Pollyanna · Chapter
An Accident explained
Pollyanna visits Dr.
What happens
Pollyanna visits Dr. Chilton's office to get a medicine name for Mrs. Snow, leading to a conversation about home and love. Later, she is struck by a motor car and seriously injured, causing Aunt Polly and Nancy great distress. Pollyanna wakes up unable to move her legs, and a nurse is called to care for her.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Resilience
Pollyanna's accident and subsequent paralysis introduce a profound physical suffering, testing her characteristic optimism and resilience.
Family and Belonging
Aunt Polly's intense emotional reaction reveals her deep familial love for Pollyanna, transforming her from a duty-bound guardian into a truly caring family member.
Transformation Through Connection
Dr. Chilton's conversation with Pollyanna about home and love hints at his own transformation through connection, while Aunt Polly's response to the accident shows her transformation through her bond with Pollyanna.
Characters to notice
- Pollyanna Whittier
Visits Dr. Chilton's office, then is hit by a motor car and seriously injured, losing feeling in her legs.
- Dr. Thomas Chilton
Pollyanna visits his office; he gives her medicine for Mrs. Snow and hints at past romantic disappointment.
- Aunt Polly Harrington
Shows deep distress and love while caring for the injured Pollyanna, contradicting her usual duty-bound demeanor.
- Nancy
Weeps and expresses anguish over Pollyanna's accident, noting Aunt Polly's genuine fear and love.
- Old Tom
Questions Nancy about Pollyanna's condition and shares in the grief over the accident.
- Miss Hunt
The trained nurse called to care for Pollyanna; she administers medicine and tries to comfort her.
Key passages
“It takes a woman's hand and heart, or a child's presence to make a home”
A home requires a woman's nurturing touch or a child's presence to feel complete.
Pollyanna repeats John Pendleton's wisdom to Dr. Chilton, highlighting her understanding of emotional warmth in a household.
“I'm glad 'twasn't my mother's hand and heart that you wanted and couldn't get, Dr. Chilton.”
Pollyanna expresses relief that Dr. Chilton's unrequited love was not for her mother.
This shows Pollyanna's innocent but perceptive nature, connecting Dr. Chilton's past to her own family.
“Ye didn't need ter more'n look at her aunt's face ter see that 'twa'n't no duty that was eatin' her.”
Nancy observes that Aunt Polly's distress is not from obligation but from genuine love and fear.
This marks a turning point in Nancy's perception of Aunt Polly, revealing her true feelings for Pollyanna.