ISFJ: Morticia Addams, “The Addams Family” (TV)

The Protector, The Cultivator, The Steward

Members of the ISFJ personality type are often portrayed as the ones who try to keep things normal. Of course, “normal” is all in the eyes of the beholder—or in this case, the Si-dom. Morticia Addams is a one-of-a-kind homemaker and Fe-user extraordinaire who lives contently in her weird little world, and wishes nothing more than to graciously welcome you into it.

Dominant Function: (Si) Introverted Sensing, “Relive the Experience”

Morticia’s a classic homebody. Though she gladly joins her husband on adventures, she’s always eager to return to the comforts of home. She loves the old family mansion and takes care to make sure that it’s furnished and decorated according to her unique tastes. She sees nothing odd or unusual about the way she lives, and usually doesn’t comprehend that others find it strange at all. For her, this way of life is perfectly natural, and all of her efforts go towards preserving and delighting in it.

Like her fellow Sensor-dominant husband, Morticia enjoys physical hobbies, but of a more quiet, contemplative nature. She gardens, she knits, she paints—anything that engages her physically, but in cozy, familiar ways. Her hobbies gradually build to results over time—plants fully grown, sweaters completed for family members, paintings finished—rather than Gomez’s go-for-broke escapades.

Morticia’s tastes, while frightening to the outside world, are highly sophisticated and discerning. Only the finest bed of nails or toadstool stews will do for the Addamses. She loves everything around her to be elegant, lovely, and homey—even if “homey” means cobwebs and broken windows—and is pleased when others compliment her fashion sense or décor.

The Addams Family MBTI (TV series)

Welcome to Halloween week at Heroes & Villains!

It’s time to pay a call on the most ghoulish of neighbors, the Addams family, from the classic TV show. They lasted for less than two years on the air (Sept. ’64-April ‘66), but in that brief time they pumped out 64 episodes! I marathoned my way through the first season, and am still enjoying the rest, but these characters don’t change much from episode to episode—it’s part of their charm—so I feel quite ready to present their profiles.

The premise of The Addams Family is that all their values are inverted from what we’d consider “normal.” Thus, uncomfortable beds are the most comfortable, moon-bathing replaces sunbathing, and horrifying foods are served as delicacies. From this, you’d expect the family themselves to be horrible people, too.

Yet, the opposite turns out to be true. Gomez and Morticia are among the best role models of a happily married couple you’ll ever find on television. They adore their children, treat guests like family, and look forward to every day with excitement and pleasure.

The rest of the clan’s pretty weird, too, but they all have the same cognitive functions that we boring “normal” people do. Once you figure those out, the Addamses don’t look so kooky after all. They love and support each other, and have fun doing it, just like any healthy family would.

I’d still skip the gopher goulash at dinner.

Let’s crawl on our broomsticks and take a look.