Elsa of Arendelle

Elsa of Arendelle was the queen of Arendelle between 1874 and [year Elsa becomes the fifth spirit] and had control over ice magic.

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 was 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. Though pivotal to its events, the character had little presence in the original story. The Disney adaptation expanded the Snow Queen to serve as a villain initially, but the advent of “Let It Go“ inspired the filmmakers to rewrite the character as a tragic heroine.

History
Frozen

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, eight-year-old Elsa is awakened by five-year-old Anna, who wants to play. Elsa refuses until Anna asks her sister if she wants to build a snowman. Elsa agrees, and the two head into the castle's throne room and create a winter field of snow. At one point, Elsa accidentally strikes 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, is 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 spends her life distanced from other people, including Anna, to avoid harming them. With no memories of Elsa's magic, Anna takes 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.

Frozen Fever

Frozen Fever centers the celebration surrounding Anna's 19th birthday. As a means to compensate for the years spent in forced isolation, resulting in lackluster and lonely birthdays, Elsa puts every ounce of her power into organizing a meaningful day to be spent between herself and Anna. After gathering a number of gifts based on Anna's personal interests, Elsa spreads them across the castle and kingdom and lastly puts her efforts into preparing the castle's courtyard, where the special cake is to be served. Assisting the Snow Queen are Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven, and although things seem to be going well, Elsa's perfectionist nature keeps her anxious. She is nevertheless assured by Kristoff that all will be well on his watch, and with that, Elsa departs to awaken Anna and officially start the day.

Following a trail of string throughout the castle and the village, Elsa and Anna begin their day of sisterly bonding while presenting the latter with her gifts, but throughout, Elsa constantly sneezes and sniffles as it becomes clear that a cold has consumed the queen. Whenever she sneezes, miniature snow-babies known as Snowgies are born, and they immediately rush to the castle courtyard and cause a mess as Kristoff, Olaf and Sven struggle to suppress them.

Meanwhile, Elsa's fever worsens to the point where she becomes delirious, thus affecting her actions. The hectic day leads to the city's clock tower, and a delirious Elsa nearly falls off the ledge, only to be saved by Anna. Finally coming down from her high, a comforting Anna manages to have Elsa admit the presence of her fever, and the sisters return to the castle. Guilty over the trouble she's caused, Elsa apologizes to her sister for ruining another birthday, though the latter assures that nothing was ruined and that Elsa just needs to rest in bed.

Anna takes her sister back into the castle gates, only to find Kristoff, Sven, Olaf, and the Snowgies having managed to successfully keep the party intact. A celebration follows, and Elsa, still delirious, insists on blowing the celebratory horn, which shoots out a massive snowball as a result of a sneeze, and flies all the way to the Southern Isles where it smacks into the conniving Prince Hans, causing the prince to be knocked into a wagon of horse manure.

After a successful birthday celebration, Anna helps Elsa into bed and happily remarks that taking care of her beloved big sister is her best birthday present ever.

Olaf's Frozen Adventure

In Olaf's Frozen Adventure, Elsa and Anna prepare to celebrate their first Christmas together since the gates have reopened. They do so by planning a party for the kingdom to enjoy at the castle, but their subjects instead choose to celebrate their own family traditions at home. Anna asks Elsa if they have traditions of their own, but because of Elsa's isolation, they weren't able to spend the holidays together as a family. Olaf looks to rectify the problem by going out and finding traditions for the sisters to share. Later that night, Elsa finds Anna rummaging through their old belongings in the attic. While doing so, Elsa finds a box filled with snowman memorabilia modeled after Olaf that Anna would send her every Christmas. The two declare Olaf to be their tradition and celebrate the revelation by throwing a Christmas party out in the mountains with Olaf as the guest of honor.

Frozen II

Elsa returns in the sequel, this time as the protagonist. Three years have passed since Elsa revealed her powers, and the now twenty-four-year-old queen has settled into her position as Arendelle's reigning monarch. And yet, Elsa is not content with her place, in spite of her companionship with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven, and the acceptance from her subjects. With her powers growing exponentially with each passing day, Elsa is stuck with many questions about who and what she really is, and wonders if her purpose is really meant to be ruling Arendelle. Meanwhile, a strange, siren-like voice that only Elsa can hear starts calling to her. Elsa wonders if it is somehow connected to her powers and origins. Despite this, Elsa fears that pursuing the voice may come at the cost of the family, and thus tries to ignore its call.

One night, Elsa’s frustration with the voice’s presence causes her to finally pursue its call. As she follows the voice out of the castle, Elsa lets her magic run free, unconsciously generating snowy projections of various scenes and objects, including a gust of wind, a flame, humanoid rocks, and a mystic horse. Too enticed to turn away, Elsa embraces the voice’s call and awakens the spirits of the Enchanted Forest, whom initiate an assault on Arendelle. This causes panic across the kingdom, the inhabitants of which are evacuated to the cliffs by Anna and Elsa. Once everyone is safe, Elsa admits her doings to Anna. Grand Pabbie soon arrives with the rock trolls and tells Elsa that the elements are acting out from anger of a past offense, and the only way to save Arendelle is to quell their rage and restore balance, or he foresees no future for the kingdom. Elsa declares that, to save her kingdom, she must find the mysterious voice. Despite her desire to go alone, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven insist upon accompanying Elsa on her journey.

In the forest, they discover that a delegation of Arendellian guards under the command of their father’s former guard, Lieutenant Mattias, and the people of the Northuldra have been trapped in the forest for over thirty years. Though initially wary of Elsa, the Northuldra come to trust her upon witnessing her connection to the spirits of wind and fire. Gale combines its magic with Elsa’s to reveal that the sisters’ mother, Queen Iduna, was herself a member of the Northuldra. With this knowledge, the Northuldra members welcome Elsa and Anna into their family. While recouping at the Northuldra campsite, Elsa learns from a woman named Honeymaren that there is a fabled “fifth spirit”, said to be the bridge between the magic of nature and people. Elsa wonders if the fifth spirit is the one that has been calling to her, but Honeymaren declares that, “only Ahtohallan knows”. With Gale and Bruni as their guides, Elsa and Anna continue on their quest to find the voice. They are led to the Dark Sea, where they find the wreckage of the Arendellian ship on which their parents presumably drowned. By uncovering lost relics and channeling the memory of the water, Elsa and Anna discover that their parents were voyaging to Ahtohallan to learn the source of Elsa’s powers. Elsa choose to traverse the Dark Sea to find Ahtohallan, which she believes holds the answers she has been seeking.

Anna again insists on coming, but Elsa uses her magic to conjure an iceboat, which sends away her sister and the accompanying Olaf as a means of protecting them. She then tames another of the spirits, the water spirit, known as the Nokk, and travels across the sea. Arriving at Ahtohallan, Elsa ventures into a deep cavern looking for the fifth spirit; the voice grows even louder, and as Elsa follows it, she finds herself in a room with all the elemental symbols engraved on the floor. Once she steps in the center, she sees a vision of her mother sing in unison with her. Elsa then realizes the symbols form a star, and its center represents the fifth spirit. Upon realizing that the fifth spirit is the connection between the elements, Elsa's dress transforms into a white gown with two waving cape strands as the symbols transform into ice diamonds that become one with the dress. Elsa realizes that she is the fifth spirit—the bridge between nature and people—and ascends to her true identity of the Snow Queen.

After the spiritual revelation, Elsa uses her powers to create moving replicas of people in the past and memory. After scouring some of her memories, Elsa soon comes across the statues representing events within the Enchanted Forest—the ones concerning her grandfather King Runeard and the Northuldra. Exploring further, Elsa learns Runeard detested magic in the belief that magic corrupts, which motivated his actions. Elsa soon uncovers her grandfather's dark secret: the dam supposedly built by the people of Arendelle as a gift for the Northuldra was actually a ploy by Runeard to drain their magic and ruin them, with him even going so far as striking down the Northuldra leader when he was unarmed and unaware of Runeard preparing to murder him. Having gone too deep into Ahtohallan's depths, Elsa rapidly begins to freeze to death, but manages to use her final moments to send a message to Anna, revealing this truth.

Anna is bereft, and more so when Olaf disappears due to the loss of Elsa's magic. Nevertheless, she moves forward, and with the aid of the Earth Giants, destroys the dam, setting off a flood that threatens to destroy Arendelle. Destroying the dam releases the curse upon the forest and thaws Elsa, who falls into the Dark Sea before being rescued by the Nokk. Elsa rides the Nokk to the waters of Arendelle and freezes the approaching wave, protecting the kingdom. She then returns to the forest, where she reunites with Anna, Kristoff, and Sven. She then uses her magic to restore Olaf, as water has memory. Elsa commends Anna for her heroism, and declares that she will remain in the Enchanted Forest as its protector, while Anna is dubbed the new queen of Arendelle. Following her decision, Elsa lives among the Northuldra and her fellow spirits, but makes regular return visits to Arendelle to spend time with her family.