Interrupt Key - Pollyanna’s Corpse
This story isn’t about something unique or new or even surprising. The events themselves aren’t especially extraordinary: an anonymous online account goes silent for a while, then seems to come back under new control. The evidence isn’t damning—just hints and circumstantial clues. No grand revelations or discoveries drove me to write this; it was the small details that kept tugging at my brain. The metaphor baked into the name, “Pollyanna’s Corpse,” kept drawing me back. So let’s start there, with the metaphor.
In case you’re unaware, Pollyanna is a 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that tells the story of Pollyanna Whittier, an eleven-year-old orphan who insists on finding the silver lining in every situation, no matter how grim. Since then, the book has become a cultural touchstone. It has lent its name to a form of psychological bias and spawned numerous adaptations and references; from Disney’s 1960 film adaptation to a 1986 animated series, and even a song in one of my favorite video game franchises. The name Pollyanna has come to represent this trait, relentless optimism, positivity in the face of adversity, unyielding hope.
So, now that we’re caught up, we can look back to our metaphor, “Pollyanna’s Corpse.” Perhaps it signifies the death of hope, or if we look more closely at what a corpse is—that which remains after all hope, optimism, and positivity are lost. A bleak concept—certainly not one I hope to instill in the reader—but not one I invented. No, our metaphor comes from the aptonymous handle of a Reddit user.
