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Pollyanna Had a Point
A Mother Looks Hard to Find the Good in Everything
By Karen Edmisten
Recently our family watched a Masterpiece Theater production of Pollyanna based on the classic novel by Eleanor H. Porter. We all have a passing familiarity with the character and her stereotype: Pollyanna is relentlessly hopeful, chirpy and optimistic, some would say nauseatingly so. She plays a game with everyone she meets that revolves around finding "something to be glad about." No matter what the circumstance, Pollyanna dons her cheerful thinking cap, ponders the situation and – voila! – pronounces a reason to be happy.
Pollyanna initially irritates people with her game but eventually wins them over and brings joy into many dreary lives. (And to do it justice, I must add that I discovered why this classic, which I'd never read as a child, is a classic. There's more to Pollyanna than a thoughtless optimism. Her cheerful game eventually boomerangs back at her, saving her from giving up on life in despair. But I digress.)
Before watching this production, I was among those who belittled a "Pollyanna" attitude for being simple-minded fluff. But as a mom I've found myself going back to it again and again.
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