From doing what he asks, Griet learned that there is more to a painting then the top coat of colors, if you look closely you can see a whole new picture. The first time Johannes asked Griet to grind paint for him she wasn’t enthusiastic about the task. The message conveyed from Girl With A Pearl Earring is forced ¬¬¬choices can lead to bigger discoveries. Sometimes the dinners go well, but as the book progresses Griet’s family begins to falls apart.

The Vermeer family is Catholic, so on Sundays, Griet is able to go home to attend Protestant church with her family as well as eat with them and sometimes Pieter. She mixes paints, makes suggestions, and models for some portraits.

It is the first time the reader can pick up on Griet’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and her having thoughts about boys.ĭuring the day Griet works as a maid for the family, but in the mornings and nights she is busy helping Vermeer with his paintings. This quote is the second time Griet refers to aprons being bloody, for her old butcher always wore clean items. His eyes came to rest on me like a butterfly on a flower and I could not keep from blushing” (39-40).

Only his bloody apron was displeasing to the eye. His blond hair was long and thick with curls, framing a face that made me think of apricots. Here is what she was thinking about when he saw her, “he was taller than his father, he had the same bright blue eyes. From the beginning, it is very clear that Griet doesn’t like change.Ī little while into the book, Griet meets the butcher’s son, Pieter. “I followed that point of the star now, walking across the square more slowly than everyone else, for I was reluctant to leave its familiarity” (13-14). This is just one of the several thoughts Griet thinks about her knew lifestyle as a Vermeer maid. Her first day going to their house was a decision she had no say in. The day the Vermeer family first met Griet, she had no idea what was going on. Griet lives with her mom, dad, and sister in Delft, Holland until the age 16, at which point she was sent to work as a maid in the Vermeer household. Have you ever felt like doing one thing, but been forced to do something else? Griet lived with this predicament her whole life. This novel is a good read for anybody, but especially those who are in their coming-of-age stage and young girls who need a reminder of how some girls live their lives.

Chevalier does an excellent job of making the reader feel he or she grew up with Griet, the main character. Girl With A Pearl Earring is worthy of its place among other New York Times Best Sellers.

Tracy chevalier 1999