MBTI: Daenerys Targaryen- INFJ
Spoilers! You’ve been warned!
Even in a fictional world, the only one left of the Targaryen empire and the only one who can command (Sort of) the last dragons would be INFJ.
Daenerys’ role in the story is an interesting one, as she (similar to Jon Snow) is on the outskirts of the majority of the rest of the characters yet seems to be playing a part that could change everything in Westeros. You don’t silently build an army and not even attempt to get back your family’s throne, c’mon. That’s Fantasy War 101.When we’re first introduced to Daenerys’, we’re shown a meek and timid girl that’s lets her older, bully of a brother not only push her around, but torture her. There doesn’t seem like there’s much she can do against him and she even seems to be used to it.
But once she was sold to the Dothraki, we’re able to see the transition from a near cowardly girl to who eventually becomes known as “Mother of Dragons,” “Slayer of Lies,” and “Bride of Fire.” You don’t get those names without earning them.
It becomes pretty clear early on that Ni is Daenerys’ lead function. While is quiet and seems willing to take whatever crap her brother would give her, we see her budding plan to…do something, though we’re not sure what it is at first. Her interest in the three dragon eggs she has in her possession seem to be a source of encouragement for her until the point where she literally walks into the pyre flames with them and seems reborn, with a mission to reclaim the throne.
Nom nom nom
INFJs aren’t known for walking through fire or dragon eggs, but if Artisans place emphasis on today, the Idealist time is tomorrow, as all four NFs look to the future in their primary mode of operating. Daenerys can take the torture today because she looks to what things will be like in the coming days. Everything she does is all a part of her plan to take back her family birthright.
Daenerys’ second function is Fe, which becomes clear in the way she goes about gathering her army and subjects. She frees them from their chains and allows them to make their own choices; she cares for all of them without necessarily knowing them. It’s become as much of a goal for her to make her followers’ lives as much a priority as her own, such as when she chains two out of three of her “children” in the catacombs after one of them kills a little girl by happenstance. She doesn’t make excuses or hope it doesn’t happen again, but does the only she really can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again, much to her own sadness.
And they waz her babys two
The negative side of Fe is being unsure of your own thoughts and principles at times since you relate so much to others. The more positive aspect is really seeing the point of view of others without even having experienced it for yourself firsthand. Daenerys has no children, but it doesn’t take a palm reader to know how horrible it would be to lose a kid to a wild animal owned by your superiors. Unlike, say, an INTJ ruler would be, it’s as much a part of the plan to be a benevolent queen as it is to be the queen at all.
It’s not that a Te-heavy leader is bound to be cruel, but they’re more likely to attempt betterment by way of systems, rather than diplomacy the way an INFJ is. People aren’t just a part of the end goal, they are the goal. While Daenerys’ father was vile and vicious, Daenerys displays none of those qualities save for her punishment of the slave masters.
She’s seen a million faces and she’s rocked them all.
It’s here we see Daenerys’ and the INFJ’s weak point. While good intentions are a must, INFJs can often be accused of shutting anyone out that doesn’t share their ideas, dismissing anyone without actually hearing them out. This happens at times to her advantage, as well as her disadvantage.
Her tendency to believe in only what she deems right also saw the crucifixion of a man that supposedly spoke out against the crime she decided to punish. A bit more of an investigation might have avoided this, but deciding to act from this deliberate viewpoint has had her make her share of mistakes.
She should heed more Mormonth.
Zombies Ruin Everything 
09/23/2014 at 5:44 am
F@s$ Daenerys. She got Drogo killed.
09/23/2014 at 6:26 pm
Drogo got himself killed.
09/23/2014 at 11:13 pm
Yeah, didn’t he push himself into that guys’ blade?
09/24/2014 at 7:57 pm
That didn’t kill him, you KNOW what killed him!!!
09/25/2014 at 7:10 pm
shouldn’t have left his life in the hands of a witch then
05/12/2016 at 11:12 am
If dany’s Ni exists at ALL, there’s very little of it being used. She lacks foresight in almost every decision she makes. She’s impulsive and gets distracted from her end goal easily (you think Tywin or Roose or even Jaime would let themselves stay in Essos?). Also, she’s a Fi user most likely. She can have great empathy if it’s something she can connect to (slavery). Normally she wants to be fair and not really judge anyone too harshly but when provoked her temper is quite ugly. She also thinks too much in black and white. I’d say xNFP or maybe ESFP, even though she comes off more introverted to me but I could be wrong there.
PS Jon isn’t ISFP either. It’s always duty, duty, duty with this guy. After some initial whining briefly, he takes on the hard jobs and does them well. He follows everything Ned and Jeor taught him to the best of his ability. He’s a textbook ISTJ. People just don’t see it because Jon is a popular character and people don’t want to admit xSxJs can be heroic or bad@ss.
05/14/2016 at 4:21 pm
On ZRE, there’s not really a problem to see SJ characters as badasses. Snow is a man of principle more than duty, because he challenges the status quo and even sees himself as better than his peers before getting a taste of the real world. He’s a man of action but by way of doing what’s right rather than a tried and true structure. I don’t want to say ISTJ Snow wouldn’t have made such a difference but it’s doubtful he would do so in such an obvious way. He comes off as more sensitive as well. Physically and emotionally speaking.
Daenerys, I still assert, is INFJ. INFP I can see easier than ESFP but even then, INFPs don’t really get weighed down the same way as Daenerys and don’t want to lead. They want to say what they want and leave. They’re not reliable in positions of authority and while Daenerys isn’t perfect, she’s doing her best to maintain power. Compare to Perceivers in charge like Tyrion in season 2 and Oberyn in season 4, who can only enjoy the position by having other people do the hard work while they do what they want and only change things when their right hand man is directly asking them. Daeneyrs’ entire character is about making the tough decisions and she’s doing what she can to make the best humanitarian choices possible. Definitely not ESFP and not a Perceiver. The Fi you’re sensing with her is fed-up Fe. She wants things to go nicely but usually, they just don’t for her.
Also, I like your site. I agree with Rapunzel as ESFJ, I don’t get the ENFP everybody else seems to get with her.
09/21/2018 at 7:04 am
We must not forget that she is probably suffering by a PTSD. She burns alive those who are just a little in disharmony. She is tyrannical. And she seems to be a globalist.
Morbid INFJ.
01/16/2021 at 11:22 am
Enfj