Plot

The climactic moment in the plot, where the author ties the theme of the story into a specific event, takes place just after Vermeer starts his painting of Griet. At this time in the book Griet is struggling to stay her true self, and she is faced with a choice; the choice to stay and be painted with the symbolic pearl earrings, or to leave the house, to upset Vermeer and to leave the painting unfinished. Here she chooses to stay, by doing this she is giving in to her ‘other’ self and she pierces her ear. With this choice though, Griet is forced out of the house when Catharina finds out about the painting; and Griet is ultimately forced to go with the other choice, the choice that stays true to her. In the end this one small choice causes a numerous amount of choices for Griet when she, once again, finds herself standing in the middle of the eight-point star.

In the complication there is the moment when the patron, van Ruijven, eyes Griet for the first time; this essent ially is the main event that leads up to the start of the climactic event, where Griet must wear Catharina’s pearl earring. Because of van Ruijven’s infamous sleezy attraction to maids, Griet becomes more involved with the Vermeers. Maria Thins and Johannes Vermeer do everything they can to make sure Griet will not have to sit for a painting with van Ruijven. Eventually VErmeer is forced to make a deal with Van Ruijven, and it’s decided then that Griet will sit for a painting alone.

Setting

Because the book is based on a real-life person, the author had a strict timeline to follow. Tracy Chevalier had the book set in the 1600s, the time when the actual painting ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ was created, she also had Griet’s hometown as Delft, Holland which is the actual hometown of Vermeer the painter and his family; Tracy did a lot of research for accuracy. With such restrictions Chevalier used this to her advantage so that this time period and the specific layout of the town make a great contribution to the story and the building of character.

Griet seems to be a very intelligent girl for her age, and she shows a great eye for art, even greater than Vermeer’s talent; Griet knew what the painting needed long before Vermeer, “I knew before he did. When I saw what was needed-that point of brightness he had used to catch the eye in other paintings… I was right. … It took longer than I had expected. I sat for him twice more before he discovered what was missing.” (191-192) Griet has a painter’s eye, a true talent, but because of the time period, since she is a woman, she would never be able to pursue this talent or this trade. The only life for her would be as a mistress, a maid to become a mistress or to start her own life as a butcher’s wife; Chevalier uses this and strategically structures the town to have a centre, the star, with section that branch out from it. This structure directly reflects the choices Griet has to make.

Timeline

Girl With a Pearl Earring follows a very classic, straightforward timeline. As the reader, we are taken through Griet’s life starting in the present; there are only a few moments in the book where we jump from the present. The story jumps to the past only to inform the reader about the father’s accident and to build character; van Ruijven’s character is built by telling the story of the lady/maid in the red dress.

There is a ten-year gap in time from when Griet is forced out of the Vermeers’ house and finds herself faced with a major decision, to when she has settled with her decision, grown up and built a life. This jump forward in time is set to make the point that the things we think matter to us as a child won’t always matter to us when we grow up and have experienced life as an adult. To further enforce this point Griet notes, “… I stopped walking round the eight-pointed star in the square and wondering what was at the end of each of its points. …I no longer thought of pearls and fur, nor longed to see one of his paintings.” (223) As difficult and confusing the decision is, Griet shows that with the life she has now the desires she has for riches aren’t even remotely there.

Symbols

The compass, the eight point star in the middle of the square pointing to eight different places; symbolizes the choices Griet has to make throughout the book. It also helps to make her choices clear in her head and it guides her in the right direction, hence the compass. In the beginning Griet is forced to the point that leads her to Oude Langendijck, but in the end she finds herself once again at the middle of the star faced with all choices this time. Again the compass leads her to a decision.

The pearl earring itself represents all that Griet desires: riches, status, importance; yet it also represents all that she does not want to become. When Griet realizes that she will have to wear the earring herself, she refuses, she feels that it will change who she really is, “Maids do not wear pearls.” (194) She says this already knowing she has no choice in the matter. The painting will not be complete without the pearl and she knows her master would never forgive her for that, so she makes a compromise.

The broken tile, and the timing of when in the story the tile was broken symbolizes the disconnection that forms between Griet and her family. When Cornelia break the tile of Griet and her brother this seems to around the same time in the book when Griet is just starting to get caught up in the life of the Vermeers. Later Griet does lose her brother when she finds out he has run away from his life in Delft and his family. The fact that Griet could not tell her father about the broken tile shows us how she has lost that closeness she had with her father before.

Character-ization

Griet faces many dilemmas throughout the book, but the majority lead to the grander dilemma. Griet is faced with staying herself and getting caught up in this ‘new world’. She is Protestant, and before her fathers accident she was never considered as ‘poor’; but now that she is a maid people assume her as a typical maid and only see her as the stereotypical maid.

Going to work for Vermeers surrounded her with Catholic culture, and she did not like the religious paintings that hung or the prayers that were heard. As well this shows the historical opposition between a Protestant family and a Catholic family. This may be a reason why Catharina takes an immediate disliking towards Griet.

Throughout the story Griet seems to have an increasing integration with the Vermeers; the life of the wealthy. Her mother takes it upon herself to point this out, warning Griet, “Working for them [the Vermeers] has turned your head,… It’s made you forget who you are and where you come from. We’re a Protestant family whose needs are not ruled by riches or fashions.” (137) It isn’t until then that Griet realizes this too, that she is getting too caught up in the rich paints and cloths. Although Griet comes to this realization she still as a hard time holding on to her true self; she seems to be confused. When the moment comes when Johannes Vermeer needs to start the painting of Griet, he was first going to dress her in furs and jewels; this feels wrong to Griet, she prefers to be painted as a maid, this is who she thinks is truly her. This is when it registers in Vermeer’s head that he should paint her as her true self, “…I will not paint you as a maid. …I will paint you as I first saw you, Griet. Just you.” (179) Vermeer is right, Griet is not a maid of a Catholic family, she is the daughter of a Protestant family, a family of artists.

In the end Griet feels forced out of the Vermeers’ house and in faced with many choices; “I could go back to my parents. I could find Pieter at the Meat Hall and agree to marry him. I could go to van Ruijven’s house. …I could go to van Leeuwenhoek and ask him to take pity on me. I could go to Rotterdam and search for Frans. I could go off on my own somewhere far away. I could go back to Paptists’ Corner. I could go into the New Church and pray to God for guidance.” (216) Finally she chose. She went where she had to go and followed her true self; she chose a life with Pieter, and a family she could create of her own. When she grew older, even when she encountered her ‘other family’ in the streets, she no longer felt the dilemma between two lives; “I no longer thought of pearls and fur, nor longed to see one of his [Vermeer’s] paintings.” (223)

This mirroring of rich vs. poor and Protestant vs. Catholic as a big picture and within Griet, drops hits and helps foreshadows events throughout the book. Often the setting will contribute a lot to the meaning of a book but in this case mirroring is used to enhance the reader’s ability to decipher the what the point is the author is trying to put across; it also helps to show how the book can relate to the reader, which increases the reader’s interest.

Point of View

Girl With a Pearl Earring is told in first-person where Griet, the protagonist, is narrating. This particular story needs the reader to be inside the protagonist’s head due to the fact that she seems to get caught up in so many secrets during the book. Also the book is very much based on how Griet feels towards what is happening; and in order for the reader to get a sense of what she’s feeling, it is best to write in first-person point of view.

Theme

One small change in an individual’s life can create an endless amount of choices for another individual.

At the very beginning of the book Tracy Chevalier introduces that Griet’s father has been in an accident and is no longer able to work. This event causes Griet to have to go work as a maid for the Vermeers; now she is faced with many decisions and a lot of confusion within herself. There becomes a lot of conflict now that Griet is working for a Catholic family who has not took kindly to her presence. For example Griet is protestant and the Vermeers are Catholic; not only this but the choices just keep building up after the life-changing event when Griet’s father was blinded.