Anna's lost memory
When they were kids, Elsa accidentally hit Anna on the head with her magic while they were playing, causing an injury. To heal this injury, Elsa’s family sought help from the trolls. There, Grand Pabbie, one of the trolls, removed the magic that had settled in Anna’s head. However, during the process, Pabbie decided it would be safer to erase Anna’s memories of Elsa’s magic entirely, wiping out all traces of those moments from her mind. Because of this, grown-up Anna has no memory of the magical experiences she shared with Elsa during their childhood.
So, after the events of Frozen, with Elsa’s magic now revealed to the world and Elsa herself finally in control of her powers—did Anna’s lost memories ever return? Or is she still living without those missing memories? Let’s dive into what might have happened to Anna’s forgotten past.
In the Movie
First, let’s break down the key events from the first Frozen movie, focusing on Anna’s injury:
- Anna was injured by Elsa’s magic, which hit her on the head.
- This injury couldn’t be healed through normal means.
- Pabbie, the troll, used his magic to heal her.
- In doing so, Pabbie removed all memories related to Elsa’s magic from Anna’s mind.
- Later, when Elsa’s magic injured Anna’s heart, Pabbie said that such an injury could not be healed by him.
From this, we can see that Anna’s recovery was deeply tied to Pabbie’s magical abilities. Now, let’s take a closer look at Pabbie and what his powers entail.
Grand Pabbie
Unlike the other trolls, Pabbie is shown to possess magical abilities. Across the movie, novels, and storybooks, his powers are described as including:
- Erasing people’s memories
- Foreseeing events from the past and future
In the movie, Pabbie used his power to remove Anna’s memories of Elsa’s magic. This same ability is also featured in the official novel “Dangerous Secrets” where it is used on another character. The novel makes it clear that while erasing memories is possible, restoring them is not.
Erasing or altering memories is somewhat manageable depending on the intent of the magic user. However, bringing back lost memories is much more complex since it involves revisiting the past, which requires a different level of magic. Given the descriptions in the novel, it seems reasonable to assume that Pabbie’s abilities are limited to erasing and altering memories, but not restoring them. Since a detailed exploration of troll magic is beyond the scope of this post, we’ll leave further discussion for another time.
In conclusion, it’s safe to say that Pabbie cannot restore Anna’s lost memories.
In the Storybooks
Several storybooks also explore Anna’s attempt to recover her lost memories. Although the English and French versions differ slightly in length, both versions share the same key storyline.
In the storybook, Anna goes on a journey to recover her lost memories, facing various challenges along the way. However, by the end, she decides to let go of the past memories and move on with her life. While these storybooks are not as concrete in their details as the movie, they still offer valuable insights into the characters of Elsa and Anna.
Summary
The magical memories Anna shared with Elsa in their childhood are now lost. Although Anna made several attempts to recover these memories, it seems she still hasn’t regained them. It’s also suggested that Anna has come to terms with the loss and decided to move forward with her life.
