A Frozen Heart includes some disturbing things about Hans and his world (note that this has not been confirmed as canon):
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Hans' Backstory
Note that many of them also double as Tear Jerker moments:
- For starters, he had glassware and food thrown at him, not to mention being the victim of many pranks and subjected to extensive abuse over the years.
- His father is a Social Darwinist, so in his view, Hans being beaten up by his older sons is a sign of strength. Hans's relative meekness at the beginning of the story has made him The Unfavorite of 13 sons.
- By the time he's a young adult, Hans not only suffers from clinical depression and possible Self-Harm, he believes that abuse is normal. He practically gives up fighting back, but it only makes things worse. No wonder he's got so many issues, as being the proverbial Black Sheep and Extreme Doormat of his family, and growing up the youngest but most forgettable of his clan wound up becoming his Freudian Excuse.
- As Hans grows up, the abuse warps him into a bitter man who sees people as objects, thinks it's a Crapsack World out there with everyone out there for themselves, and assumes Love Is a Weakness. This really shows how warped his mind has become over the years, leaving him clueless on what love actually is thanks to the harsh environment he was raised in. The betrayal scene near the end shows that he's heaping the same abuse on his fiancé just as his father and brothers do it to their spouses.
- His thoughts after being ordered by the king to beat up dissenters or delinquent taxpayers imply he secretly hates his job and despised his father for being unnecessarily cruel towards their subjects. But he also fears what could happen if he ignores the king's orders.
Hans' Family
Notably, anything involving the royal family of the Southern Isles isn't funny. Anytime they're mentioned, the humor level drops.
- The king of the Southern Isles is a walking Nightmare Fuel in many ways:
- He believes in Social Darwinism and often encourages his 13 sons to abuse each other for the sake of politics while deviations from his beliefs must be corrected forcefully. As his sons grow up, his toxic influence corrodes them into becoming sycophantic enforcers doing his bidding. He demands them to follow his orders and emulate him, and it's implied he even physically abused them when they were younger. Having been born into a family that believed in Virtue Is Weakness, Might Makes Right, Misery Builds Character, and Meekness is Weakness, Hans Used to Be a Sweet Kid who abhorred their violence towards others, but slowly becomes a power-hungry Manipulative Bastard over time. The severity of the king's abuse rendered his older sons equally miserable as well.
- At one point while fighting Marshmallow during the assault on Elsa's ice castle, Hans notes the Snowlem looks tame compared to his father, who is implied to have a Hair-Trigger Temper. Judging by the interactions with his family, Hans is clearly terrified of their wrath as he's being sent back home. After becoming the king's gofer, Hans briefly thinks of turning back, only to suddenly change his mind by believing that if he wants to earn his father's trust in going to Arendelle, then he must follow whatever orders he gets, even if it involves violence. It leads Hans to compromise his own morals over the years and do things he once loathed.
- He's also shown to be a cruel dictator who strong-arms his subjects for more money like a Mafia extortionist, reacting violently when they don't do so or when they criticize him.
- Except for Lars, most of Hans' brothers are brutish thugs who take sadistic joy and cruelty in punishing Hans in whatever methods they can, ranging from practical jokes to outright physical abuse. That he even downplays it by stating "it's what brothers do" warped his view on normal familial relationships. For example:
- He's lost countless fistfights and shouting matches, been thrown off moving carts, and repeatedly shoved in the mud numerous times despite trying to find a peaceful way out.
- Three of his brothers pretended he was "invisible" for two straight years.
- The fake "ransom note" from a certain "King Gotya" who "kidnapped" one of his brothers and would "return" him on the condition that Hans run around the entire castle three times in just his underwear. He was only four years at the time.
- He also fell for the old "present in that oddly scary room down in the catacombs" prank many times.
- At one point, he even woke up with ink all over his face after one of his brothers quietly dipped his hands in an inkpot while he slept.
- Hans hates attending family gatherings as he ends up being humiliated in some manner by virtue of being the family's laughing stock. For example, he's nervous showing up to his mother's birthday and stands outside the door for 20 minutes. When he reluctantly appears, his father scolds him for being late, while his brothers mock him for being a Momma's Boy. Rudi and Runo even toss glassware at him when he starts daydreaming. Plus, Hans finds it oddly better to Self-Harm himself by running his fingers along the rough wood splinters of an old table than the constant abuse his family heaps on him.
- Most of the men in the royal family have many of the traits of abusers, including superficial charm and All Take and No Give.
- Hans is ridiculed by his father and brothers for his unwillingness to murder people. Having had enough of their abuse, Hans decides that if he wants to earn their respect, then he'll have to accept whatever tasks he gets, even if it involves violence. Fast forward three years later, he's a much different person now, having no qualms murdering Elsa or Anna in a bid to take over Arendelle.
- As with Hans, it's implied his older brothers didn't start out as mean jerks, but the king raised them to be ruthless. They now have no problem hurting others or using questionable means to get their father's respect. But due to the Social Darwinist behavior espoused by the king, they do not get along with each other and retain their immaturity even as adults, rendering the entire family dysfunctional.
- As he doesn't get along with his brothers due to Parental Favoritism, who's to say Caleb's legitimacy will be challenged once he becomes king, possibly triggering a Succession Crisis, a coup d'état by military officers or nobles loyal to some of the sons challenging Caleb, or even worse, a Civil War? He's also seen as an immature Royal Brat who isn't serious about his job by his brothers, knowing he'll be a stupid ruler.
- It's implied most of the royals don't get along with their spouses, but keep a Happy Marriage Charade for social reasons. Aware how Caleb's pregnant wife is uncomfortable being ignored, how Lars's wife Helga hates living in the Isles, and how his mother is treated like wallpaper, Hans notes that his entire family is utterly dysfunctional.
- The king has been a Domestic Abuser for almost 30 years. It's implied his wife criticized his actions in the past, but she eventually gave up. One can only imagine the immense mental stress the queen is still undergoing after accepting her fate, giving birth to so many sons, and being forced to watch her husband abuse their sons out of contempt.
- The Like Father, Like Son trope is in effect as Caleb is heaping the same abuse on his wife.
- Despite loathing how his father and brothers are abusers, Hans came off as a hypocrite by selfishly exploiting Anna's desire to be loved.
The Southern Isles
- The king's Big Fancy Castle. Generally mistaken for a giant Sea Monster by outsiders, most people think it is beautiful and jaw-dropping even as it flourishes in a harsh environment, but Hans sees every inch of it as an ugly prison with his father and brothers as corrupt wardens.
- At the end of the novel, Hans is shown panicking when the guards drag him to be deported home without even seeing Anna and Elsa one last time. He's begging to be spared and not wanting to return to the hellhole he came from in the first place, aware what punishment his family will dish out on him when they get wind of his actions. As shown in Frozen Fever, he's now in a worse situation than before, having been condemned to hard labor and part of it involves shoveling horse manure. He's in a bleak and unfriendly environment compared to the lively atmosphere in Arendelle, with the stables alone looking sinister.
- From the looks of it, the kingdom is an incredibly harsh Police State and its government being a corrupt dictatorship. Even minor problems are solved with outright violence. The princes (including Hans himself) also basically act as the king's musclemen. For example:
- At one point, Hans reluctantly "talks" to a peasant who insulted the king.
- The king's "solution" to a farmer having a problem he didn't like? He torched their farm to the ground and seized their livestock.
- God help those that are behind on their taxes — they're collected forcibly. Hans nearly barfs while giving a detailed account of the tax collection he "conducted" to the king.
- In essence, the king only cares about maintaining an iron fist over his hellhole of a kingdom, leaving Hans to wonder how his father "could be so stupid." That his older brothers are not different from their father doesn't surprise him either — he even remembers the many times they belittled or pummeled him despite trying to find a way out. Also, whenever he felt hesitant to use violence, Hans remembers his brothers gloating about killing people and imagines being mocked for "not having the guts to do anything."
