Final Fantasy VII Remake: Aerith Gainsborough (INFJ)

We’ve been enjoying the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series. We have been working our way through both games that are currently out: Final Fantasy VII Remake and Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII – Reunion. Thus far, we’ve typed Barret as an ESFP, Cloud as an ISFP, Tifa as an ESFJ, and now Aerith as an INFJ. From what we’ve been told, ENFJ is the most common theory for Aerith, which we definitely considered, along with INFP, and of course, INFJ. Ultimately, as you can see, we settled on Aerith being an INFJ, and we’re going to explain why below.

Ni:

“All that passion, all those dreams… Flowing and blending together into something greater…”

“The Shinra Electric Power Company isn’t the real enemy. I promise you. There’s a much bigger threat. I just want to do everything in my power to help. All of you… and the planet.”

Aerith is prone to be vague and abstract throughout the Final Fantasy VII Remake series. She’s intimately connected to the plot, and seems to know far more about what’s going than she lets on. Unfortunately, she tends to give extremely vague answers when asked to explain. The scene near the end of the first game, after Cloud, Tifa, and Barret finally find her at Shinra, is a prime example of this. Granted, it’s plausible there are specific reasons for her avoiding direct answers in this instance, that the game has not made the players privy to yet. However, her tendency toward being vague or avoiding answering questions shows up in other scenes in the game as well. For instance, she tells Cloud that today is particularly special. When Clouds asks why, she deflects the question, and tells him that it’s time to go.

Aerith often makes observations about people or things that are not readily apparent. She does this frequently with Cloud, although it’s possible there’s a story-based reason for it. However, she acts like she knows him, and makes statements to that affect, which come off a lot like assumptions. This happens even in small scale situations, like being worried that Cloud will get lost and be too afraid to admit it.

Aerith has an idealistic and dreamy nature about her, which partially ties into the fact that she’s also a feeler. For instance, she seems to commune with flowers. She also sees the slums for all the passion and dreams of the people in it. The convergent or universal nature of Ni is actually demonstrated when she’s expressing this to Cloud. She tells him that she sees those passions and dreams “flowing and blending together into something greater.”

Fe:

“Don’t forget. It’s all about service and salesmanship.”

“I’m glad I met you, Cloud. I really am. I’m grateful for all the words we’ve shared. For all the moments, and the memories. You’ve made me more happy than you know.”

Aerith is constantly focused on others, and sees the value in being connected to a group or a community. During her early scenes with Cloud, Final Fantasy VII Remake makes it clear that she’s valued in her community. Everyone seems to know her and love her, because she’s helping so many people in different ways. She brings herbs to the doctor, flowers to someone else, etc. Similarly, in Crisis Core, she’s very protective of the child who steals from Zack, believing that he must have had a good reason. Later on, when working with Cloud and Tifa, Aerith links up with Tifa in their approach to teamwork. Both promote and celebrate successfully working together as a team as they accomplish each mission and survive each battle.

Aerith encourages Cloud to be more expressive, as a means to be successful. She emphasizes that showing his happiness more will aid service and salesmanship. Of course, she doesn’t just try to draw out emotional expression from Cloud, but she practices what she preaches by presenting herself in a friendly, approachable way. Generally speaking, she’s encouraging and uplifting to others in a way that keeps the focus on them rather than herself.

On multiple occasions, Aerith makes decisions for Cloud, or pushes him into doing things that he otherwise wouldn’t do. This pushy nature lines up with extraverted feeling, largely due to the context. It’s usually motivated by a desire to help someone else, or have him do what she thinks is best. For instance, at one point, a kid asks Cloud for help. Aerith answers for Cloud, agreeing to help. When Cloud protests, she refutes his excuse by stating that she’s giving him permission to help.

Ti:

“All these moments and memories, precious and fleeting… they’re like rain rolling off his back… And when they’re gone, he won’t cry…or shout…or anything. He’d tell you that he only cares about the planet. That he’d do everything in his power to protect and preserve it. But this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. There’s no greater threat to the planet than him. Sephiroth has to be stopped. He has to be. And that’s why… I’m asking you to help me. I know that, together, we can do this. But if we do… We’ll be changing more than fate itself. If we succeed… If we win… We’ll be changing ourselves… I guess… Maybe, that’s why I hesitated.”

Aerith relies on subjective logic, which is not always easy to explain. (This in combination with dominant Ni, makes her extremely abstract.) When she first sees Sephiroth, she immediately knows and expresses the judgement that everything about him is wrong. Aerith is not typically one to be openly critical or negative about anyone other than herself, so this moment stands out. The fact that she reduced the entirety of this complex situation (Sephiroth actively altering fate) into a simple statement points to the reductionist nature of Ti.

When Aerith attempts to explain reasoning, she usually does so in a hesitant, and indirect way. (Of course, this is when she bothers to explain at all.) When Aerith stops Cloud from going through the light, Cloud asks her why. After a few exchanges, she offers a long drawn out explanation (seen in the quote above this section). She not only explains her reasoning, but Sephiroth’s reasoning. She also doesn’t relay any of it in an absolute way. In addition, she eventually admits to hesitating because winning would mean changing themselves. Many theorize that Aerith is an ENFJ, but that hesitancy to change suggests that her Ti is higher than inferior. (Ti is an identity function.)

Se:

“You know, I thought about leaving once… Too much. A whole world bursting with life. Maybe more than I can handle, I think sometimes.”

Aerith appears to have inferior Se. In Crisis Core, she demonstrates a tendency toward inaction. She has little motivation, and lives primarily in her head. It takes Zack to point out opportunities that she can exploit, such as selling flowers. He also has to supply the means for her to take advantage of these opportunities, such as providing the materials for the wagon and building it for her.

Aerith has little desire for adventure, initially just wanting to remain in the area that she is accustomed to. When talking to Zack, she explains that she’s afraid of the sky, and afraid to go above, to the upper plate. Eventually, she overcomes this fear to some extent, and sells flowers there like Zack wanted. However, she reiterates a similar fear to Cloud, explaining that the idea of leaving the slums was overwhelming, because the world was bursting with so much life. She explains that it would possibly be more than she can handle.