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.

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