She does not marry or have children, but she is a loving aunt to May and Kevin. Danny thinks she could do better, but she loves the job and feels needed there. Even though she is very intelligent and attends Barnard, she does not pursue further education and gets a job at Otterson's, a frozen vegetable produce distributor. She suffers from serious diabetes, a condition that came upon her after her mother left. She makes a tradition of sitting with Danny in her car in front of the house, smoking and reminiscing. She holds onto her hatred for Andrea and sorrow in losing the Dutch House for almost her entire life. Maeve is a brilliant, vivacious, stubborn, and loyal person She is fiercely devoted to her brother Danny after their mother leaves, and the two of them are bonded even more tightly after Cyril marries the cold and controlling Andrea then, a few years later, Cyril dies, and Andrea kicks the siblings out of the house. Like Maeve, he struggles with losing the Dutch House and obsesses over it for many decades, but by the end of the novel, he has come to terms with his childhood traumas. He and his wife divorce each other but remain close, and he is a loving father to his kind and successful children. Danny does so, eventually establishing a decent relationship with Elna. Thus, when their mother returns-a mother of whom he has no memories-he is reluctant to let her get too close to Maeve until Maeve tells him she needs her mother and Danny needs to come to terms with it. Maeve is his anchor throughout his life, and he would do anything to protect her. He does eventually abandon his plan to become a doctor, begins his own real estate business, and is very successful. Danny pursues college and medical school at Maeve's behest, even though he'd rather go into real estate like his father.

His older sister Maeve raises him after their mother leaves and their father marries the horrid Andrea, and especially after Cyril dies and Andrea kicks him and Maeve out of the house.

He is smart and serious, albeit occasionally unmotivated and emotional. Danny narrates the novel as a boy, a young man, and an adult.

The dutch house book summary