Antonio Faten
You’ve heard of Elsa, right? From the Disney film Frozen? Of course, you have. Who hasn’t heard of one of Disney’s most iconic fictional characters (besides Mickey, of course)? We’re sure you’ve all seen Frozen loads of times, willingly or begrudgingly (more so the latter).
Please, Let It Go
But how much do you know about this character? Well, we’ll do you a favor and have a deep dive into this frozen mistress of winter. We’ll start with the Disney film. The story of Frozen revolves around Elsa and her sister, Anna, who live in a palace in the fictional land of Arendelle. Elsa was born with ice powers, allowing her to create snow.
One night, while she and Ana are playing, Elsa accidentally strikes her sister’s heart with her ice magic, causing her to freeze in time. After healing her, Elsa swore to her parents that she wouldn’t use her ice magic again. But as time passes, as Elsa gets older, her powers become stronger, causing her to lose control and eventually accidentally cause an eternal winter. Exiled from her ruling kingdom, Elsa saw a newfound freedom she hadn’t felt since her youth. Fully embracing her powers, she creates an ice palace for herself atop the mountains of Arendale, seemingly living in peace with herself.
But unbeknownst to her, her sister, Ana, traveled a long way to try to find her and bring her home. After learning about the eternal winter she unintentionally caused, fear gripped her heart, and once again, she accidentally struck her sister’s heart; Ana’s time grew shorter as the freezing process expedited further. Things only worsen when Hans, the main antagonist, and Ana’s supposed love interest, kidnaps Elsa. As Hans attempted to murder her, Ana stepped in to save her sister, only for her whole body to be frozen solid. Grieving for the loss of her sister, Elsa expressed her love for her sister, thawing her cold heart and restoring her.
A Cold Heart of Ice
Boy, that escalated quickly. The film became so popular that the hit song Let It Go became the most highly listened-to song in Disney’s history, not to mention it garnered many awards in its wake. You now know who Elsa is, but you probably don’t know of the character she’s loosely based on, the Snow Queen. Hans Christian Andersen wrote the original story of the Snow Queen, titled The Snow Queen, which tells the story of Greda and Kai, who are told the story of the titular character who rules the snow bees in the lands of Permafrost in Spitsbergen. During their first encounter with her, she tried to take Kai to her ice palace, only for him to back away in fear.
But one summer’s day, Kai gets struck in the eye and heart by a splinter of the Troll’s (Devil) mirror and displays his negative traits unfiltered, while his perception is also warped. By winter, he finds more comfort in the snow, which he studies vehemently. He then would play in the snow, hitch a ride on a sled, and tie it up to a mysterious rider’s sleigh. Unfortunately, the enigmatic owner of the sleigh was herself, the Snow Queen. With the kisses she gifted him, he’s numbed from the cold and loses his memories of Greda and his family as he’s taken to the snow palace.
Though he didn’t feel the cold, his body froze, so he could not move. There, the Snow Queen offered to release him and give him new ice skates if he spelled the word “eternity,” using pieces of ice like a Chinese puzzle to spell the word. After a grueling journey, Greda finally reunites with Kai, who regains his memory after seeing the flower atop her head, bathed in her love; the splinters melt away, allowing them to use the pieces of ice to spell the requested word. As the Snow Queen returns and sees the fruits of their labor, as promised, she sets Kai free and gifts him and Greda new ice skates as they make their way home.
Gifted Desires
In contrast to Elsa, portrayed as a tragic protagonist, the original Snow Queen acts as somewhat the main antagonist, but her actions are not those of pure malicious intent. Instead, she falls in the category of “lawful evil,” meaning despite being an obstacle for Greda and Kai, she kept her word by releasing the latter from his icy prison, demonstrating a sense of honor. The Snow Queen is truly a fascinating character in Fairy Tales. Her conception would inspire Elsa in that regard, immortalizing her as a complex character with simple desires. It seems that cold Mistress Winter does have a heart of gold.
https://theableshow.com/disneys-frozen-queen-has-a-warm-heart/
Works Cited
https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Elsa
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hans-Christian-Andersen-Danish-author