with it.

“You know how you used to tell me that my laugh was a condition? That there was something wrong with me? There isn’t. That’s the real me.”

“Have you seen what it’s like out there, Murray? Do you ever actually leave the studio? Everybody just yells and screams at each other. Nobody’s civil anymore. Nobody thinks what it’s like to be the other guy.”

In an attempt to prove Fe, one could potentially point out Arthur Fleck’s caretaker role, and the fact that he does make a solid effort to be polite. For instance, he passes out cards to inform people of his laughing condition. His later acceptance of this condition as part of himself could potentially indicate him growing into a lower identity function (Ti, in the case of an IXFJ). Overall, this take is underwhelming, given all the potential Fi evidence. Any reasonable person tries to be at least somewhat polite, and the laughing condition would be embarrassing.  And of course, any personality can be loyal enough to care for their ailing mother.

Conclusion Thus Far

With the above in mind, we are fairly certain that this version of Joker is an IXFP. I know we said that this article wouldn’t be conclusive, and it won’t. We got stuck on his perceiving axis, not his judging axis.

Could Arthur Fleck’s Personality Type be ENTP?

In the process of checking alternate theories, we noticed that some people think this version of Joker is an ENTP. Some even suggested that he’s an ISFJ who flips into his ENTP shadow by the end of the movie. That was an interesting take to be sure, but in regard to either theory, we see no significant evidence that Arthur Fleck is on the Ti/Fe judging axis. Of course, Joker traditionally is an ENTP. In cases like this, it’s easy to try to force a character into the personality mold that he should have (or always has had), rather than the new one that’s been made for him. Arthur Fleck is much different than the traditional Joker, especially considering the fact that he’s driven by values and a sense of justice, albeit, twisted justice. (Traditional Joker wouldn’t have spared the one coworker because he’d been nice to him.) After approaching Arthur Fleck like a completely new character, we don’t believe there’s a good case for ENTP.

What About Arthur’s Perceiving Axis?

Now, for the tricky part: Arthur Fleck’s perceiving axis. Arthur Fleck is almost unanimously typed as an INFP. The aforementioned theories sit solidly in the minority. However, after watching the movie and reading other people’s takes, we think one major factor has been overlooked in coming to that INFP conclusion: Arthur Fleck is mentally ill.

Let’s pretend for a second that mental illness isn’t a factor here. You see this character that’s constantly losing touch with reality, daydreaming about scenarios that are more appealing than the life he’s living. Without the overarching context, it’s easy to see why people would instantly type this guy as an INFP. Unfortunately, context can’t be overlooked like that.

We’re talking about a character who isn’t just daydreaming; he’s delusional. In fact, he’s on seven different medications to keep his psychological issues at bay. If we label this character as an NP because of these so-called daydreams, we are effectively saying that being an INFP is synonymous with being a depressed, delusional misfit. That’s not fair, or objective. The mere fact that he’s having delusions cannot be evidence for Ne/Si, because that logic would then dictate that only NPs can be delusional. Obviously, that is not true.

Arthur’s Delusions

At this point, we’d try to derive evidence from the content of his delusions, since we can’t point to the delusions themselves. Overall, his fantasies don’t specifically strike like Ne. They could be, sure, but the scenarios themselves seem fairly grounded in reality, all things considered. He doesn’t lose himself in some blatant fairy tale. To the viewer, if the show hadn’t revealed that he was delusional, some of his delusions may not have actually been identifiable from the beginning. We’re not saying that they can’t be those of an NP, but there’s nothing specifically indicating that they are. They could easily be the delusions of an ISFP.

Arthur’s Approach to Life

Arthur’s approach to life seems consistent with that of a perceiver (or someone with a high extraverted perceiving function). For instance, he is not one to do much advanced planning. Instead, he’s more opportunistic. Arthur is shown jumping on opportunities, and changing plans mid-action. For example, he kills his co-worker when the guy randomly shows up to visit. In fact, most of his crimes are prompted by impulse, such as stealing the files from the asylum and killing Murray. Although, he originally intended to kill himself during the show, not Murray. He even rehearsed the entire thing, which is a rare example of him actually planning something in depth. However, he couldn’t stick with the plan, and ends up changing it mid-action. Although, his initial need to rehearse that in depth suggests that he’s not an extraverted perceiving dominant (EXXP).

Where Is the Big Picture Thinking?

“Oh come on, Murray. Do I look like the kind of clown that could start a movement? I killed those guys because they were awful. Everybody is awful these days. It’s enough to make everyone crazy.”

Arthur’s reaction to the movement that he unintentionally started was interesting. He enjoyed finally being in the spotlight, being seen. In one of his delusions, he even imagined his girlfriend calling him a hero. However, we never see Arthur Fleck adopt the movement as his own, and reinterpret it into a higher vision or ideal, like someone with the INFP personality type is likely to do. We don’t see him entertaining the possibilities at all. In a sense, he keeps his outlook very grounded, and never tries to make his actions out to be any more than they are. Bear in mind, I’m not saying that INFPs would lie, but INFPs are more likely to recognize the possibilities after the fact, especially after seeing what’s happening, and come up with their own “big picture” ideal for what they’d inadvertently started. Arthur never tries to do this. Instead, he just shrugs it off and, to some degree, rides the wave of chaos it creates.

In Conclusion

Based on everything we’ve seen so far, we are leaning ISFP, but INFP is also a real possibility. There’s just not enough data on how Arthur Fleck thinks to make a strong case for either personality type. Hopefully that changes with the second movie, and we’ll be able to return to this character with a greater level of confidence. Until then, feel free to share your thoughts and theories in the comments below. We’d love to read them!