Pollyanna Grows Up · Chapter
John Pendleton explained
Pollyanna submits her story for a contest and must wait until April for results.
What happens
Pollyanna submits her story for a contest and must wait until April for results. Christmas at the Harrington homestead is bleak due to Aunt Polly's refusal to celebrate. John Pendleton visits and talks at length about Mrs. Carew and Jimmy, leading Pollyanna to believe that Jimmy is in love with Mrs. Carew. She struggles with jealousy and heartache, trying to apply the glad game to her feelings.
Themes in this chapter
Loss, Grief, and Healing
Aunt Polly's refusal to celebrate Christmas reflects unresolved grief, while Pollyanna struggles with the loss of her romantic hopes.
Personal Growth and Maturity
Pollyanna faces romantic jealousy and attempts to use the glad game to cope, showing her emotional growth.
Love and Marriage
Pollyanna's misinterpretation of Jimmy's feelings for Mrs. Carew highlights themes of unrequited love and romantic anxiety.
Characters to notice
- Pollyanna Whittier
Submits her story for a contest, endures a joyless Christmas with Aunt Polly, and becomes increasingly distressed by John Pendleton's constant talk of Mrs. Carew and Jimmy, leading her to suspect Jimmy loves Mrs. Carew.
- Aunt Polly
Refuses to allow any Christmas celebration at the Harrington homestead, making the day difficult for Pollyanna.
- Jimmy Pendleton
Mentioned in letters as helping Mrs. Carew with Christmas celebrations at the Home for Working Girls; Pollyanna interprets his actions as evidence he cares for Mrs. Carew.
- Mrs. Carew
Frequently discussed by John Pendleton; Pollyanna believes Jimmy is in love with her, causing Pollyanna heartache.
- John Pendleton
Visits on Christmas evening and talks at length about Mrs. Carew and Jimmy, inadvertently fueling Pollyanna's jealousy.
- Jamie Kent
Writes a letter mentioning waiting for Mrs. Carew to come home from a social event with Pendleton.
Key passages
“For if he can't write about anything but Mrs. Carew and those girls, I'm glad he doesn't write very often!”
Pollyanna tells herself she is glad Jimmy writes rarely because his letters only mention Mrs. Carew and the girls.
Pollyanna uses the glad game to cope with her jealousy over Jimmy's attention to Mrs. Carew.
“I don't know, anyhow, but I'm glad 'tis so long, for all winter I can have the fun of thinking it may be the first one instead of one of the others, that I'll get.”
Pollyanna comforts herself that the long wait for contest results allows her to imagine winning first prize all winter.
Pollyanna applies optimistic reasoning to the contest delay.
“If there is a set o' folks in the world that wouldn't have no use for that 'ere glad game o' your'n, it'd be a pair o' quarrellin' lovers!”
Nancy once said that the glad game is useless for quarreling lovers.
Pollyanna recalls Nancy's words as she struggles to apply the glad game to her romantic heartache.