Peter van Daan was a shy, awkward and quiet boy of sixteen. He was thoughtful, sensitive, sensible and observant, different from his loud and brash parents. Reticent and reclusive, he was unlike other boys and Anne initially misjudged him to be a hypochondriac, hypersensitive and lazy. He used to be sullen and dicult because he had no friends and could not reach out to anyone, especially his parents. Peter turned out to be peace-loving, tolerant and extremely easygoing. He began conding in Anne and made a determined effort to express his innermost self also drawing out Anne in the process. He was much more closed than Anne was and took time to open up as Anne says is characteristic of uncommunicative types. His contemplative years were spent in the annex, bringing him close to Anne out of a sense of solidarity and companionship due to the isolation and loneliness that they both felt. Peter had a solid and calming inuence on Anne, there relationship was not romantic but forged out of a necessity to and a kindred spirit in such trying times. Their friendship imparts poignancy to Anne’s accounts. Peter found the tenderness and comfort that he had been searching for in Anne, making him offer his friendship for the first time to someone and that too a girl.
