Frozen as a Story about Depression

The story of Frozen is centered around a royal family. This very fact lends itself to depression: Often it is the people with the most life-threatening obstacles who have the strongest will to live, but when there are no obstacles whatsoever, it’s far easier to question existence and why death is something to fear.

At a young age it becomes clear that there is something that sets Elsa apart. Her parents notice that there is something “special” about her, and tell her she must hide what makes her different, even from her own sister. To make sure it remains a secret, they lock up the castle, and Elsa is closed up in a room by herself, the worst thing they could possibly do for someone threatened by her own thoughts.

Her “special power” is noticed when her sister gets hurt. One thing about people who are depressed is that they are afraid they are going to hurt other people just by being around them. This is especially the case with younger children, even more so for a younger sibling someone is protective of. Being around young children can be nerve-wracking for someone who’s depressed because they feel that their mere presence will dampen the child’s bright outlook and that the child will experience their own pain. 

The fact that Elsa did hurt Ana would be crippling – depression magnifies guilt. Elsa was so afraid of hurting her again that she wouldn’t let her near her. Obviously locking her out was doing a lot more harm, but that’s the thing with depression – it messes with a person’s logic. 

Back to the title, Ana’s “special power” is visually represented by ice. Depressed people will often describe themselves as feeling cold, as if their heart was wrapped in ice. They become so used to expecting tragedy that when something tragic happens, they are incapable of responding normally – they become very numb. This could explain why Elsa refused to reach out to her little sister even when their parents died – she couldn’t comfort her because she felt nothing herself. It’s almost as if when you’re depressed you’re at such a low point that nothing that happens could bring you any lower. Another aspect of depression symbolized by Elsa’s frost-making abilities is a physical cold feeling – depression patients are known to hide under blankets, but they can’t get any warmer. It physically feels as though there were ice flowing through the veins where there should be blood, and someone who is depressed might experience frequent chills even in the middle of summer. 

The metaphor continues even with the character of Olaf. First off, he is a symbol of Elsa’s carefree days of youth, a nearly painful memory for someone who cannot fathom what joy feels like. Back to Frozen, Olaf speaks of wanting to experience summer time. We know that he cannot sunbathe because he would melt. For someone who is depressed, they can stand in the sun all day and not feel any warmth. This is very frustrating because they want to be enjoying themselves but they can’t. Also, the ice is a visible symbol of the depression. Often the fact that depression is purely mental is infuriating because no one can see what’s going on. Often, someone suffering from depression has a desire to make the pain visible for everyone to see. When Elsa creates visible ice, her parents are horrified and tell her she must hide it, and give her gloves to conceal it. 

The gloves are an important symbol of the need to conceal what makes Elsa different from everyone else. Her parents are a physical representation of society demanding that she lock up doors so no one can see who she is, that in all cases one must hide what makes them different. For a depression patient, this is almost a natural reflex: they are terrified of misunderstanding, and don’t think anyone would ever be able to understand them, so they shut them out.

The doors that separate Elsa and Ana are also an important symbol. Ana’s persistent knocking symbolizes the people who care about someone who’s depressed – they desperately want to be let in to the person’s world, and try to barge in and help however they can. This is always met with the same response. The door is a symbol of the walls a depressed person builds around them to keep others out. They see it as protecting those who care from the demons trapped inside them. Again, it also acts as a way to deter misunderstanding. The “frozen” theme and door are combined into one symbol when Elsa builds a wall of icicles around her after being discovered, separating herself from everyone else. Eventually, Elsa builds an entire castle with her ice on a remote mountaintop that is difficult to reach. This is a symbol of the distance a depressed person will put between themselves and everyone else. An inherent characteristic of depression is that patients feel there is no way anyone has ever felt like them. They feel it is impossible to relate to anyone else. The very idea that someone might have similar thoughts is absolutely appalling and absurd. This is why they shut everyone out – they are afraid that if others realize what goes on in their heads, they will run away in terror and misunderstanding. It’s better to shut people out than have them run away from you.

Another part of pushing away those who care is the whole idea of having them see you as an “untamed beast” – to let them see your dark side is embarrassing, shameful, and terrifying. It’s the idea of not being able to control yourself that is especially shameful and silencing to a depressed person – this is the reason they will always put on a show that nothing is wrong, and why Elsa keeps it a secret from Ana for years. At one point in the movie, the foreigner (outsider, someone who doesn’t understand) says Elsa is evil and must be done away with – which in Elsa’s big fear. She doesn’t want anyone to see her as evil and dark like her mind. Later when facing this guy’s henchmen, Ana’s lover says “Don’t be the monster that they see you as,” which stops Elsa in her tracks. To let someone see her as a “monster” is of course horrible and enough to paralyze her so she almost gets killed.

Elsa does not have any romantic relationships in the story because that is unfathomable to someone who’s depressed – either they are being completely fake (which is exhausting and another reason to run away from others), or they could try to let the other person know who they really are. The latter seems to be a monumental task that could never be accomplished. A depressed person would either feel very guilty by dating someone and “lying” to them by not actually telling the other person who they really are at all, or they could try to let them in and end up giving up and running away.

However, having someone in love with you is good medicine for someone who’s depressed. When the girls were young, Elsa hurt Ana’s head – an incident that was referred to as treatable because it wasn’t the heart. Ana just had to forget everything about her sister. Essentially, Elsa hurt Ana’s head by allowing the depression to rub off on her (her greatest fear). The thing about depression is that, although it can be medicated, a patient is unable to let go of that part of their life, and always carry it with them, fearful of its return. Having the ability to completely forget the experience would be a cure that would be for good. Also, this event and its ability to be cured is representative of the argument that “depression is all in your head” – something easily treated by fixing chemical ratios.

Elsa truly harms Ana when she unintentionally harms her heart. This symbolizes depression’s insinuation of the emotions, the actual effects of mere “chemical imbalances.” Depression truly seems hopeless when it takes over the feelings associated with the heart. Again, when the depression rubs off onto Ana, it is symbolized as a gradual freezing of the body. This condition can only be cured by “an act of true love.” This is important because it’s a kind of love that transcends the concern of friends and family that is so frustrating and impossible for a depressed person to handle. But if the patient really loves someone who genuinely loves them back, it means something more. Knowing that this person needs and wants you alive can make a huge difference for someone who’s depressed. Of course, this is not what ends up happening. But it’s still the idea that if someone a depressed person loves cares enough about them, it can be enough to keep them alive. If they are able to reach out, they can have people to live for each day, and someone to wake up for each morning. And of course, the movie ends with the Disney message that true love triumphs all. ​