“Frozen” has taken the world by ice storm with a tale of the power of family. One of the other obvious themes in “Frozen” is personality disorders. Disorders have been big in the news lately with Borderline becoming the new “it” disorder, New York preventing “unsafe” people from owning guns, and the craigslist killer. Every character in “Frozen” has a personality disorder, but the movie shows us that it’s okay.
Elsa: Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Elsa believes she can control ice with her hands, and one of the symptoms of SPD is magical thinking and belief in magical powers that includes physical touch. She avoids social interactions out of fear that people will find her dangerous or crazy. Elsa constantly repeats her “good girl” mantra to herself, and people with SPD often talk to themselves. She feels safest when alone.
Anna: Histrionic Personality Disorder
Anna displays many, but not all, of the major symptoms of HPD. She demands that Elsa would not hurt her, although she has no proof. She is constantly looking for attention and will use her looks, while “fetchingly draped against the wall,” to grab the attention of others. Anna immediately believes Hans affections and feels they have true love right away. People with HPD often believe relationships are closer than they really are. Finally, people with HPD love to fix problems, and Anna is determined to make things better with Elsa.
Hans: Antisocial Personality Disorder
The most common word for APD, and one used much less in studies, is psycopath. That fits Hans perfectly. It’s interesting to note that not once in “Frozen” does Hans lie to Anna. He has brothers and wants to find a place for himself. He promises to take care of Arendelle and does, but that’s because he wants to make the country and the people his. Hans is very suave and charming so he can easily manipulate others. All of his traits are symptoms of APD.
Kristoff: Schizoid Personality Disorder
Kristoff hates socializing with people. He spends his life with rock trolls and has a relationship that’s a “little outside of nature’s laws” with his reindeer, Sven. He chooses to be alone instead of exiling himself out of fear. Most of the song “Fixer Upper” lists SPD symptoms, including that he is “socially impaired” and has extreme “isolation.” The signs of SPD are most evident in his song “Reindeers are better than people.”
Duke of Weselton: Narcissistic Personality Disorder
The Duke of Weaselton definitely has NPD. He thinks he’s amazing and a great dancer while he really looks stupid. He wants to gain power without care of how it affects others. When Elsa accidentally reveals her powers, the duke only cares that she knocked him to the ground and over-exaggerates the harm caused.
It’s important to note that Olaf is not on the list. Olaf was just born yesterday and his personality is like a child with no knowledge of the world. He doesn’t have a personality disorder; he just needs to grow up a bit.
At the end of the movie, Elsa has come to terms with her powers. She has learned to control her “disorder.” It is not gone, just as people with these disorders never completely lose them. Instead, they find people that accept them as they are and help them through life.
“Frozen” really is a deep, beautiful story about love and acceptance.
