Mrs Van Daan Traits

The extreme traits of Mrs. Van Daan
“I can’t stand it! I’ll kill myself! I’ll kill myself, “ she screams just as the play is about to end. At the beginning of the play, Mrs. Van Daan seems like a reasonable and thankful character, but her true colors and flirtatious behavior start showing very quickly. Along with her love for material objects over actual human connection, with the usual wild fits of extreme hysteria. It’s quite obvious that she is not coping well with her attic life by the statements she exclaims to everyone, and around everyone else in the attic. Mrs. Van Daan had a husband and a son. She was also a major flirt. On page 557, Mrs. Van Daan was telling Anne about how many boys she always had around her house when she was younger,

Mrs. Van Daan is one of those people. For example, after an argument between Anne and Mr. Van Daan, Anne accidentally spills milk on Mrs. Van Daan expensive fur coat. Mrs. Van Daan exclaims, “Now look what you’ve done...you clumsy little fool! My beautiful fur coat my father gave me…”, It’s understandable why she’s mad, but to call a 13 year old names over a coat shows how she cares more about expensive clothes than being a nice, understanding person. Secondly, on page 604, Mr. Van Daan goes to sell Mrs. Van Daan’s’ coat for cigarettes, and even though he’s clearly in the wrong, Mrs. Van Daans reaction is a little extreme. She screams, “No! No! No! Don’t you dare take that! You hear? It’s mine! My father gave me that! You didn’t give it to me. You have no right. Let go of it, you hear? She worries so much about clothing and “how’s she’s going to have nothing to wear after the war is over” in such a harsh, cruel time, it’s truly insensible. Lastly and most cruel, on page 561, after the same incident with the milk, Mrs. Van Daan also keeps yelling at Anne even after she says apologizes. Mrs. Van Daan seems to scream as if her world is crashing, though it was a mere accident. Mrs. Van Daan yells at Anne, “What do you care? It isn’t yours...so go on, ruin it! Do you know what that coat costs? Do you?

Van Daan might be a reasonable, understanding character, if she wasn’t absolutely hysterical. On page 591, Mrs. Van Daan is telling everyone that she doesn’t believe the thief will tell the Green Police they are there, but Dussel disagrees. Mrs. Van Daan, again, loses her temper and is unable to have a calm and actual discussion. Mrs. Van Daan shots down Dussel’s polite, “Yes, I think he will, “ with an hysterical “You’re crazy!”, as she stumbles back to her seat having her son Peter help her, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Again, this quote needs to be brought up, but this time to back up her hysteria. On page 561, back to when Anne accidentally spilled milk over Mrs. Van Daan’s coat, it’s clear that Mrs. Van Daan is hysterical again, with another fit of extreme emotion. She exclaims, “I could kill you for this! I could just kill you!”. Again, there’s no reason to be this angry over a teenager’s accident, and Mrs. Van Daan is unable to contain her extreme fits of emotion. While threatening someone else’s death and screaming during a peaceful disagreement, Mrs. Van Daan goes flown-blown hysterical on page 630. The phone keeps on ringing, causes everyone to be on edge because it’s Sunday and no one is in the office below. The Franks are calm, Dussel is pleading to answer along with Mr. Van Daan, but Mrs. Van Daan is hysterical. Mrs. Van Daan wails hysterically, “I can’t stand it! I’ll kill myself! I’ll kill myself!” The situation is tense, but to threaten