Chapter 8 - Pollyanna Pays a Visit

Summary

Pollyanna spends her free afternoons walking and encounters a stern, lonely man in a black coat whom she cheerfully greets despite his cold indifference. She then takes on the errand of delivering calf's-foot jelly to Mrs. Snow, a cantankerous sick woman whom Nancy claims no one visits because she is always dissatisfied. Upon arriving at the gloomy cottage, Pollyanna ignores Mrs. Snow's fretful complaints and dark room, instead delighting in the opportunity to compliment the woman's appearance and fix her hair. Mrs. Snow, initially resistant and bitter, is unexpectedly captivated by the reflection she sees in the hand-glass Pollyanna holds up. Pollyanna leaves before she can answer Mrs. Snow's challenge to name something to be glad about, leaving the sick woman bewildered and gazing at her own improved appearance, while her daughter Milly enters to find the curtains open and a flower in her mother's hair.

Characters

• Pollyanna / Pollyanna Whittier — Pollyanna walks the streets and cheerfully greets a lonely man, who ignores her. She then delivers jelly to Mrs. Snow, who is hiding in a dark room, and gleefully fixes the sick woman's hair while complimenting her beauty, leaving her guest amazed by her own reflection.
• the_man (the Man) — A clean-shaven, gray-haired man in a black coat and silk hat walks rapidly and alone. He reacts with sharp, dismissive grunts to Pollyanna's friendly greetings, refusing to engage or introduce himself.
• mrs_snow (Mrs. Snow) — A sick, cantankerous woman who lives in a dark room and complains constantly about her food and condition. She is drawn out of her misery by Pollyanna's attention and admiration, staring at her own reflection in a mirror with unexpected fascination.
• Milly — A pale-faced young girl answers Pollyanna's knock at the door and later enters her mother's room to find the curtains open and her mother looking at a mirror.