Elsa

Click here to see quotes from Elsa.
**Elsa the Snow Queen** is the deuteragonist of Disney's 2013 animated feature film *Frozen* and the protagonist of its 2019 sequel. Born with the power of ice and snow, Elsa is the firstborn daughter of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna, the older sister of Queen Anna, and the former queen of Arendelle. Throughout most of her young life, Elsa feared that her powers were monstrous. Therefore, she isolated herself from the world as a means of protecting her family and kingdom. Elsa's anxieties would eventually trigger a curse that plunged Arendelle into an eternal winter. Through Anna's love, however, Elsa is able to control her powers and live peacefully amongst her people with a newfound self-confidence.

Three years into her reign, Elsa is called forth to Ahtohallan to assume her rightful place as the **Fifth Spirit** of the Enchanted Forest, whose purpose is to bridge the magic of nature and people. She thereby abdicates the throne, allowing Anna to rise as the new queen of Arendelle.

Elsa is loosely based on the titular character of "The Snow Queen", a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, and to a greater extent in terms of characterization, Kai from the same story. While the character from the original fairy tale was a neutral character, Elsa was rewritten as a tragic heroine whose personality and role were more closely modeled after her counterpart of Kai.

## Appearances

Princess Elsa was born with power over ice and snow. As a child, she often used her abilities to play with her younger sister and best friend, Anna. One night, while the two were playing in the hall, Elsa accidentally struck her sister in the head, giving her a platinum blonde streak of hair and knocking her out cold. Their parents, King Agnarr and Queen Iduna,, sought aid from legendary trolls residing in the Valley of the Living Rock. Their leader, a shaman named Pabbie, was able to stabilize Anna's condition by cleansing her of all magic (including memories). Pabbie warns Elsa of the danger her power possesse, and stresses that she must learn to control them. Traumatized by the event, Elsa spent her life distanced from other people, including Anna, to avoid harming them. With no memories of Elsa's magic, Anna took Elsa's distance personally, creating a rift between the two. Throughout her childhood, Elsa is taught to control her abilities by suppressing her emotions. To help even further, Agnarr gives Elsa a pair of gloves, which were temporarily able to suppress her powers (teaching her to "conceal it, don't feel it, don't let it show").

During Anna and Elsa's teenage years, Agnarr and Iduna die at sea. Elsa does not attend the funeral, as her distraught state of mind causes her to lose control of her powers. Three years later, Elsa has come of age and is now ready to be crowned the new queen regnant. To celebrate the momentous occasion, Arendelle invites royalty from far and wide to join in the festivities, such as the dashing Prince Hans and the pompous Duke of Weselton, among others. Though she accepts her responsibility to the throne, Elsa fears that her still-unstable powers will cause harm to her subjects and guests. She copes by keeping her gloves at hand and reminding herself that the gates will only be open for the day. At the coronation ball, Elsa and Anna share their first (albeit stilted) conversation after quite some time, with Elsa leading the way. Their interaction proves that the connection between them is still there, but the reality of their situation starts to overwhelm Elsa, who distances herself once again while a crestfallen Anna excuses herself in response.

Later that night, Anna returns with Prince Hans by her side. The two announce their engagement and ask for Elsa's blessing. Cautious of Hans, Elsa denies their wishes, saying that Anna shouldn't marry a man she just met, much to Anna's disappointment. The two begin to argue over the situation, upsetting Elsa to the point of ending the party and ordering the gates be closed. A furious Anna confronts her sister, which only increases Elsa's anxiety. Overwhelmed with frustration, Elsa accidentally unleashes her powers upon Anna and the guests, who look on to their queen with fear (the Duke of Weselton even declares Elsa a monster and calls for her arrest). Horrified by her actions, Elsa sentences herself to exile and retreats into the fjord in an effort to protect the kingdom from herself. As she does, Elsa unknowingly plunges Arendelle into an eternal winter. Feeling responsible for the catastrophe, Anna sets out to find her sister, leaving Hans in charge during her absence.

Later that night, Elsa arrives at the North Mountain, where she comes to the conclusion that isolation is the only way to protect both herself and her people. Feeling less restrained as a result, Elsa experiments with her powers by building a snowman (whom she unknowingly imbues with life). She then claims the North Mountain as her new home, establishes herself as the Snow Queen, and creates a towering ice palace in which she plans to spend the rest of her days in solitude. Meanwhile, Anna has since partnered up with a mountain man named Kristoff, who agrees to act as the former's escort to the North Mountain. Along the way, they encounter the snowman that Elsa had created, who offers to guide them through the rest of their journey to Elsa's palace. Unfortunately, Anna's prolonged absence causes concern back in Arendelle. Hans comes to worry that Anna is being held prisoner by Elsa, and rallies together a group of volunteers to help him rescue her. The Duke of Weselton volunteers his own bodyguards to join the prince, with orders to kill Elsa in hopes that her death will end the winter.

At the palace, Elsa is initially elated to see Anna again, but remains firm on her decision to stay at the North Mountain. She encourages Anna to return to Arendelle where she'll be safe, but Anna reveals that Arendelle has been cursed with eternal winter. The news comes as a shock to Elsa, who becomes overwhelmed with guilt over what she's done. Despite Anna's attempt to calm her sister, Elsa falls into a fit of panic and accidentally unleashes her powers once again. This time, however, they inadvertently strike Anna in the heart, which Pabbie has said previously would be fatal. With Elsa's powers becoming increasingly unstable due to stress, the Snow Queen demands that Anna leave the palace for her own safety. When Anna refuses, Elsa creates a gruesome snow-monster to forcibly remove Anna and her friends and ensure that they never return. Following Anna's departure, Elsa fearfully paces back and forth within the confines of her palace as she desperately tries to seize control over the curse. All of her attempts are futile, and her bleak state of mind is reflected in the palace's now-distorted interior.

Meanwhile, the effects of Elsa's curse starts to take its toll on Anna. She and Kristoff seek assistance from Grand Pabbie, who explains that Anna will turn into solid ice forever and can only be saved by performing an "act of true love". Believing this to be "true love's kiss", Anna and Kristoff begin their journey back to Arendelle to receive a kiss from Hans. That morning, Hans and his guardsmen arrive at the North Mountain, where they are confronted by Marshmallow. Upon hearing the commotion, Elsa flees inside to avoid combat, with the Duke's goons in hot pursuit. They manage to corner the Snow Queen and attempt to carry out their orders, which forces Elsa to retaliate in defense. Eventually, the goons are overwhelmed by Elsa's power, but Hans calls out to the queen before she can murder the two. Upon realizing the monster she's becoming, Elsa pulls herself back. One of the goons seizes the opportunity to aim his crossbow at the Snow Queen in hopes of killing her, but Hans intervenes and alters the bolt's path, causing it to cut through Elsa's chandelier instead. The chandelier plummets toward the ground and the impact of the collision knocks Elsa unconscious. She is subsequently apprehended by Hans and his army, and taken back to Arendelle.

Some time later, a shackled Elsa awakens within the castle dungeon, where she is able to witness Arendelle's eternal winter firsthand from the cell's only window. She then receives a visit from Hans, who claims to be protecting her. Hans pleads for Elsa to end the curse, but she lacks the power to do so and instead demands that she be released for Arendelle's safety. Hans claims that he'll "do what he can" and leaves the cell. Afterward, Anna finally returns to Arendelle and warns Hans about the curse placed upon her by Elsa. Wanting to usurp the throne as king, Hans refuses to save Anna so that he can charge Elsa for treason and sentence her to death. Before the guards can carry out the execution, Elsa uses her powers to destroy both her chains and her cell, thus allowing her to escape. Due to the instability of her powers, however, this also triggers a snowstorm that threatens to destroy Arendelle. Furious, Hans gathers his sword and sets out to kill the Snow Queen himself.

On the fjord, Elsa is confronted by Hans, though she pleads for the prince to take care of Anna in her absence. In response, Hans claims that Anna died of a frozen heart despite his efforts to save her, and blames Elsa for her death. Horrified, Elsa breaks down in sorrow, which effectively ends the snowstorm. With Elsa distracted, Hans slowly approaches the Snow Queen from behind and draws his sword, ready to decapitate her. His plans are foiled by Anna, who sacrifices herself to save Elsa just as the frozen heart curse consumes her body and kills her while shattering Hans' sword blade on contact. Upon realizing Anna's fate, Elsa breaks down in tears as Arendelle's citizens look on, proving to them that Elsa is not a monster after all. Fortunately, Anna's body begins to thaw shortly thereafter, much to Elsa's surprise and relief.

Olaf deduces that the "act of true love" was Anna's sacrifice to save Elsa, which helps the latter to realize that the curse can be lifted with the power of love. With this revelation, Elsa thaws Arendelle, bringing summer back to the kingdom. With peace restored, Elsa rekindles her bond with Anna and is praised by her people for freeing them from the curse. After returning to her rightful position as queen of Arendelle, Elsa cuts off trade with Weselton, deports Hans (whom she also orders imprisoned), the Duke, and his men for their attempted assassinations, and names Kristoff the "Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer". Additionally, she is shown to have become a generous, loving ruler towards her people; allowing the castle gates to remain open, while also creating an ice skating rink during a celebration for the kingdom's enjoyment. All the while, Anna expresses her happiness over the newfound way of life, much to Elsa's satisfaction, and the two sisters finally embrace their restored relationship.