This makes it more compelling for the reader as we now have a real image of Tanneke. Also she mentions the paintings in her novel such as, The Maid in the Red Dress, and the real rumours that went with it, ‘It was several years ago now. It seems van Ruijven wanted one of his kitchen maids to sit for a painting with him. They dressed her in one of his wife’s gowns, a red one, and van Ruijven made sure there was wine in the painting so he could get her to drink every time they sat together. Sure enough, before the painting was finished she was carrying van Ruijven’s child.’ Also, The Woman Writing, which was one of the many paintings with van Ruijven’s wife as the subject, is also described in the book as the one where Griet moved the cloth to the same shape as the subjects, giving into her artistic eye. Griet is linked to his paintings by posing in them when the models were sick. She does this in the Baker’s Daughter, ‘Someone must stand there.’ I obediently took her place.’ The author suggest to the reader that he may also have got the idea of the way the baker’s daughter is wearing her cap from Griet.
In most of the paintings that van Ruijven’s wife is in, she is wearing pearls. Chevalier adds some interesting, credible information about the position of maids in society in Delft. When van Ruijven’s wife has finished using Catherina’s pearls, ‘I think I shall leave these up in the studio with him, she announced, picking up the necklace. She did not look at me, but I knew she was thinking that maids were not to be trusted with pearls.’ This is ironic as Griet wears a pearl in the painting she sits for, making her an even more unusual maid.
Tracy Chevalier creates a convincing impression of the characters and the circumstances in the house at Papists Corner on the Oude Langendijck in Girl with a Pearl Earring, by creating a vivid impression of the town in which the characters live. She makes these impressions through Griet describing the town as she sees it and using historic fact to make it more believable. An example of this is when she is travelling to Papists Corner for the first time from her house near the Rietveld canal. ‘I crossed a bridge over the canal and turned into the open space of Market Square, even then busy with people crisscrossing it on their way to some task - buying meat at the meat hall, or bread at the bakers, taking wood to be weighed at the weigh house. Children ran errands for their parents, apprentices for their masters, maids for their households. Horse and carts clattered across the stones, to my right was the town hall, with its gilded front and its white marble faces gazing down from the keystones above the windows. To my left was the new church, where I had been baptised fifteen years before… I would never forget the sight of Delft spread below us, each narrow brick house and steep red roof and green waterway and city gate marked forever in my mind, tiny and yet distant.’
This was an effective way to describe Delft and is very plausible; it also give us a convincing setting to the story. The writer also describes the Meat Hall in detail because Griet spends a lot of her life there. Tracy Chevalier may have got some of her ideas from these famous paintings by Johannes Vermeer.
She uses the fame of Delft tiles to make Delft more real to us. She shows us how important Delft tiles were in Delft, being the town’s main trade, by making two of her characters, Griet’s father and her brother, a tile maker or an apprentice tile maker. She probably got the idea of these from the paintings because if they were in the paintings than they would be in the houses, as you can see in this cropped part of The Milk Maid.
Delft tiles are even the reason Griet has to become a maid, as her father was injured in the trade and the family needs the money provided by her services.
Canals and waterways must have been and probably still are important to Delft. They were a major transport system, as Chevalier tells us when Greit is talking to a man transporting bricks along the canals. They are so unlike the cars and transport system we have nowadays that we are intrigued by this historical detail. Also canals were the water sources for Delft, so a major part in a maid’s life: they had to fetch the water for all their jobs from the canals, for example all the cleaning and the laundry. Canals were important to the community of Delft too, including the children. Greit talks about how she, Frans and Agnes (her brother and sister) used to play by the canals using it for their games. They were so influential that Griet even uses the canals as a simile, ‘made me feel as if I were walking along the edge of a canal.’ This simile is effective, as all the citizens of Delft would have known what that felt like, as do we.
Guilds held the structure of Delft’s trades and its craftsmen together. All fully trained craftsmen were members of the Guild of St. Luke, the novel tells us this. It cost about three day’s wages to join and would give a kind of ‘pension’ to its members if they hit hard times. To bring these facts into the novel Tracy Chevalier makes Griet’s father need this pension.
One of the biggest divides in Delft society was the difference between, Catholics and Protestants. She shows us this divide through Griet’s Protestant thoughts. She tells us, ‘I knew no Catholics. There were not so many in Delft and none in our street or the shops we used. It was not that we avoided them, but they kept to themselves. They were tolerated in Delft, but were expected not to parade their faith openly.’ Griet, when faced with the magnificence that was a Catholic house, treats it warily for she has never known it before. Griet’s reaction shows us that there is a distinct difference between the houses of the two religions and their lifestyle, which we know now. This adds to the believability of her circumstances.
To draw the reader into the book, Chevalier writes this novel almost as a journal, because the book is segregated into years not chapters. She uses one - sentence paragraphs to fit with Griet’s character and her thoughts, short and fully packed, ‘He taught me.’ This could be a sign of status. How much of an opinion were maid’s allowed? These one-sentence paragraphs add to the tension and suspense: sometimes the things left unsaid are more moving and can make you feel more sympathetic. This all adds to the book’s realism.
To create a believable novel, you have to build up the characters. Chevalier has done this well. The main character and the narrator of the story, Griet, has to have a highly developed character and strong characteristics. She is a perfectionist; this shows when she comments on the untidiness of Catherina, ‘The woman looked as if she had been blown about by the wind, although it was a calm day.’ Also her artistic eye, makes her move the cloth even with the risk of losing her job when any other time she would have done anything to avoid becoming redundant, but she feels she has to do it for the painting, ‘Yes, I thought, and pressed my lips together. He may send me away for changing it, but it is better now.’ She wants to be independent and that may be the reason she does not want to marry Pieter. She does not want to be an object transferred from her father to Pieter, which is unlike any situation we have today, but we can still sympathise with her as the book is well written. Nothing is hers, not even the painting she is sitting for is hers, ‘It is not for me to say, sir. It is not my painting.’ He frowned. ‘No, it is not yours. He sounded as if he was speaking to himself.’
Griet is very tactful, which is useful in the house where she works and lives, as Catherina, Maria Thins (Vermeer’s mother-in-law) and Tanneke quickly are upset and there is great need to be tactful. An example of this is when Griet first comes to the house and she finds out Tanneke has been doing all the work herself, ‘Tanneke, have you been doing all this yourself?’ I had chosen the right words. ‘And some of the shopping.’ Tanneke puffed up with pride at her own industry.’ Griet uses similes, which tells us exactly how she feels, and also shows us Griet thinks in image-based way, like an artist. Griet is very family orientated, as would have been the case of a young girl in the 1600’s. Her family’s opinion means a lot to her and when her mother believes that Vermeer is painting her, she is devastated. She is also very unhappy when she realises that she has grown closer to Papists Corner and away from her family.
The vulnerability of Griet is a key subject in the book and makes her position as a maid more genuine. Most of her vulnerability is linked to Vermeer and her emotional obedience to him. She would do anything for her master because of her love for him. This is made worse when she feels under obligation to him after he has defended her against the rest of the house, when she is suspected of stealing the tortoise shell comb. She has been seduced by Vermeer’s paintings, the images and the colours, which she has not seen before. Vermeer does nothing to dampen her interest in him, if anything he encourages it by his approval of her. Very little is said but a lot is communicated. Griet and Vermeer have a strange relationship; Griet is like an unofficial apprentice to him, not a maid. This may be because the Vermeers might not have been able to afford an apprentice so Johannes makes do with Griet. Modern readers might prefer Griet to be more forceful and independent, as heroines in modern novels are. So Chevalier has come to a midpoint and made Griet forceful and independent in 17th century terms, even as it is quite unlikely that a maid in those times would be.
Vermeer is the other strong character; the book is focused around him and Griet and they both have a lot of similar characteristics. Vermeer is a very private person. The only painting we have of him is his back and it is a joke about what artists should wear. Here is a cropped version:
His words are few and you cannot tell what he is thinking. He is clever at hiding his feelings. ‘I had offended him, but I did not know how.’ Vermeer is the master of the house and is well respected; he is referred to throughout the book as ‘he’, ‘him’ or ‘master’. This shows his dominance over the household and the respect he is shown, as is his art. He is a huge perfectionist; he spends a long time on each painting, which is believable to anybody who has ever seen a Vermeer painting because it is so obviously the work of a perfectionist. He uses people, in particular Griet, for example, by using her as a apprentice when she has other jobs to do and then not telling anyone. ‘It would complete the painting. It would also put me on the street…He has seen Catherina’s pearl and that was what he would make me wear. He used what he wanted for his paintings, without considering the result.’ He also does not think of the consequences of his actions. He has noticed her artist’s eye and is keen to use it but gets angry when she does not see straight away. This shows his impatience with anything other than his art.
‘What colour are those clouds?’
‘Why, white, sir.’
He raised his eyebrows slightly.
‘Are they?’
I glanced at them. ‘And grey. Perhaps it will snow.’
‘Come Griet, you can do better than that. Think of your vegetables.’
‘My vegetables. Sir?’
He moved his head slightly. I was annoying him again.’
This extract also shows that he only does things in little movements, nothing is big to him, except his art. He also notices a lot and knows when she has not given her best. He wants to push her like he would an apprentice. Vermeer is anti-social, we can guess this by the fact that he is always up in his studio away from all the happenings in the house. Another reason for this could be that he is not interested in domestic affairs. He has respect for Griet, not just because her face would be good to paint but her artistic eye fascinates him too. He even calls her by her name and is the only member of the house to do so. Vermeer could relieve most of the tension in the household, if he could be bothered, but the fact that he refuses to have anything to do with it adds to his selfishness. Vermeer seems to live a double life caused by his refusal to cooperate and help.
Vermeer’s art is the most important thing to him; everything takes second place even his financial affairs and his wife. Everyone in the house has to pay the price for his art, which must be very hard for them. Art dominates the house. It is not a character but is a huge presence hanging over the inhabitants of Papist Corner. Most of his selfishness comes from what is best for the Art. Vermeer is seen as an unlikeable character to the 21st century reader as in our terms he seems mean to Griet when in the17th century he would have been seen as a good master.
By telling us from Griet’s view the realistic tension that would have appeared in a house at this time and in these circumstances, Chevalier draws us into a true-to-life novel. A part of the tension between Catherina and Griet in the novel is that Griet is always trying very hard not to offend her, and so Griet tiptoes around her. Catherina never has liked Griet; this shows from the first words she utters in Griet’s direction, ‘Well. She’s not very big. Is she strong enough?’ Unfortunately their relationship does not improve, but instead the tension between them progresses throughout the novel. This shows when Catherina says, ‘Don’t lie to me. Maids steal all the time. You took my earrings!’ One of the many reasons they are not friendly towards one another, is that Griet is allowed in the studio while Catherina is left outside of that part of her husband’s life, while a maid is let in. Catherina might be jealous of Griet because of the relationship Griet has with Catherina’s husband, while it seems that all Catherina is allowed with him is an active sex life; all this adding to (in modern eyes) quite a strange marital relationship between Catherina and Vermeer. Catherina is not allowed to show much character in the novel or even in her life, being permanently pregnant to gain attention from her husband and trying to have a little control over the household and a little respect from it. But inevitably she fails as Maria Thins is the most respected female and has the most of control over the house and the servants in it.
Maria Thins adds some tension to the house, but it is significant. She is dominant and the children are scared of her. This quotation illustrates that, ‘Shall I tell your grandmother what you have done?’ A fearful look crossed Cornelia’s face, she dropped the stones she held.’ Maria Thins even has some power over the master of the house; she tells Vermeer what to paint and sets it up for him. Maria Thins seems to like Griet and approves of her and also looks out for her, for instance when she tells Tanneke not to tell anyone about Griet and the paints. Maria Thins even helps Griet to conceal her work for Vermeer as long as it helps him paint faster. This is really all she cares about the money that will come with the art. This obsession with money is very convincing to a modern readership.
Tanneke has worked for the Vermeer family for a long time, and Griet has just arrived so there is a big rivalry between the two. Largely due to the fact that Griet is better at her job than Tanneke and allowed to clean in the studio while Tanneke is not. She feels that Griet is a threat to her, and is spiteful and jealous towards her, Griet notices this when she first meets Tanneke, ‘Already she feels threatened by me, I thought. She will bully me if I let her.’ Tanneke also has it in her head and that she must be better than Griet at all costs. Griet has to be very careful not to make Tanneke mad at her or jealous of her, which creates tension between the two of them. By contrasting Griet with the more typical Tanneke it makes Griet all the more realistic.
Pieter the butcher’s son, is a character that has tensions attached to him as well. A big part of the tension between him and Griet is whether she will ever agree to marry him or will she keep him waiting forever. There is also a tension between Griet and Pieter; due to the power he has over her family and the fact that her family needs him. He and her family both keep telling her this. ‘And you family need me.’ It was the first time he had referred to my parents’ poverty, and their dependence on him - their dependence which became my dependence as well.’
Cornelia, Vermeer’s daughter is a captivating character. What will she do next? The tension surrounding this mischievous character is about what will she do to Griet. Her aim, it seems, is to get the new maid into trouble, for example steeling the tortoise shell comb and putting the paint on Griet’s apron. She is the most similar to her mother, likes to be in charge and dislikes Griet even more after she has slapped her on the first day. Cornelia also seems to want to hurt Griet as much as possible. For instance, breaking her most precious possession, the tile. Also she hurts Griet on purpose when she asks if Agnes wanted their old doll, while Cornelia knew that Agnes was dead. But how deliberate are these attacks on Griet? It could be the consequence of various failures in her upbringing, as she has nothing to do. She does not help around the house or go to school. It might be to do with the fact that her father pays more attention to Griet than to herself, or she may not like the change that Griet’s arrival has brought on the household. Or, it might even be that she is a mean child and is left to her own devices too often. Cornelia is believable because of her typical childish behaviour if not entertained. This might not have been true in the 17th century but it is how modern children behave.
The sexual tension between the powerless Griet and the very powerful Van Ruijven is significant since Griet has to endure it and has no one to help her, as she would today. Also when Van Ruijven realises that Griet in not interested in him, he goes around hinting to Catherina about the painting that he has made Griet sit for and working on Catherina’s jealousy. ‘I don’t know about that.’ Van Ruijven worked so hard to sound sly even Catherina could not miss the hint.’ The way Griet feels about Van Ruijven, her anxiety, anger and powerlessness make us feel it too and adds to our sympathy. We can understand van Ruijven because he processes many of the same characteristics of a modern day baddie.
Art is the focus of the novel. The lives of all the characters in the novel are corrupted by Art and revolve around it. Griet and Vermeer both put Art above everything else, for example, when Vermeer makes Griet wear Catherina’s pearl earring knowing that it will be the ruin of Griet but not caring about that, only about what will make the painting look good. The main reason for all the tension is the eyes of everyone in the house, always watching, always judging, coming out of the shadows and just around the corner. The claustrophobia draws us into the novel and involves the reader. Griet has to be on guard all the time, adding to the uneasy feeling of the house.
Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is a very convincing novel, based on the believable setting of Delft and the book’s strong characters. She has obviously studied Vermeer’s paintings in depth and the historical information on the period and produced an entertaining and believable piece of literature. The tension of the Catholic household and the claustrophobia within Delft society draw us into this 17th/21st century novel and keep us persuaded of the novel’s realism.
