Pollyanna

“She knew Miss Polly now as a stern, severe-faced woman who frowned if a knife clattered to the floor, or if a door banged—but who never thought to smile even when knives and doors were still.”

Miss Polly is presented at the start of the novel as the image of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. She adheres to the stereotype of the cross old maid when she gets annoyed about little things. While Miss Polly pretends that these minutiae are the obstacles to her peace, even the order she craves does not make her happy.

“Well, really, Nancy, just because I happened to have a sister who was silly enough to marry and bring unnecessary children into a world that was already quite full enough, I can’t see how I should particularly WANT to have the care of them myself. However, as I said before, I hope I know my duty.”

This passage shows how Miss Polly views the care of Pollyanna as a grim duty that she must perform if she is not to be morally remiss according to her Christian principles. Her cynical view of childbearing would shock the novel’s contemporary reader, who was used to sentimentalized ideas of motherhood. While Miss Polly’s outlook on children not being the source of happiness on an already overcrowded planet is modern, her being bound by religious duty is distinctly old-fashioned.

“‘Oh, I’m so glad, GLAD, GLAD to see you,’ cried an eager voice in her ear. ‘Of course I’m Pollyanna, and I’m so glad you came to meet me! I hope you would.’”

This passage is the first introduction to Pollyanna’s breathless, garrulous style of speech. From the outset, she makes gladness her personal brand, using the word four times in her speech to Nancy, who she mistakes for her Aunt Polly. Porter shows how Pollyanna imposes optimism on a situation before she is even certain of the circumstances.