Pollyanna
Pollyanna is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor
H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter soon writing a sequel, Pollyanna Grows Up (1915). Eleven more Pollyanna sequels, known as
"Glad Books", were later published, most of them written by Elizabeth
Borton or Harriet Lummis Smith. Further sequels followed, including Pollyanna Plays the
Game by Colleen L. Reece, published in 1997. Due to the book's fame,
"Pollyanna" has become a byword for someone who – like the title
character – has an unfailingly optimistic outlook;[1]
a subconscious bias towards the positive is often described as the Pollyanna principle.
Pollyanna has been adapted for film several times. Some of the best
known are the 1920 version
starring Mary Pickford,
and Disney's 1960 version
starring child actress Hayley
Mills, who won a special Oscar for the role.
Plot
The
title character is Pollyanna Whittier, an eleven-year-old orphan[2] who goes to live in the fictional town of Beldingsville, Vermont, with her wealthy but stern and cold spinster Aunt Polly, who does not want to take in Pollyanna but
feels it is her duty to her late sister. Pollyanna's philosophy of life centers
on what she calls "The Glad Game," an optimistic and positive attitude she learned from her father. The game
consists of finding something to be glad about in every situation, no matter
how bleak it may be. It originated in an incident one Christmas when Pollyanna, who was hoping for a doll in the missionary
barrel, found only a pair of crutches inside. Making the game up on the spot, Pollyanna's father
taught her to look at the good side of things—in this case, to be glad about
the crutches because she did not need to use them.
With
this philosophy, and her own sunny personality and sincere, sympathetic soul,
Pollyanna brings so much gladness to her aunt's dispirited New
England town that she transforms it into a
pleasant place to live. The Glad Game shields her from her aunt's stern
attitude: when Aunt Polly puts her in a stuffy attic room without carpets or
pictures, she exults at the beautiful view from the high window; when she tries
to "punish" her niece for being late to dinner by sentencing her to a
meal of bread and milk in the kitchen with the servant Nancy, Pollyanna thanks
her rapturously because she likes bread and milk, and she likes Nancy.
Soon
Pollyanna teaches some of Beldingsville's most troubled inhabitants to
"play the game" as well, from a querulous invalid named Mrs. Snow to
a miserly bachelor, Mr. Pendleton, who lives all alone in a cluttered mansion.
Aunt Polly, too—finding herself helpless before Pollyanna's buoyant refusal to
be downcast—gradually begins to thaw, although she resists the Glad Game longer
than anyone else.
Eventually,
however, even Pollyanna's robust optimism is put to the test when she is struck
by a car and loses the use of her legs. At first she does not realize the
seriousness of her situation, but her spirits plummet when she is told what
happened to her. After that, she lies in bed, unable to find anything to be
glad about. Then the townspeople begin calling at Aunt Polly's house, eager to
let Pollyanna know how much her encouragement has improved their lives; and
Pollyanna decides she can still be glad that she at least has had her legs. The
novel ends with Aunt Polly marrying her former lover Dr. Chilton and Pollyanna
being sent to a hospital where she learns to walk again and is able to
appreciate the use of her legs far more as a result of being temporarily disabled and unable to walk well.
Influence
The
quote "When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you
surely will" appears in the 1960 Disney version,
where it is attributed to Abraham
Lincoln. However, the original quote
("When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it") is
actually from the book, where it appears without attribution.[3]
As
a result of the novel's success, the adjective "Pollyannaish" and the
noun "Pollyannaism"[4] became popular terms for a personality type characterised
by irrepressible optimism evident in the face of even the most adverse or
discouraging of circumstances. It is sometimes used pejoratively, referring to
someone whose optimism is excessive to the point of naïveté or refusing to accept
the facts of an unfortunate situation. This pejorative use can be heard in the
introduction of the 1930 George and Ira
Gershwin song "But Not For Me":
"I never want to hear from any cheerful pollyannas/who tell me fate
supplies a mate/that's all bananas." (performed by Judy Garland in the
1943 movie Girl Crazy)[5]
The
word "pollyanna" may also be used colloquially to denote a holiday
gift exchange more typically known as Secret
Santa, especially in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas.[6]
Pollyanna is still available in reprint editions.[7] At the height of her popularity, Pollyanna was known as
"The Glad Girl", and Parker
Brothers even created The Glad Game,
a board
game.[8] The Glad Game, a type of Parcheesi, was made and sold from 1915 to 1967 in various versions,
similar to the popular UK board game Ludo.[9] The board game was later licensed by Milton
Bradley but has been discontinued for many
years.[citation needed] A Broadway adaptation was mounted in 1916 titled Pollyanna
Whittier, The Glad Girl.[10] Helen Hayes
was the star.[11]
Author
Jerome (Jerry) Griswold analysed Pollyanna together with juvenile 'heroes' in
several well-known children's books, e.g., Little Lord Fauntleroy, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (both also portrayed by Pickford on film) and The
Secret Garden from the era known as the Golden
Age of Children's Books (approximately the American Civil War to World War I).
With reference to the Theory of the Three Lives of the Child Hero, he
posits that, in Pollyanna, clear oedipal tensions exist, albeit in
disguised or projected forms, in the relationships between the child, her Aunt
and the principal male adult characters, which are only resolved by the Aunt
marrying Dr. Chilton at the end of the story. He calls Pollyanna 'a
complex novel replete with disguises' and sees Pollyanna, not as a naïve child
but, rather, as a gifted individual with the ability to direct her extreme
optimism and good-naturedness (for the good) towards the manipulating of the
negative, worldly, cynical or disillusioned emotions of the adults that inhabit
her life.[12]
"Glad
Clubs" appear to have been popular for a while; however, it is
questionable if they were ever more than a publicity gimmick.[13] Glad Clubs may have been simply a means to popularize The
Glad Game as a method for coping
with the vicissitudes of life such as loss, disappointment, and distress.
Nevertheless, at least one "glad club" existed as recently as 2008,
in Denver, Colorado.[14]
In
2002 the citizens of Littleton, New Hampshire unveiled a bronze statue in honor of Eleanor
H. Porter, author of the Pollyanna books and
one of the town's most famous residents. The statue depicts a smiling
Pollyanna, arms flung wide in greeting. Littleton also hosts a festival known
as "The Official Pollyanna Glad Day" every summer.[15]
The
celebrated American science fiction writer Ray
Bradbury described himself as "Janus, the two-faced god who is half Pollyanna and half Cassandra, warning of the future and perhaps living too much in the
past—a combination of both".[16]
The
video game series Mother (marketed in the U.S. as "EarthBound") and Super Smash Bros. series feature a song in every game (except Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 and 3DS) entitled "Pollyanna (I Believe in You)",
originally named Mother 2 in Brawl
and Melee.
The song is a reference to the novel; a lyrical version produced and released
on a soundtrack CD reinforces the reference in the lyrics.[17]
List of Pollyanna books
Glad Books
- Eleanor Porter
- Pollyanna: The First Glad Book
- Pollyanna Grows Up: The Second Glad Book
- Harriet Lummis Smith
- Pollyanna of the Orange Blossoms: The Third Glad Book
- Pollyanna's Jewels: The Fourth Glad Book
- Pollyanna the game
- Pollyanna's Debt of Honor: The Fifth Glad Book
- Pollyanna's Western Adventure: The Sixth Glad Book
- Elizabeth Borton
- Pollyanna in Hollywood: The Seventh Glad Book
- Pollyanna's Castle in Mexico: The Eighth Glad Book
- Pollyanna's Door to Happiness: The Ninth Glad Book
- Pollyanna's Golden Horseshoe: The Tenth Glad Book
- Margaret Piper Chalmers
- Pollyanna's Protegee: The Eleventh Glad Book
- Virginia May Moffitt
- Pollyanna at Six Star Ranch: The Twelfth Glad Book
- Pollyanna of Magic Valley: The Thirteenth Glad Book
- Elizabeth Borton
- Pollyanna and the Secret Mission: The Fourteenth Glad Book
Further sequels
- Reece, Colleen L.
Adaptations
1915 play
In
1915, Catherine Chisholm Cushing published Pollyanna: The Glad Girl, a four-act
comedy which was produced with great success in Philadelphia starring Patricia
Collinge as Pollyanna. A critic at the time
wrote that: "Mrs. Cushing has slashed and sliced and revised and twisted
the story of Pollyanna and her infectious gladness until it has become
swift-moving, intensely dramatic and very real."[18] In 1918 and 1919 the play toured the U.S. and Canada with
19-year-old Viola Harper (nee Harpman) in the title role.[19]
1920 film
Main article: Pollyanna (1920 film)
The
1920 American silent
melodrama/comedy film Pollyana starred Mary
Pickford and was directed by Paul Powell.
It was Pickford's first motion picture for United
Artists. It became a major success and
would be regarded as one of Pickford's most defining pictures. The film grossed
$1.1 million (approximately $14,039,000 today).[20]
1960 film
Main article: Pollyanna (1960 film)
A
Walt
Disney film, Pollyanna, was released in 1960, starring English actress Hayley
Mills in the title role (which made her a
Hollywood star and led to a Disney contract). The 1960 film was shot at the McDonald
Mansion (aka Mableton Mansion) on McDonald
Avenue in what was then the small town of Santa Rosa, California. The Pendergast castle was filmed at Stags’ Leap Winery.
It was directed by David Swift.[citation needed]
The
film was a major hit for the Disney Studios.[21] It also marked the last film appearance of Hollywood actor Adolphe
Menjou, who played the hermit-like Mr.
Pendergast, who is eventually brought out of his shell by Pollyanna and her
friend Jimmy.[citation needed]
The
film was not very faithful to the novel.[citation needed] One marked
difference from the book (and the 1920 silent version with Mary Pickford) was
the treatment of Pollyanna's accident. Originally, she is paralyzed when she is
hit by a car, while in the Disney film, the accident occurs because she is
sneaking home from a local festival she has been forbidden to attend, and falls
when she tries to re-enter her room by climbing the tree outside her bedroom
window. The characters have been altered; in the book Aunt Polly does not run
the town and is hardly as ruthless or controlling. The town in the movie is
named "Harrington", but in the book is called
"Beldingsville". The idea of the orphanage and the bazaar with Dr.
Chilton and the townsfolk opposing the charity of the rich are not found in the
novel. This movie has Jimmy Bean in a far bigger role than the book does. Mr.
Pendergast (Mr. Pendleton in the book) has a much more prominent role.
Additionally, the ending has been altered slightly; in the movie it is never
made clear whether or not she is able to walk again (unlike the original book,
the film never had a sequel).[citation needed]
1971 film
A
Turkish musical drama comedy adaptation titled Hayat Sevince Güzel [literally,
"Loving makes life beautiful"], was loosely based on the original
novel. The film starred Turkish actress, Zeynep Degirmencioglu, in the title role.[22]
The
name of Pollyanna was changed to Ayşecik to cash in on Değirmencioğlu's status
in Turkish pop culture with her signature and title role of Ayşecik in the
Ayşecik film franchise. This was a common practice in her career as she
frequently played the character Ayşecik in other Turkish adaptations of films,
such as The Wizard of Oz.
The
plot line of the film is consistent with the Disney adaptation, but certain key
features such as musical numbers and the absence of the prisms differ this
adaptation. However this adaptation does follow suit with the Disney version by
having Ayşecik (based on Pollyanna) fall from the tree. Also, Ayse'nin Teyzesi
(based on Aunt Polly) was considerably younger in this adaptation, and Ayşecik
(based on Pollyanna) was about 16, where she is 11 in the original novel.
The
full film can be viewed on YouTube.
1973 serial
The
BBC produced a six-part TV serial in 1973 starring Colyton Grammar School pupil Elizabeth Archard as Pollyanna and Elaine
Stritch as Aunt Polly. This was run on the
Sunday tea-time slot, where they often ran fairly faithful adaptations of
classic novels aimed at a family audience. However it followed the Disney film
by having Pollyanna injured in a fall from a tree.[23]
1986 TV series
Nippon
Animation of Japan released Ai Shoujo Pollyanna
Monogatari (The Story of Pollyanna, Girl of
Love), a fifty-one episode anime television series that made up the 1986 installment of the
studio's World Masterpiece Theater, and had famous singer Mitsuko
Horie playing the role of Pollyanna.[citation needed]
1989 film
Main article: Polly
(film)
There
was also a modernized made-for-TV musical version made by Disney (originally
airing on NBC) in mid-November 1989 with an African-American cast
entitled Polly,
which later had a sequel (Polly: Coming Home).[citation needed]
2003 film
A
2003 Carlton Television
TV film version of Pollyanna starring Amanda
Burton as Aunt Polly and Georgina
Terry as Pollyanna is very faithful to
the book, with one or two minor differences that do not affect the accuracy of
the plot.[citation needed] It uses
the original characterizations and storylines, but takes place in an English
village rather than Vermont (only the scenery and accents show this—the town is
still called Beldingsville). Like the book, it ends with Aunt Polly and Dr.
Chilton married and Pollyanna walking, but the scene is the actual wedding with
Pollyanna back for a visit rather than a letter as in the book.[citation needed]
2018 telenovela
Main article: As Aventuras de Poliana
A
2018 Brazilian telenovela
version of "Pollyanna" called As Aventuras de Poliana (The
Adventures of Pollyanna) premiered on SBT on May 16.[24] The telenovela stars Sophia Valverde as Poliana.[25] It is directed by Reynaldo Boury.[26]
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
"Polly"
Whittier appears in Alan Moore's
comic The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume
1. She is shown to retain her optimistic outlook despite being raped by the character
Griffin.
See also
- Candide, a 1759 anti-religious satire, featuring a character with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz’ optimism.
References
· "Pollyanna:
Spirit of Optimism Born Out of War". NPR. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
· · Cummings, Joel
(2011-10-25). "UK PubMed Central (UK PMC)2011380UK PubMed Central (UK
PMC). URL: ukpmc.ac.uk: UKPMC Funders Group in partnership with the British
Library, University of Manchester and the European Bioinformatics Institute
Last visited May 2011. Gratis". Reference Reviews. 25 (8): 41–42. doi:10.1108/09504121111184507. ISSN 0950-4125.
· · Michael Quinion. "POLLYANNA". World Wide Words (Michael Quinion). Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
· · "Archived
copy". Archived from the
original on 2015-03-06. Retrieved
2014-11-29. - retrieved 6 March 2015
·
"Archived
copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-06. - retrieved 6 March 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment