Elsa, A not so ordinary princess

Analy Felipe

March 24, 2021

ENC 1102

Professor Conde

Ambiguous Character Analysis

An ambiguous character is simply any character that falls out of the norm of their “stereotype.” There have been many stereotypes created in movies, such as heroes, princesses, villains, and more. For example, the typical stereotype of a princess has characteristics of being very feminine, affectionate, royal, and overall portrayed as “the damsels in distress.” Some examples as where the original Disney princesses’ theme of “damsel in distress” is shown is in Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, and Rapunzel who are all searching for their one, true love and waiting to be saved by their prince charming. Disney princess novels originally all started out with the typical damsel in distress and has evolved slowly through some ambiguous princesses such as, Merida, Tiana, Mulan, Elsa, Vanellope, Moana and more. These evolutionary princesses each portray a unique characteristic that makes them ambiguous.

To begin with, some Disney princesses do have ambiguous characteristics but the Disney princess that shows most ambiguity is Elsa, from the movie Frozen. This princess not only shows ambiguity but also depicts a change in gender norms. In the movie Frozen, Elsa is very independent and in fact never shows even a tiny bit of interest for a prince or to find love. From a young age Elsa and Anna had to grow up separately because Elsa was a threat to Anna. Elsa was born with the power to control ice, but she was very powerful since a young age and had to be isolated in order to not put anyone in harm. This makes Elsa very ambiguous since no Disney princess has been as powerful as her. Elsa’s powers seem to be all but limitless, she creates snow monsters that come to life, and builds her own kingdom made of ice. Elsa fits out of the norm of the typical damsel in distress considering how independent she is and how she never depended on anyone throughout the novel. Elsa was even the queen of the whole kingdom as soon as her parents passed away, which has never been seen before with any princess. According to an article, “This is the first Disney film in which a princess makes an egregious error that negatively affects everyone around her—Elsa freezes her kingdom—but is still able to receive forgiveness and respect by the end of the movie. Elsa is given opportunities to make mistakes that Disney Princesses have not been given in the past. Elsa often feels threatened, codes the world as black and white, and runs into trouble a number of times because of her ambiguous moral compass.” This statement proves the different aspects in which Elsa is an ambiguous character compared to the norm of Disney princesses. Elsa’s character is ambiguous because she is very independent, does not try to find a prince, is very powerful and dangerous, she shows some selfish aspects and rules her own kingdom.

Contributor, G. (2014, October 16). COLLEGE FEMINISMS: Slamming the Door: An Analysis of Elsa (Frozen) – The Feminist Wire. The Feminist Wire. https://thefeministwire.com/2014/10/slamming-door-analysis-elsa-frozen/