The novel, Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, is an excellent story of a sixteen year old girl named Griet during the middle of the sixteen hundreds. After her father faced a terrible accident that caused him to go blind, Griet was forced to work as a maid for another family in order to bring in more money for her own. As a maid, Griet has to be careful to properly fulfill her duties while remaining polite and never crossing the boundaries between her status as the maid and the higher statuses of the rest of the family. However, this soon changes when the Master of the house, Artist Johannes Vermeer, takes notice of her keen eye in art and perspective. Secretly, Griet begins to sneak away from her own jobs to work in his studio, …show more content…
making paints, cleaning sets, and judging his paintings. When Vermeer tells Griet he wants to paint her, the wife of Vermeer, Catharina becomes angered by their growing relationship. Girl With A Pearl Earring, is an exceptional novel that describes the impact that Griet, a girl from a poor family, can have through the interesting relationships she shares with other characters, the actions that she makes, and her many personality traits. Even though Griet and Vermeer seem to have the primary relationship in the novel, there are various other characters with interesting relationships that describe the impact that Griet has as well.
For example, Griet and Catharina share an intriguing relationship. As the novel progresses, Catharina reveals that she desires power and takes pride in controlling the other members of the household. Often times, she was scolded for trying to be more authoritative over Vermeer and Maria Thins, the mother of Catharina, who have a higher social status than she does. She made it a prominent point that Griet had a lower social status than her. Catharina became enraged towards Griet when she discovered that Griet was working in Vermeer’s studio, the one place she is not allowed. She felt that Griet was becoming more prestigious than her and from that moment on, Catharina was determined to make Griet miserable. For instance, Griet states, “She had often spoken sharply and loudly. The quiet control of her tone this time was much more frightening.” Griet had to be careful around Catharina to avoid making her upset. Another interesting relationship in the story is between Pieter and Griet. Even though Griet had feelings toward her master, Pieter was willing to stand by her side and married her in order to help her family out of their financial issues. Lastly, an interesting relationship in the novel is between Vermeer and Catharina. The two did love each other, however, they did not show …show more content…
their affection towards one another openly. Naturally, Vermeer is a quiet and conservative man, therefore, being open about a relationship is quite out of character. Also, Vermeer did not have feelings toward Griet and did not betray his wife because as he examined her for his painting, he was looking at her through the eyes of an artist; looking at the way the light reflected of the highpoints of her face and how folds of her headpiece casts different shadows. Another reason that the novel describes the impact that Griet has by her strong actions.
Despite the fact that Griet is only a maid with little authority, she always fought for what she believed in. For example, when Vermeer was working on a painting, Griet moved the blue cloth that was used as a prop in order to add the sensation of disorder to the painting. According to Griet, “Although I valued tidiness over most things, I knew from his other paintings that there should be some disorder on the table, something to snag the eye. I pondered each object- the jewelry box, the blue table rug, the pearls, the letter, the inkwell- and decided what I would change. I returned quietly to the attic, surprised by my bold thoughts.” The next morning she adjusted the blue cloth and was able to enhance the feeling and mood of the painting. Also, another bold action that Griet makes is she wore Catharina’s pearl earrings for Vermeer’s painting. She knew that she would be fired and would be frown upon by Catharina and the rest of the family, however, she knew that it was the right thing to do. Wearing the pearl earrings enabled the painting to be complete and please her
master. Lastly, the novel describes the impact that Griet has by her several personality traits. Griet has two main traits that greatly differ from each other, however, they make her the person that she is. Many other characters are impacted by her modesty and her outspokenness. Throughout the novel, Griet focuses on remaining modest and polite towards her master and his family, making sure she spoke with the correct terms and kept all of her hair swept underneath her cap. On the other hand, she would be terse and outspoken towards some characters at times. For instance, Griet consistently had to slap and scold Cornelia, Vermeer’s daughter, for being rude and unkind. Towards the end of the story, Griet began to realize who her true self was and was able to act as herself. One day, when Vermeer was in the process of painting her, he walked into the storeroom where Griet was changing. According to Griet, “Now that he had seen my hair, now that he had seen me revealed, I no longer felt I had something precious to hide and keep to myself. I could be freer, if not with him, then with someone else. It no longer mattered to me what I did and did not do.” Together, these two character traits make Griet have a strong impact on other characters. In conclusion, Girl With A Pearl Earring, is an excellent novel that describes the impact that Griet has. Griet shares interesting relationships with other characters, such as with Vermeer and Catharina. She makes bold actions in order to do what she felt was right. Lastly, she had multiple character traits, including being modest yet outspoken, that affect other characters.
Throughout his life, the only relationship he was able to maintain was with his sister. On the other hand, his relationship with his parents was very strained; At one point he declared that his "entire childhood seem like a fiction"(123) due to his dad’s infidelity.
...d longs for her elder sister and mother. Frances is a good person – at heart – and is always looking out for her younger sister. Moreover, even though she has different views that her father and will always do the opposite of what is expected of her, it is seen that this insecurity is caused by James indeed. Frances feels that in order to gain security in her life, she must perform these actions. She feels compelled to live her life the way she does. Frances’s naughty and mischievous behaviour can be viewed as a weakness she possesses, and she longs to correct these weaknesses by her actions. She is not a role model by any means, but she is by no means the Devil’s advocate. A sincere heart – compelled by circumstances – does its best to make the situation turn out for the better than the worse, and Frances, through her love for her mother, inevitably does just that.
Each person, whether they realize it or not, has been shaped by their relationships with others. The effects that piers or family members can have on someone are limitless and often times profound. In many instances, people do not even know that they are being influenced by others. Even if it is in the most subtle manner, all characters in novels are directly influenced by other figures. Authors use rhetorical strategies to demonstrate the different ways in which relationships affect and shape character’s identities.
Aristotle once claimed that, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Artists, such as Louise-Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun and Mary Cassatt, captured not only the way things physically appeared on the outside, but also the emotions that were transpiring on the inside. A part no always visible to the viewer. While both artists, Le Brun and Cassatt, worked within the perimeters of their artistic cultures --the 18th century in which female artists were excluded and the 19th century, in which women were artistically limited-- they were able to capture the loving relationship between mother and child, but in works such as Marie Antoinette and Her Children and Mother Nursing her Child 1898,
In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald provides a relevant example of how by only implying sex, rather than explaining the details of it, it can further convey characteristics of relationships. Fitzgerald speaks of Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship and explains that even though Gatsby became intimate with Daisy, it was not as he had imagined; and he fell in love with her for other reasons. It says he even felt married to her after this encounter. These deep feelings that Gatsby develops for Daisy sets the theme for the entire book, really expressing their love for one another. The fact that Gatsby feels married to her conveys his internal and wishful commitment to her. The author’s implications are important in this novel because they give
Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” is pervaded by the idea that relationships between classes are highly influenced negatively by society. Connie is having this very sexual and passionate relationship with her gamekeeper Oliver Mellors who is of a lower status to her. To many reader’s surprise, Mellors is a man who, as one critic quotes, “remains impervious to the pettiness and conventional society” suggesting this to be a reason for Connie and Mellors relationship to be so strong compared to that of, for instance, Othello and Desdemona and Daisy, Tom and Gatsby’s relationships. In Shakespeare’s “Othello”, Desdemona and Othello’s relationships are highly influenced by others and the people around them. This influence eventually leads to death with society still intact. In “The Great Gatsby”, Fitzgerald uses the strong symbolic image of money and American society to show how people can get carried away and lose touch with the reality of relationships. Daisy is surrounded by a society she doesn’t like living with Tom and she is unable to get away from it, while Tom has another women that he is hiding. The idea of hiding is also suggesting that the society doesn’t see it as a correct thing to do, yet Fitzgerald appears to go against this. Another theme of “The Great Gatsby” is the idea of new and old money and how that affects who society thinks you should be with. Society in all...
The authors chose two different initial relationships in their works. Marquez uses a soon to be married couple, Florentino and Fermina. Kafka decides to use a brother-sister relationship between Gregor and Grete. The relationship between Fermina and Florentino began when Florentino said “All I ask is that you accept a letter from me”(Marquez 60). Their initial relationship was characterized by their newfound love. They sent letters and poems back and forth to one another, engaged in a long distance relationship when Lorenzo Daza, Fermina’s father, moved Fermina away with her cousin Hildebranda and even had secret passwords. Florentino was noted in the book for making himself sick by eating flowers because he was so in love with Fermina. In the case of Gregor and Grete, they treated each other just as any brother and sister would. They could count on each other and i...
Francis Macomber is a middle age man that is good at court games such as: tennis or squash, competitions where there are set standards and rules for play. Also, there are confined areas of play for his games. He is quite wealthy and some say handsome which add to Francis masculinity. His wife on the other hand does not think that much of him and thinks of him as a coward. Margot on the other hand his “beautiful wife”, whom really does not like Francis but stays with him anyway. She cheats on him and despises, basically because he married her only for her looks. Margot on the other hand is part responsible for the same thing because she only married him for his money. They are both stuck in a situation because they both married for the wrong reasons. Their gender roles are sort of fighting against each other because she doesn’t care about the relationship and cheats; and he tries to prove that he is a man and yet fails because he tries too hard. Masculinity is something that Margot and others at the Safari think it is an aspect of manhood that Francis lacks.
In 'Desiree?s Baby,' Chopin illustrates her idea of the relationship between men and women by portraying Desiree as vulnerable and easily affected, whereas Armand is presented as superior and oppressive. Throughout ?Desiree?s Baby,? Kate Chopin investigates the concept of Armand's immense power over Desiree. At first, Desiree tries to conform to the traditional female role by striving to be an obedient wife. Later in the story, this conformity changes after Desiree gives birth to her part-black son.
At the beginning of the novel, Briony has a childish view on love and passion, derived from fairytales and her own writings. Although Briony’s mother loves her, it is a fruitless love because there is no clear benefit or care given. As an outsider in her own family, Briony does not feel normal childish emotions, only speaking of a “passion for tidiness” and “love of order” (McEwan 7). Her older sister, Cecilia, assumes the role of
The relationship between Celie and Albert went through many changes throughout this novel. Albert, or Mr._________, was a man who seem to be a person who was very angry, powerful and hateful. His father was a man who believed that love was not the point while trying to find a good wife, obedience was. The woman didn't have to be attractive, rich or one who was in love, all she had to do was cook, clean and tend to the children. Albert was taught that this was the way to an successful life. Albert feel in love with Shug, they did not marry. Mr.____ was controlled by his father even as an adult. His father wouldn't allow his son to marry Shug. His father didn't want him to actually love, because he never loved himself. Albert married a woman his father approved of, and he treated her how his father taught him to. Margret cooked, cleaned and tended to the children. After his father took shug away from him, he hated his father, but was so controlled by him that he could never stand up to his father. She later died and left behind a house to be cleaned, cooking to be done and children who needed to be tended to. He fell in love again with Nettie, but she was not allowed to marry him. Albert was forced to find a quick replacement for Margret. So instead he married Celie. He beat her not only because of the angry towards his father, but also because she was neither Shug nor Nettie. In the marriage of Celie and Albert there was no love or devotion. They were just stuck with the other. Celie married Albert because her step father told her too and Albert married because he wanted a full time maid. They just went one day to the next with Albert giving the orders and Celie carrying out these orders. It was like boss and employ, except Celie was anything but rewarded for carrying out the orders.
In both works, the power of desire to blind and replace is present in relationships that are physical and carnal. In The Great Gatsby, Myrtle’s affair with Tom is full of lost and violence; In “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Stella’s marriage to Stanley is also passionate and chaotic. In both relationships, the men beat their women, but the women do not leave. Stella’s lust for Stanley blinds her to his barbarism. After Stanley punches Stella and bellows her name, Stella seems entranced by lust:
Relationships are a major issue in the book. Beth and Calvin’s, and Calvin and Conrad’s are the two main relationships that have problems. First off, Beth and Calvin have a very poor relationship from lack of communication. They both have different views and the just really never click anymore. Calvin tries to go to Dr. Berger for advice and in the end their marriage crumbles and Beth leaves the family. Calvin and Conrad don’t have a very strong relation ship in the beginning because Calvin wants to sit around waiting for Conrad to heal and feels he‘s never good enough for Conrad, and Conrad just wants to go back to his regular life he had before and he also never really appreciated his dad.
Vermeer was a man of ingenuity, balance, and method. Balance and control was found in everything he did, from the paintings to the way he addressed others around him. I believe the reason he was so interested with Griet and her methods for cleaning was because he appreciated things being balanced and measured. In his paintings, Vermeer used balance and technique to bring everything together and that's why all of his final pieces were composed properly. I also believe that Vermeer admired Griet's keen eye for the balance of colors when she separated the vegetables the way she did. He also exhibits the constant need for control when he removes the presence of the easel's leg in one of his paintings. Vermeer also portrays being methodical
All and all, any relationship you get into can greatly affect your life. No matter if it is with a person or an activity. Lucrezia is a very caring wife, who sometimes gets frustrated by her husband’s mental illness. Septimus is a veteran who is facing many of his problems. He is very dependent on Lucrezia and the reader can understand how he dominates her. On the other hand, Clarissa is seen as a hard worker to many of her friends and family, which is very accurate. However, Clarissa is dominated by her husband, because she us unsure if she made the right choice, and by her party planning ability. These dominations focus on how these can affect your everyday life. Love and activities take part in a person’s everyday life. Lucrezia and Clarissa both care about what they do everyday, and that is know because they put up with the men and drama in their life.