The Pollyanna Spirit [audio 12min]

In 1913, American author Eleanor Porter tried to revitalize the spirit of a depressed wartime society with a character who embodied optimism. Radio host Liane Hansen seeks to understand the role of the literary figure, Pollyanna, within its historical context. By 1946, millions of copies of the book had been sold in eleven languages. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term Pollyanna describes "a person of airrepressible optimism and the ability to find good in everything." However, the American Hertiage Dictionary definition disagrees with this definition, renaming a Pollyanna as a foolhardy person. As Hansen remarks, the icon had "fallen out of favor." Later, in the 1960s, the icon was revived by Walt Disney as a technicolor film, which led researchers to believe that this literary figure was different from others from this period in our history. In 1969, researchers started to analyze the literary figure in terms of her effect on society. Today, the themes relating to the story of this literary figure still reflect a need for an optimistic attitude in life, especially in times of war.