Introverted Intuition (Ni) “And no, this isn’t over! Hell, it’s just begun!”
Leo shows throughout the story that he almost always looking forward. He sets his goals and moves towards them – he wants to make a good living for himself and Lucille, he wants to return to the north, and later on he wants to be able to escape the false accusations directed towards him in Mary Phagan’s case. He mostly keeps to himself and tends to be lost within his head, never quite really appreciating what is happening in the moment until it’s too late for him.
Extraverted Thinking (Te) “Twenty-eight bottles of caps at four dollars the gross – this is wrong, this is wrong
I can fix this.”
Leo focuses on the logical side of things to make decisions, such as when he refuses to have a picnic with Lucille because there is no use for it in his mind. He seeks to organize the outside world according to his thoughts. However, he sometimes finds himself appearing detatched and with a lack of emotion towards others due to his logical thoughts, which eventually leads to people using this part of personality to justify the accusations brought to him. His job in the factory requires him to use these skills and therefore his thinking his highly devloped.
Introverted Feeling (Fi) “A little man who’s scared and blind, too lost to find the words he needs.”
Even though Leo doesn’t usually rely on emotions, we find when his feelings come up it is out of a deeply personal place. He has his own set of morals and ideals that don’t align with those of the southerns, as well as being Jewish. He speaks out about what he believes is right, trying to defend himself from the accusations in the Mary Phagan case. He also develops a deep respect and love for Lucille that keeps them bonded until the end.
Extraverted Sensing (Se) “I let the moment pass me by – I stay where I am in control.”
Leo gets lost within his own thoughts and mind, usually finding difficulty in appreciating the moment. It takes him a good deal of time to process things and living in the moment is simply not how he functions except for in moments of major stress. He is forced to appreciate all the time he has when he realizes it is running out in later parts of the show, managing to spend time with his wife and later praying before he is killed.
Type 5: The Investigator
Wing 4: The Individualist
Leo is pursuing truth and structure in his life usually on his own, even as everything crumbles, showing that he is a Type 5. He distances himself from others, primarily pursuing his work and making sure everything is functioning properly. He naturally tends toward isolation, preferring to figure things out for himself rather than engaging with others. His emotions toward the world are guided primarily by observation, such as how he recognizes his deep love for Lucille once she has taken incredible action. He focuses on what is true to guide his thoughts and feelings, learning to understand things privately before sharing them externally.
In Atlanta, Leo feels his differences from other people very strongly, demonstrating his 4 wing. He cannot find a way to fit in with the people around him, even his own wife, which leads him into greater isolation. The song “How Can I Call This Home?” demonstrates that he feels his disconnection from the people of the South from his very core. Leo finds his own emotions are difficult to express externally, as he must process them within first whether it be his statement to the court or his affection for his wife. Part of this is due to the deep, intense emotion he carries, reconciled with his affinity for logical, independent thought.
Note: Mentions of sexual assault, murder, and antisemitism.
Leo Frank is the protagonist of the musical Parade, and an INTJ. He is one of relatively few fictional INTJs that don’t fall into the role of villain or mastermind. These traditional INTJ roles are the results of stereotypes – INTJs can only be cold and detached, can only be planners focused on logic, and so on. But Leo Frank helps to fight back against these stereotypes as a sympathetic and good character in the twisted world featured in Parade.
Perhaps the most common stereotype about INTJs is that they are only attuned to logic and tend to be detached. In his own way, Leo is detached – likely an effect of his dominant introverted intuition (Ni) and inferior extroverted sensing (Se). He cannot find a way to adapt to the world of the south, and instead throws himself into his work and his own mind. But he is not callous and emotionless – far from it. He is quiet and shy rather than stuck up in his own thoughts. He shows genuine concern over the death of Mary Phagan, and then goes on to demonstrate his despair at getting branded a murderer and his growing affection for his wife, Lucille.
But the stereotypes of INTJs do not escape Leo – they are part of what get him into a great deal of trouble as he is blamed for the rape and murder of Mary Phagan. He is painted as a manipulator who uses his intellect through auxiliary extroverted thinking (Te) to lure young girls up to his office in order to have sexual contact with them (Se). His quiet and distant nature, formed by dominant Ni and tertiary introverted feeling (Fi) makes it easy for people to project an image onto him. Combine this with his presence as a Jewish man from the north, and he quickly becomes a monster in the eyes of the Southerners.
In spite of all these ways that Leo’s own personality and identity is twisted against him, the audience is able to see another side to him. He is clearly a protagonist, which is a welcome change from many other INTJ characters. His shyness and distance help the audience to empathize with him, and realize just how corrupted those features become in the accusations of the press and public. He is not conniving in any way – he is simply trying to live his life as he ends up surrounded by hatred.
Leo Frank does not get a happy ending. He, like INTJs in general, is made out to be a villain that he clearly is not. But his journey, his presence as a protagonist, shows hope that perhaps INTJs may not always be the villain after all.
Hello! Yeah, for some reason the INTJ type is represented as villains and horrible people – but, however, I do have a few INTJs that are protagonists.
The first is Leo Frank, who is a kind yet awkward figure who ends up being pegged for a murder because of how detatched he is from the South.
The second is Wednesday Addams, who ends up showing that she can be happy and somewhat bright within the musical – she is also a masterful planner and very logical in most things she does.
Clyde Barrow is the third, and he is very much a mastermind while remaining sympathetic.
While these characters have connctions to being evil and dark, they are still protagonists in their stories!
Introverted Intuition (Ni) “And no, this isn’t over! Hell, it’s just begun!”
Leo shows throughout the story that he almost always looking forward. He sets his goals and moves towards them – he wants to make a good living for himself and Lucille, he wants to return to the north, and later on he wants to be able to escape the false accusations directed towards him in Mary Phagan’s case. He mostly keeps to himself and tends to be lost within his head, never quite really appreciating what is happening in the moment until it’s too late for him.
Extraverted Thinking (Te) “Twenty-eight bottles of caps at four dollars the gross – this is wrong, this is wrong
I can fix this.”
Leo focuses on the logical side of things to make decisions, such as when he refuses to have a picnic with Lucille because there is no use for it in his mind. He seeks to organize the outside world according to his thoughts. However, he sometimes finds himself appearing detatched and with a lack of emotion towards others due to his logical thoughts, which eventually leads to people using this part of personality to justify the accusations brought to him. His job in the factory requires him to use these skills and therefore his thinking his highly devloped.
Introverted Feeling (Fi) “A little man who’s scared and blind, too lost to find the words he needs.”
Even though Leo doesn’t usually rely on emotions, we find when his feelings come up it is out of a deeply personal place. He has his own set of morals and ideals that don’t align with those of the southerns, as well as being Jewish. He speaks out about what he believes is right, trying to defend himself from the accusations in the Mary Phagan case. He also develops a deep respect and love for Lucille that keeps them bonded until the end.
Extraverted Sensing (Se) “I let the moment pass me by – I stay where I am in control.”
Leo gets lost within his own thoughts and mind, usually finding difficulty in appreciating the moment. It takes him a good deal of time to process things and living in the moment is simply not how he functions except for in moments of major stress. He is forced to appreciate all the time he has when he realizes it is running out in later parts of the show, managing to spend time with his wife and later praying before he is killed.
Theatre MBTI 