Odd and the Frost Giants

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussions of disability and depictions of ableism and sizeism. In addition, the source text uses offensive ableist and sizeist slurs, which are only replicated in quotes in this guide.

Odd’s disability is woven through the text as an important part of his experience of the world. After his accident, he must constantly think about his own body and make accommodations for himself, whether that be through putting his crutch within reach before getting into bed or taking regular breaks when traveling overland. Odd’s village—his only community at the beginning of the book—reduces him to his disability, viewing him as less valuable due to his lack of strength. Odd’s ancient Norse world is deeply ableist—the villagers value strength and independence and therefore view Odd’s need for support and lack of physical strength as weaknesses that make him less deserving of full membership in the community. Odd cannot get support from his village, so he must find self-worth elsewhere, including within himself, proving that people have value even if their contexts try to limit them.

While Odd’s leg might limit him physically, this is never treated within the book as a weakness—instead, it is merely something he must account for, like any trait. Odd has many strengths that do not match the village’s narrow definition of power. Odd’s strength of character and will is consistently emphasized throughout the book, but Odd’s village does not view this as a strength, and Odd himself does not seem to be aware of his own power. At 10 years old, Odd manages to free himself from a life-threatening injury and get himself home despite immense pain. This is a remarkable feat of ingenuity and endurance, but Odd is never praised for it. Odd faces the Frost Giant, helps the gods, and decides to live on his own, yet to him, these are natural courses of action, not hard choices to make. Odd acts because it makes sense to, not because he feels like he must. This practicality extends to his disability; he effortlessly incorporates his needs into his routine, adjusting for his own body and refusing to view his disability as a limitation. Odd’s understated heroism, however, does not equate to self-worth throughout the novel. Odd is incapable of being anything except himself, but he does not praise himself for his achievements; he just does what he must. Odd is aware of who he is, but he is less aware of what he can do. He must grow into a person with self-worth and actualization through his adventures and allow himself to become a person with agency who does not let others define what he can and cannot do.

Gaiman’s choice to partially heal Odd at the end of the book thematically represents Odd overcoming the more painful parts of his disability without losing what makes him unique. While the “magical recovery” trope is a harmful one in disabled literature, the book is careful to state that Odd does not cease to be disabled; rather, his leg simply does not cause him pain anymore. This represents Odd’s acceptance of himself and awareness that he has self-worth. His disability is still part of him, but not a part that hurts, freeing him to explore the world and decide his own future.