Student Question
In Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, what are Anne's relationships with other annex members?
Quick answer:
Anne Frank's relationships with the annex members vary widely. She has a strained relationship with her mother, feeling misunderstood and treated like a child, but adores her father. Her interactions with the Van Daans are inconsistent; she finds Mrs. Van Daan unbearable and her relationship with Mr. Van Daan fluctuates. Anne's rapport with Mr. Dussel is contentious due to sharing a room. Initially distant from Peter, she eventually forms a close, supportive bond with him.
Anne lives with seven other people during her time in the annex: Mrs. Frank, Mr. Frank, Margot, Mr. Van Daan, Mrs. Van Daan, Peter, and Mr. Dussel. Right from the beginning Anne mentions that her mother treats her like a baby and this causes some strife between them. Mrs. Frank and Margot are also very close, which makes Anne feel left out and misunderstood at times. In the entry dated Sunday, 27 September, 1942, Anne says the following about her relationship with her mother and Margot:
"Just had a big bust-up with Mummy for the umpteenth time; we simply don't get on together these days and Margot and I don't hit it off any too well either" (30).
Anne complains about her mother and Margot many times throughout her diary, but she absolutely loves her father. Anne says the following about her relationship with her father in the entry dated...
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Saturday, 7 November, 1942:
" . . . I adore Daddy. He is the one I look up to. I don't love anyone in the world but him . . . I cling to Daddy because it is only through him that I am able to retain the remnant of family feeling" (44-45).
As far as Mr. Van Daan is concerned, Anne's relationship with him goes up and down. One day Anne says, "Mr. Van Daan and I usually manage to upset each other, it's just the opposite with Margot whom he likes very much" (24). The next day she says, "Mr. Van Daan is all sugar to me nowadays" (25). Then with Mrs. Van Daan, Anne doesn't like how emotional the woman gets; but, sometimes she feels as though Mrs. Van Daan understands her more than her own mother does. For the most part, though, Anne usually says something along the lines of the following about Mrs. Van Daan:
"Mrs. Van Daan is unbearable. I get nothing but 'blowups' from her for my continuous chatter. She is always pestering us in some way or other" (27).
According to this passage and many others like it, Anne doesn't really get along with Mrs. Van Daan. She also doesn't like the fact that Mrs. Van Daan flirts with Mr. Frank occasionally.
Then there's Mr. Dussel, her roommate and old dentist who doesn't know how to compromise. Anne attempts to schedule some time for herself in the room, but the old man fights her on the issue even after she asks politely. When Mr. Dussel is fighting with Anne over the scheduling of the room, she describes her feelings about him as follows:
"With these words the offended Anne turned her back on the very learned doctor, ignoring him completely. I was seething with rage, and thought Dussel frightfully rude (which he certainly was) and myself very friendly" (86).
Mr. Dussel seems very difficult to get along with, so there's not much of a relationship between him and anyone, let alone with Anne.
Finally, there's Peter. Anne and Peter are not interested in each other until early in 1944. By March of that year Anne says, "He used to think I was unbearable; and I returned the compliment; now I have changed my opinion . . ." (171). Anne and Peter eventually form a deeper relationship as they share their feelings with each other about life. They even start dating and acting like a couple, which causes some drama in the annex, but for them it is a beneficial and comforting relationship for the both of them.
In Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, describe Anne's relationships in the Secret Annex.
When you have a lot of people locked in close quarters for months at a time, unable to leave, tensions are going to run high. Anne had a somewhat strained relationship with her mother, and a better relationship with her father. However, she struggled with the other family and Mr. Dusell.
At first, Anne thought that Mr. Dussel was “a very nice man.” However, she soon entered into conflict with him because they had to share her small room. She called him “an old-fashioned disciplinarian and preacher of unbearably long sermons on manners.” Dussel was not used to children, and Anne was not one to back down easily. She was frustrated with Dussel’s lack of understanding of the rules of the Annex and his continually harping on her about her behavior.
Anne felt that all of the adults were ganging up on her.
Mr. Dussel [is] such a tattletale and [singles out] Mother to be the recipient of his reports. If Mr. Dussel's just read me the riot act, Mother lectures me all over again, this time throwing the whole book at me. And if I'm really lucky, Mrs. van D. calls me to account five minutes later and lays down the law as well! (December 2, 1942)
Anne was under increased scrutiny because there were so many adults watching her, and she felt that no one understood her. Her relationship with her mother was strained, because she felt that her mother was too critical of her. She felt that her mother treated her “like a baby.”
Anne’s relationship with Peter was mixed. At first, it seemed that the two of them would never get along. She described him at first as “a shy, awkward boy whose company won't amount to much.” She also called him “hypersensitive and lazy.”
I don't think Peter's gotten any nicer. He's an obnoxious boy who lies around on his bed all day, only rousing himself to do a little carpentry work before returning to his nap. What a dope! (August 21, 1942)
Anne says she will never learn to love Peter “like a brother,” but she comes first to tolerate him and then to like his company. She starts to describe him as “amusing” and once he overcomes his shyness she is able to have frank conversations with him that she can’t have with other adults. It helps that Peter has his own room. In time, Anne comes to depend on Peter.