Question

Write a character sketch of Mrs Van Daan.(The Diary of a Young Girl) (200-250 words).
(Class 10 ENGLISH COMMUNICATIVE Sample Question Paper)

Answer 1

Mrs. Van Daan is a spoiled woman who expects everyone to behave as she does. What she does not realize is that her behavior is not exemplary. She especially does not like Anne due to Anne being a very outspoken person. Mrs. Van Daan feels that children should not express their opinions on any subject, because they do not have the experiences to draw upon that adults do. This puts her in direct conflict with Anne and her parents. Mrs. Van Daan also does not get along at all with Mrs. Frank. Their problems started after the Van Daan's moved into the "Secret Annex" and Mrs. Van Daan began hiding some of her things. She felt that she should not have to share items such as furniture, dishes and food with the Franks. In retaliation, Mrs. Frank did the same with some of the Frank items. This caused a great deal of discord among the two women. Mrs. Van Daan felt that she had sacrificed enough so when her husband told her they would have to sell her prized fur coat for money, she was firmly against the idea. She was eventually brought around to selling the coat. Another attribute of Mrs. Van Daan was her exaggerated sense of courage. She was always telling the others to be like her, but when the burglaries occurred or the bombings happened, she was always the first person crying and shaking like a scared little kitten.

Answer 2

Mrs Van Daan belonged to the family that went into hiding with the Franks. She was the only person that Anne couldn't stand. She was very quarrelsome, irritating and selfish woman. Mostly she instigated the fights. She got angry over trifles. Mrs Van Daan was very vain and lacking in humility. She was in the habit of hiding her things so that other people couldn't use it. Mrs Van Daan was also in the habit of criticizing others. She was always getting mad at Anne's talking so much. She was jealous of Anne's relationship with her son, Peter. She wanted Peter to confide in her rather than in Anne. She was lazy by nature and always avoided helping others in the Annexe. She always tried to avoid doing the dishes. Mrs Van Daan liked to flirt with Mr Otto Frank while with her husband, she was always cross. Even her son Peter did not like her and found trouble in talking to his mother. All this made Anne believe that like her mother, Mrs Van Daan too lacked motherly skills. She was not a warm and affectionate mother. According to Anne,Mrs Van Daan was the most insufferable annex resident of them all.