The Character of Olaf

Before I begin• I think it’s necessary to mention that I

don’t ship Elsanna, although I live by a strict “ship and let ship” policy (and it’s actually surprising that I don’t ship it tbh)

• No snowmen were harmed in the making of this Power Point

• This is the first time I’ve made a Power Point for tumblr so sorry if it’s bad

• FYI this is my interpretation of the character and his importance in the story (I don’t know what you would have thought it was)

Okay so maybe I sibship them, does that count?????

Sibship meaning I’m in love with their platonic sibling relationship

Start With The CreatorTo understand Olaf, we have to start with Elsa.

She’s the one who made him. Her relationship to Olaf is akin to Writer/Character. She builds him, names him, and even gives him personality traits: “Hi! I’m Olaf, and I like warm hugs!”

She built him out of love for her sister, as another friend to have fun with when they played.

And, as we all know, there are some strong resemblances between Anna and Olaf.

What Happens in Summer?After the incident with Anna, Elsa couldn’t build Olaf anymore

But that doesn’t mean he went away.Any writer will tell you that our characters never actually “die.”

So, the question is, what happened to him? Where did he “go?”

I believe he was factored off into Elsa’s heart, as one of her “fractals.”

Pay attention, this is important.

Word to the Wise: I am NOT implying multiple personalities.

Frozen FractalsBased on what I’ve just said, you may be tempted to think of Elsa having multiple personalities. That’s not what I’m implying here.

Psychologically speaking, humans never stop having emotions. However, we can compartmentalize them to keep them from affecting us. This is different from having multiple identities. Think of it as the difference between having two puzzles in one box (multiple personalities) and having multiple pieces that fit in a single puzzle. We all have different aspects to our personalities.

Olaf is a personified emotion. He’s a projection of something Elsa feels, but is afraid to allow to affect her. Do you understand?I know it’s complicated.

Simply put, the “fractals” are her feelings.

I Have A Lot of Feelings!

In the song “Let It Go,” Elsa compares her soul to the “frozen fractals,” or in other words, I’m guessing the falling snowflakes.

You probably know this because you’ve probably listened like a zillion times.

Obviously, our resident snow queen has a lot of feelings if they can equate to the number of flakes in that…blizzard.

The feels! The feels!~

So, what makes Olaf different from the others? Why is he separate from the others, and why does she have to build him again?

Olaf as a FractalThe easiest answer is that he’s not actually that different. It’s all still the same snow (“feelings”) she’s making (“has”). She just re-creates him with the memories in her mind. The rest were never made into beings.

Ignore the crappy screen-shot

We literally see her personify another fractal with this guy.

He could destroy them in the blink of an eye, and what does he do? He tells them to get out and lets them go.

However, I do think there’s significance to Olaf’s existence away from the other fractals even besides the fact that he’s been given an identity.

While Olaf is quite in-tune with Elsa (he could lead Anna and Kristoff to her without ever having officially met her), she didn’t even know he was alive. He was in-tune with her, but she was not in-tune with him (although it’s accurate enough to say she didn’t know she could

create life).

Pic only slightly relevant

Are you guessing where I’m going with this? I wonder, I wonder?

Seasons of the HeartIf you look at Olaf this way, a lot more things become clear. It’s easy to see his significance in the story. I’ll say it plainly now: Olaf is Elsa’s ability to love and her desire to be loved. This is most apparent in his desire to experience summer.

We all know that the summer is a metaphor for love. Yet, Olaf has never experienced summer; this is because Elsa’s heart has been frozen over since the day of the incident- his birthday. He isn’t uncomfortable

in the cold but he really wants to experience warmth. This is an allusion to the way his creator feels. The cold doesn’t bother her, but it’d still be nice to have a warm hug now and then. He’s willing to take the risk of change.

This willingness to experience change may also be another reason why Elsa and Olaf are so estranged. She’s too afraid of the risks.

Resemblance

His resemblance (personality, not physically) to Anna also becomes very significant. As I’ve just said, Olaf is Elsa’s love center (in a sense). If that’s true, why is he so much like Anna?

Because Anna is the most caring, lovable person Elsa knows.

Sibshipping. Sibshipping!!!

It’s important to note, however, that the character of Olaf can also give us some insight into Elsa’s heart.

Understand MeOlaf represents a part of Elsa that has been kept hidden- a part that she even hid from herself. I think, if Elsa were to decide, this would be the part she’d want us to know about the most.

That’s why he’s so important.It’s almost like his very existence keeps saying “Look, look! I’m not a monster! It wasn’t always like this! I want to have fun, too!”

Since Olaf also carries her hopes for a better time, his existence was probably the most painful, because she felt she’d never be able to accept or express her feelings again. She had to conceal him to avoid the pain of hope when you’re ready to give up.

The Give-A-WaysThere are some quotes from Olaf that give his connection to Elsa away(quotes may not be exact). There are more than this but I haven’t seen it enough to have them all memorized.

“Because I love you, Anna, I insist you run.” “Why aren’t you running?”(when they find out Kristoff’s friends are rocks) I also believe it to be implied that

Olaf has always known the secret to controlling Elsa’s powers. By extension, that means she knows- but only subconsciously.

“Quick! I’ll distract him! You get out of here!”

Also important: Olaf is the only one to accurately explain what love is.

“I’m sure she’s the warmest, kindest, gentlest person ever!”

Plus how Olaf is always losing his head (parallel with how Elsa might feel at times she’s “losing her head”) and getting scattered (Elsa’s emotions/brain frequently feel scattered due to anxiety)

“I guess he doesn’t love you enough to leave you forever.”

“Knock! Just knock!”(almost like he knows she wants to open the door)

But Put Me in Summer and I’ll be a…Now, I’m going to bring up something even weirder: Olaf’s melting in the summer.

Snow melting in the summer isn’t really something that would usually be questioned. But, I think it’s significant. His melting and Elsa giving him his own flurry are important for seeing her transition.

yum icecream

Olaf begins to melt because Elsa has accepted her ability to love. Giving him his “personal flurry” kept the character alive. In other words, their relationship is now Writer/Character again, and they have separated.

To Conclude

Olaf is actually pretty important. He shows us things about Elsa we may not be able to see otherwise.

He’s also a friendly reminder of how beautiful her magic can be.

I mean, come on, she created life! Doesn’t that make her, like, a god or something?????

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask in some way and I’ll try to answer. I’m still kind of a tumblr newb, so…

Credit goes to daekazu on deviantArt for this pic

Not sure if fanart or concept art, was looking for concept art…