So my post on Encanto and the enneagram turned out to spark a little more controversy than I expected. I’ve had some good discussions since then about the Madrigals’ possible enneagram numbers, and I’ve heard some very poignant thoughts from people who relate strongly to these characters. I’ll say this multiple times throughout this post, but the range of people who see themselves in the Madrigals really speaks to the strong writing, acting, and animation in Encanto. That said, I want to revisit a few of my enneagram forecasts in light of the conversations we’ve had. Antonio, Dolores, Julieta, Agustín, Felix, and Bruno didn’t generate a lot of controversy, but the other half of the Madrigal family… well…

Isabela- 4 or 3?

My original pick: 4w3
The counter-arguments: “Isabela isn’t concerned with authenticity when we first meet her. Rather, she puts on a show to appease Abuela, the family, and the town. Her core vice is deceit, and she grows by owning up to who she really is and what she really wants. This is a classic enneagram 3 arc.”

Yeah, that’s a damn good counter-argument. Looking back, I realize my mistake here: Isabela is a complete jerk through the first 2/3 of Encanto, so deep down, I really didn’t want to share her enneagram number (since I’m a 3 myself). One of the best ways to figure out your own enneagram type is to pay attention to the stuff that makes you squirm a little, and the first part of Isa’s arc —putting on a show, needing to be the center of attention, picking on her unpowered sister— does that for me. Additionally, a friend of mine argued that growth doesn’t always happen in the direction of the growth arrow. In Isabela’s case, her growth is toward a 4 wing as she takes ownership of her emotions and her artistic side (things she has previously repressed to appease Abuela, the family, and the town). As the eldest child and grandchild, Isabela uses her “perfection” to make her family and community happy, but it’s crushing her. Throughout Encanto, she acknowledges and grows into her authentic self. Her growth isn’t so much from 3 to 6 (which is the traditional enneagram growth arrow); it’s from an over-reliance on her charismatic image (one-to-one 3) into a more socially adjusted and authentic 3w4.

Revised pick: 3w4

Luisa- 1, 2, 3, or 8?

My original pick: 2w3
The counter-arguments: “Luisa is strong and hides her sensitive side, so she’s an 8.” “Luisa is perfectionistic and has a very vocal inner critic, which fits with a 1.” “Luisa is stuffing down her feelings and putting on a guise of strength and perfection, which is totally something a 3 would do.”

With Luisa’s popularity, this turned out to be my most contentious pick. There’s an outspoken “Luisa is an 8” contingent on Twitter, but those arguments all struck me as pretty surface level: focused on her physical strength and little else. Throughout Encanto, Luisa never expresses a desire to challenge or control or confront; she’s all about helping. On the other hand, a few friends over on Facebook made a very compelling case for Luisa as a 1 because of the way she beats herself up over every imperfection. There’s even still a part of me that relates to Luisa as a 3 for this same reason, but at the end of the day, I think my original argument still has me the most convinced: I still think Luisa is a 2 (likely the social subtype). Her whole motivation revolves around helping others at the expense of her own wants and needs, and her biggest fear (as expressed in “Surface Pressure”) is becoming unnecessary to her family and community. Luisa only finds relaxation when she learns to open up and share her feelings, much to Abuela’s initial dismay. Luisa’s ownership of her tears in the final song (“All of You”) and her willingness to relax in a hammock while others help is some standard 2-to-4 growth arc stuff. The way so many 1s, 2s, 3s, and 8s identify with Luisa really speaks to this character’s appeal. However, “Surface Pressure” and her actions following the song hint strongly at Luisa being a 2. Getting into wings, the balance of performed perfection (3 wing) and a harsh inner critic (1 wing) make it a little tougher to get more specific.

Revised pick: 2 with balanced wings.

Camilo- 8 or 7?

My original pick: 8w7
The counter-arguments: “Camilo craves novelty and constantly indulges in food and fun— all of which is typical of 7. While he picks fun at others and challenges them, that’s not core to who he is. He has an 8 wing at most.”

I’m less confident on this pick than I was originally, and I might go ahead and shift my perspective from Camilo as an 8w7 to a 7w8. He’s still pretty fearless and confrontational (with the possible exception of being scared of Bruno as a child), but he doesn’t seem to desire confrontation or control. Of course, Camilo’s age (roughly 15) also complicates things since some of his behavior can be chalked up to routine adolescent stuff. What 15-year-old boy wouldn’t change his appearance to get seconds on his Tia Julieta’s cooking? What 15-year-old boy wouldn’t cynically say “We still don’t have a house” as his family reconcile and share their feelings? All this fits with a point I previously made about the 5-year-old Antonio: the theory behind the enneagram is that the coping strategies we develop as children shape our motivations as we enter adulthood. Just as assigning a number to a child is enneagram malpractice, could we be jumping the gun with Camilo too? Maybe Camilo’s a 7w8, or maybe he’s just a normal teenage boy. Either way, a desire for novelty and fun appears to drive his behavior, so…

Revised pick: 7w8

Abuela- 1 or 8?

My original pick: 1w2
The counter-arguments: “Abuela isn’t just about order and perfection as you suggest. In response to her trauma she is doing her best to assert control over her world, and her family suffers for it. This desire to control fits more with 8 than with 1.”

I mean, that’s a pretty solid argument. There’s such a fine distinction here: does Abuela want control or order? I mean, in reality, she wants both, so we may need to modify our approach here a bit. In stress, 1s go to the more emotive and temperamental 4, while 8s go to a cerebral and judgmental 5. When secure, 1s can relax toward 7, while 8s move toward the more compassionate and helpful 2. Huh, well, that didn’t totally help, did it? Abuela kind of does all of that. Let’s try wings. 1 can wing toward 9 (peacemaking and understanding) or 2 (helping), and 8 can wing toward 9 or toward 7 (fun-loving). Well, crap. That didn’t really help either. Uh…

It may be helpful to remember that Abuela’s behavior toward her children and grandchildren has been shaped by trauma. The person we meet in Encanto has developed these mechanisms of control and keeping order in response to deep unresolved pain. Who was she before all that? Abuela’s flashback during “Dos Oruguitas” shows a woman deeply passionate about fun and laughter and the love she has found with Pedro. We see the young Abuela Alma reveling in joy before her life-altering tragedy occurs. Of course, again, we hit a wall: Is the young Alma an 8 leaning into a 7 wing or a 1 integrating toward 7? Crap. See, this is why the enneagram is not an exact science. Ultimately, the only person who could tell us her enneagram number is Abuela herself.

Revised pick: [shrug]

Pepa- 8 or 6?

My original pick: 8w7
The counter-arguments: “Pepa is one giant ball of anxiety, and so much of that stems from fear of embarrassing the family by losing control of her gift. She constantly repeats ‘clear skies, clear skies, clear skies’ in a desperate effort at soothing herself. Loyalty and fear define so much of her motivation. She’s a 6.”

Okay, I’ll own it. I made a classic mistake here: I relied on Pepa’s behavior rather than her motivation, and the enneagram is supposed to be about motivation. Yes, Pepa is confrontational, but that confrontational streak stems from her own anxiety and desire to belong. Pepa has one of the more destructive gifts and has been trying to contain her emotions since age 5. As such, she’s perpetually stressed out, and being the family hothead is a consequence of that stress. Pepa wants to belong, but she’s also got a fun-loving side, so I’m keeping the 7 wing for her.

Revised pick: 6w7

Mirabel- 3 or 6?

My original pick: 3w2
The counter-arguments: “Pfft, she’s not a 3. Come on, man.”

Yeah, no one has really offered a counter-argument to my previous take on Mirabel, so I’ll make one myself. The more I watch Encanto (which is an almost-daily occurrence in the Lewis household since it’s my daughter’s favorite movie right now), the more I see Mirabel as a 6 with her defining traits being her loyalty to her family and a deep desire to belong. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the strength of Encanto lies in its characters’ relatability. When Mirabel is at her best, she’s helping and advocating for her family members (6). She stands up to Abuela on Isa, Bruno, and Luisa’s behalf (6). She encourages Antonio and stands beside him when he needs help (6). And yes, she also carries a deep fear of not belonging within her family, and this anxiety drives most of her actions in the movie (6!). Also, in times of stress, Mirabel starts to center herself in the spotlight, such as when she sings about her family or interrupts Antonio’s party— this could be a stress arrow from 6 to 3. I also love how, in her first big musical number introducing her family members, Mirabel defines her worth by her belonging. She creates an incomplete syllogism: “My family’s amazing, and I’m in my family, so…” She trails off before she can arrive at the logical conclusion: “So I am amazing too.” She can’t say it about herself yet. She has to hear it from Abuela in flashbacks or from her parents in the kitchen or from Bruno and Abuela toward the film’s conclusion. Yes, Mirabel has some 3 characteristics —the way she tries to prove herself and draws attention and takes on more than she can handle—, but these don’t define her. She’s defined by her loyalty and her advocacy for others, which are characteristics of a fully-integrated 6.

Okay, quick important sidebar: A few paragraphs earlier, I used Camilo’s age to hedge my bets a bit on his enneagram number, but even though Mirabel is slightly younger, I’m not going to do that here. Mirabel’s trauma at the gift ceremony has forced an earlier maturity on her, and developmentally, she seems a little farther along than Camilo. In fact, taking things a step further, Camilo doesn’t seem to experience the same pressure as Mirabel and her older sisters. Is this the result of different parenting strategies? Different expectations because of different gifts? Different social demands because of gender? There are a lot of possibilities to consider here. But anyway, back to enneagram stuff…

Revised pick: 6 with balanced wings

I feel like I close every post about Encanto the same way: there’s still so much more to unpack. This is an incredibly rich movie that captures so much about family dynamics, stages of development, trauma, gender, and so on. I could easily write about this movie for years, but for the time being, I need to move on to some other subjects. I hope this exploration of Encanto and the enneagram has been helpful as you consider the role of the enneagram in your own life. Or, at the very least, I hope this has been a fun distraction.

*sigh* This movie is just so damn good.