Anne Frank has many loves. She loves reading, writing, nature, movies, and her family and friends. She’s also obsessed with romantic love, experiments with romantic relationships, and has vivid romantic fantasies. Anne is in love with life and with living.
Yet, because Anne has gone into hiding with her family (and some others) to try to stay alive in Nazi-occupied-Holland, during World War II, she lives a life of fear, frustration, and isolation. In The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne describes the almost always painful, sometimes ugly, and at times stunningly beautiful ways her love moves and changes under these conditions.
Questions About Love
- What are some of the reasons Peter and Anne are attracted to each other?
- Why do Anne and her mother have such a hard time being loving to each other? Why is it so much easier between Anne and her father?
- Is Anne infatuated with Peter van Daan? If so, does this make her feelings less “real”?
- Does Anne's previous relationship with Peter Schiff influence her relationship with Peter van Daan? If so, how? If not, why not?
- Anne and Peter talk fairly openly about sex. What does this say about their relationship?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Anne and Peter’s romantic relationship never develops into true love.