As the queen regnant of the kingdom of Arendelle, Elsa appears calm, reserved, regal and--unlike her sister--experienced in grace and poise. Beneath this elegant appearance, however, Elsa is quite complex; in truth, the Snow Queen was, for a majority of her young life, troubled with her abilities, a trait that stems from a traumatic incident as a child. When she was younger, she had cared strongly for Anna and, despite being the more mature and cautious of the two sisters, Elsa was still quite playful. However, after witnessing her magic nearly cause her sister's death, Elsa had lived in fear and trauma for a great amount of her life; she became too terrified to let her powers overdevelop. She consequently chose isolation from everyone she cared about, including Anna, out of fear that she could hurt them. This would eventually result in years of loneliness, misery, bitterness and grief. Regret would gradually take its toll on her as well when tragedies struck throughout her life from the accident with her sister to the death of her parents.
Elsa's damaging experience through the crucial stages from childhood to adulthood caused her personality to shift. She became reclusive, insecure, emotionally unstable, and genuinely depressed. For Elsa, her powers and nature grew more restrained as the years passed, molding her into the cold queen others saw her to be. When given the chance to rest and relent, however, as seen on the night of her coronation, Elsa's true persona, one that is warm, loving, and innocently mischievous, came about - but only briefly, and with restriction. Despite her fear, Elsa shows to truly care about her family and her kingdom as more than just a position quite selflessly, as she was evidently frightened when she realizes that she had created a winter over her kingdom when she had tried so desperately to avoid them from the peril her powers could potentially bring. But due to the influence of her magic, Elsa does not like to confront things she had caused, for she has always believed she can only create winter, not remove it. However, Elsa's strongest part of herself is her love for her dear sister, a trait that gives Elsa the ultimate motivation to save Anna. Although she feels responsible for the chaos that she has caused, the bond that Elsa shares with Anna is stronger than she knows, as the feeling itself is her reminder that she is not truly alone in the world when there is someone else who cares for her as well. With love, Elsa finds a stronger grip over her abilities in order to save those she cares about. From this, Elsa confronts her fears and learns how to use her powers for good instead of imbalance and, in doing so, gains the will to control them. |