By: Maranda Wabik
Femme Fatale Friday, ,

Harley Quinn and the Dark Side of Enneagram Type 7

For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday, I have decided to take a look at a character that famously has the same personality types as I do, ENFP (on the MBTI) and Enneagram 7w6.   Harley Quinn has this same personality makeup, however, she famously is on the unhealthy end of this type.    I find watching Harley Quinn both fun and exciting as it shows me what I could become if I was to go to the dark side of my personality.   Additionally, she reminds me of how easy it would be to give into my shadow side, which serves to have me dig deep into who I want to be.   I learn better how to balance the light and the shadow.

There is some debate on her specific type on both scales, but she is commonly typed as my same type, so I am approaching this post with that in mind.   I will specifically focus on type 7 of the Enneagram.   For those unfamiliar with the personality of this type, it is categorized as The Enthusiast (previously The Epicure) and according to The Enneagram Institute 7s are “The Busy, Variety-Seeking Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Acquisitive, and Scattered.”   I will leave a link below for those interested in learning more about this Enneagram type!   Now onto how that applies to Harley Quinn.  

Harley began as a brilliant young woman who wanted nothing more than to use her keen intellect and empathy to help others.   It is this empathy and desire to help that led her into the Joker’s company.   When she was working as a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum she became the doctor treating the Joker.

Dr. Harleen Quinzel (as she was known before becoming the Joker’s right hand) understood why the Joker wanted to be an agent of chaos.   She soon would find herself falling in love with her dangerous patient.   It is not uncommon for psychiatrists to develop feelings for patients or vice versa.   The trouble lay in acting on these feelings and Harley’s being driven mad by the Joker is an extreme example of why this is so!

I find Harley even more interesting after she has abandoned her relationship with the Joker, or after he has broken her heart.   Watching her go through heartbreak is always interesting, but watching her begin to come into her own outside of the relationship gives deeper insight into her power!   We see this both in the Birds of Prey film and the Harley Quinn animated series on HBO Max.   I especially love her dynamic with Poison Ivy in the animated series!   Seeing their relationship develop more healthily than hers and Joker’s ever could have been been a great example of her character development.   I even enjoy her new dynamic with Batman which was introduced in the third season!

In Margot Robbie’s portrayal and the animated series, we get to see her be more than just Joker’s crazy sidekick girlfriend.   Yes, she is mad, but she is also empathetic and super charming!    I love how she can go from being a lovable nut to homicidal on a dime, it really shows us the flip side of the free-spirited type 7.    I hope that you have enjoyed this brief journey into Harley Quinn and her personality.   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the page is Harley from the animated series.   I found the image on https://harleyquinn.fandom.com/wiki/Harley_Quinn.

Further Watching/Reading