Gloves, Numbers, and Needles.
So gloves.
Yeah… I know. You’d think it’s self-explanatory and old news. Like, duh, Elsa needed to wear them 24/7 because #ice and #accidentalmurder. But I think… I think it’s also because of other reasons apart from the obvious.
Earlier today, I was nagging and berating @shardsofarendelle for not tagging her posts because I was looking for a particular story she wrote about Elsa’s jackets. And of course, when we talk about Elsa and Anna, tears and masochism follow. Just another typical Tuesday morning for me.
This is an excerpt from our conversation. We were talking about her drabble about Elsa giving Anna her hand-me-down jackets through Gerda because every Christmas, Anna asks for one. (Ouch???)
Me: HOW MANY JACKETS DOES ELSA OWN, THOUGH? SoF: A LOT BECAUSE I LOVE THEM Me: She’s the future queen… I’m sure they customize her clothes and they’re expensive? SoF: She also grows. Anna is smaller. They’re old ones. Me: But who does her fitting if she won’t let anyone touch her? SoF: Okay, sad head canon—after age 12-ish (“IT’S GETTING STRONGER – DON’T TOUCH ME!”) she measures herself, and passes the measurements on.
So after that, I kinda wept and shared my thoughts as well.
I think Elsa became so acquainted and so good in math because she needed to be. Sure, for academics. Of course. But she had to be extra good at it. She needed to learn numbers to meet her basic needs. She needs clothes. And to have and to own clothes, you need to know your size and measurements. I’m thinking she started doing this—measuring herself--- before she turned 13? An age where she’s old enough that she doesn’t need her mother’s help to dress and undress--yet way too young to never feel her mother’s—and anyone’s---touch ever again.
Back to the gloves.
Apart from preventing her hands from spewing ice, maybe Elsa felt some sort of relief wearing gloves because she had scars. Not that anyone else would see, but she might have had small yet countless needle pricks from her attempts to sew…and maybe even make her own clothes just so people would no longer inquire about measuring her frame. Just so people would leave her alone. I can imagine her getting frustrated because she’d freeze her needles or spinning wheel (she probably requested for one)…and she’d refuse Idunn and Gerda’s help since that would require getting into her space and maybe even touching.
A lot of people think Elsa was the one who sewed Sir Jorgenbjorgen’s glove cape. Maybe that’s how she started. She learned to sew and kept practicing even though all she did was fail and fail. But she learned. She learned the art of control. She had no choice.
And because she learned numbers and measurements and details and being ridiculously precise, she was able to create her ice castle. A stunning, geometrical structure that could only be produced by someone who studied architecture and math deeply.
And then she finally made her own dress.
Her ice dress.
One that didn’t require needles. A dress that wasn’t designed for coronations, meetings, and concealment.
Aside from Olaf, she was finally able to create something without hurting her hands.
The very same hands that held and (carefully) embraced Sir Jorgenbjorgen during those countless nights where she cried herself to sleep.
Those small, lonely hands that were pressed against an equally lonely door, hoping to somehow feel another person’s warmth and presence as they pass by her room.
Well...
I hope she owns a lot of dresses now. Dresses with pretty designs and bright colours. Dresses that she can show off to Anna. Dresses that they can share. Dresses that could feel warm against her body not because of the heat, but because she can finally receive warmth and hugs from others.
But...I am so, so glad that she’s not wearing gloves anymore.
