As a result of the novel's success, the adjective "Pollyannaish" and the noun "Pollyannaism" 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). 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. At the height of her popularity, Pollyanna was known as "The Glad Girl", and
Parker Brothers even created
The Glad Game, a
board game.
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. The board game was later licensed by
Parker Brothers but has been discontinued for many years. A
Broadway adaptation was mounted in 1916 titled
Pollyanna Whittier, The Glad Girl.
Helen Hayes was the star. 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. "Glad Clubs" appear to have been popular for a while; however, it is questionable if they were ever more than a publicity gimmick. 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. 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. 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". In a 1973 State of the Union message to Congress Richard M. Nixon wrote, "I believe there is always a sensible middle ground between the Cassandras and the Pollyannas. We must take our stand upon that ground." The video game series
Mother (known in the U.S. as
EarthBound) has consistently featured variations of a certain song, which in its first incarnation was called
Pollyanna. The title is a reference to the novel, and a lyrical version released on the game's official
arranged soundtrack CD is told from the perspective of a woman who would gladly be "called Pollyanna", or otherwise be considered foolish in her unyielding optimism.
Green Day released a song called "Pollyanna" in 2021. The song title refers to excessive optimism, and also refers to the main protagonist of the novel. ==List of Pollyanna books==