16.

Describe the difference between Anne’s and Margot’s feelings for Peter.

Anne valued his friendship with Peter because he had reached a part of her that no one had ever reached before except in her dreams. He had taken hold of her and turned her inside out. The flippancy and petulance which was characteristic of Anne had been quieted by Peter's solid and calming influence. As she says that everyone needs a little quiet time to put themselves right again, changing her irrevocably. Their relationship was not of a romantic nature but one of solidarity and comfort in such trying times as the one they were currently living in. Anne's loneliness was so overpowering that it did not matter to her that their intimacy could be looked upon as inappropriate; all that mattered to her was the comfort she found in Peter. They provided solace, comfort and companionship to each other; hence Peter was indispensable to Anne at that point. Margot seemed unperturbed by Anne and Peters developing friendship, she did not want Anne to feel sorry for her because she was used to being the odd one out. In her letter to Anne, Margot; wrote that their friendship had made her a little jealous but this jealousy was neither directed towards Anne nor Peter. She was sorry that she had not found anyone with whom she could share her thoughts and feelings. She also felt that this situation would remain unchanged even in the future. Margot could not have gotten as far with Petter as Anne had because she needed to feel very close to the person before she could unburden her heart. She wants to have the feeling that the other person understood her thoroughly even if she didn’t say much. For this reason it would have to be someone intellectually superior to her and in this case Peter did not fit the description. So she reassured Anne that there was no need for reproach herself thinking that she was taking away something Margot was entitled to because that was farthest from the truth.