Girl With A Pearl Earring

When I first looked at this novel, one question came to mind: How do you find a story in a painting? Then, when Chevalier said, “ Something pulls me like a magnet, and then I ignore all the others… I stand in front of that painting, and I tell myself a story about it,” this answered my question. The title of this novel is very simple: “Girl With A Pearl Earring,” nothing special. Yet, after reading it, the painting has such a deep story in it and nothing else can be titled for this novel other than A Girl With A Pearl Earring.

The painting Girl With A Pearl Earring is known as the Dutch Mona Lisa. Thus, this novel tells a story of the famous painting, all the while depicting life in 17th century Delft, a small Dutch city with a burgeoning

In order to sustain her struggling family, Griet must work as a maid for a more financially stable family. While Griet was “chopping vegetables in the kitchen”(Chevalier 3), Vermeer couple came in to examine her whether she should be their maid or not. Vermeer becomes interested in Griet when he sees the way she lines the vegetables by their colors: turnips, carrots, leeks, red cabbage, and onion. She places them in this order because otherwise, she claims, “the colors fight when they are side by side” (Chevalier 5). The moment she enters the house, the Vermeer household is ready to make Griet’s life difficult: five children especially Cornelia who will cause most of the troubles on Griet, Maria Thins the mistress, Catherina the young mistress, Tanneke the servant, and “him” (In the novel, Griet mostly calls her master as

Working with “him” seems like in her one of schedule. It is apparent that Vermeer is not a warm husband and therefore, is not soft to Christina who respects him in some way but is more interested in Griet.

Van Rujivan the painter one day comes to the house and asks Vermeer for a painting of himself with Griet. Apparently, we can find out that Rujivan wants some sexual relationship with Griet. Knowing of this, neither Griet nor Vermeer likes the idea so “he” decides to draw them separately. In order for the painting to be complete, Griet needs to wear pearl earrings which only Catherina has, which Griet knows she would be dead if Catherina notices if she wears them. Despite the fact, Vermeer forces Griet to wear them.

Because she is too focused on Vermeer, Griet does not have enough time to spend time with her family. While she is in the Vermeer household, her sister Agnes has died from the plague, her father has died, her brother Frans has banished and is assumed that he is in