Summary
Anne writes that she is growing more bored in the annex
and tires of listening to the same stories over and over again.
The adults constantly repeat the stories they have heard from Mr.
Kleiman, Jan, and Miep, which are mainly stories about other Jews
who are in hiding. Anne is very impressed by the Dutch people who
are helping Jews hide, since they are risking their own lives in
an attempt to save others. She goes downstairs one night and feels
that she cannot count on anyone else to support her. However, Anne’s
fears vanish as she looks up into the sky and puts her faith in
God. She has an intense desire to be alone, but she worries that
someday she will be more alone than she would like.
Anne’s personal life has changed considerably since the
weekend, when she noticed Peter looking at her “not in the usual
way.” The next day, Peter confides that he is often too nervous
to speak to people and that he used to beat up people instead of
talking to them. Anne is happy to learn that Peter is also temperamental.
On Margot’s birthday, Anne and Peter talk again, and Peter says
he is sure Britain will go to war against Russia. Peter also adds
that he is sorry he was born a Jew. Anne is disappointed to find
out that although Peter does not want to be Christian, he wants
to make sure no one knows he is Jewish after the war. He says that
the Jews are the chosen people, and Anne exclaims, “Just this once,
I hope they’ll be chosen for something good!”
Anne starts to enjoy going upstairs to see Peter, and
she says her life is much better now that she has something to look
forward to. However, she adds that she is not in love. All the same,
Anne’s mother does not like the idea of her going upstairs. A few
days later, Anne writes that she thinks about Peter all the time
and that Peter van Daan and Peter Schiff have melted into one Peter.
Anne’s newfound happiness is briefly shaken after another, more
serious break-in at the office. It seems that the burglar has a
duplicate key.
Anne writes about love, saying that emotional love eventually leads
to physical love, and that she considers this a natural progression
and does not worry about losing her “virtue.” She imagines that
her grandmother is watching over and protecting her. Mrs. van Daan
teases Anne about Peter. In a particularly self-reflective entry, Anne
thinks back on her life before coming to the annex. She says that
her life was heavenly but that she was superficial and very different
back then. Anne remarks that her carefree days as a schoolgirl are
gone forever, but she does not miss them.
Anne also looks back over her time in the annex and distinguishes
different periods in her growing maturity. In 1942,
she said that the transition from a life “filled with sunshine”
to one of quarrels and accusations made her stubborn and insolent.
In 1943 she was sad,
lonely and self-critical but then became a teenager and was treated
more like a grown-up. She gained a deeper insight into her family
and the other members of the annex, and she began to feel more emotionally
independent. Now, in 1944,
she has begun to discover her longing “not for a girlfriend, but
for a boyfriend,” and she has noticed a new depth to her emotions
and sense of self. Anne also sadly notes that the police have arrested
Mr. M., a man who had provided her family with food. The residents
are scared anew when they hear a knock on the wall next door during
dinner.
Analysis
By this point in her diary, Anne has gained a fuller sense
of self and a clearer view of her relationships with the people
in the annex. She starts signing her diary “Anne M. Frank” instead
of simply “Anne,” a sign that she perceives her own coming of age.
Anne has matured significantly during her time in the annex, particularly
because her family’s time in hiding coincided with Anne’s puberty.
In this confined world, Anne has also developed her relationships
with her family, because the close quarters have forced her to understand
her parents and sister on a deeper level.
