Griet's Girl With A Pearl Earring

Girl With a Pearl Earring is a historical novel that is set in 17th century Delft, Holland. The novel is narrated in the first person by a sixteen-year-old girl named Griet. The story opens in the year 1664, where Griet is unexpectedly informed that she will be starting work as a maid in the home of Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch painter, and his wife, Catharina. Due to Griet’s father, a tile painter, getting into a workplace accident which has blinded him and denied him the ability to work, her family’s economic position has become precarious. Her brother Frans has begun an apprenticeship, but is not yet earning any wages, which is why she must take the job. Griet is uncertain to take on the position of being a maid though, since her younger sister, Agnes, is angry with her for leaving, and because she is hesitant about working in a Catholic household.

At the time Griet is hired, Vermeer and his wife have four daughters as well as an infant son, and Catharina is pregnant with another child. Vermeer’s household also contains Catharina’s mother, Maria Thins, and her maid, Tanneke. During the early part of Griet’s stay, one of the children, Cornelia, shows animosity towards her as she attempts to make her life miserable on several different occasions. Griet also draws attention from Catharina as she is allowed to enter Vermeer’s art studio, something that Catharina was and still is not permitted to do. Another person that Griet meets while at Vermeer’s house is the butcher’s son, Pieter. Toward the end of 1664, plague breaks out in the neighborhood where Griet’s family lives, and Agnes dies. Also, Catharina gives birth to a healthy child, Franciscus. In early 1665, Griet takes on a new role in the house and becomes Vermeer’s assistant, which leads to some sexual