Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

The story starts off when a couple comes to the door of sixteen-year-old Griet, asking for her to work as a maid in the Vermeer household. Johannes Vermeer is a famous painter, and Griet’s specific task is to clean his studio without moving any of his artwork. Griet soon catches the eye of the master of the household, Vermeer. He is intrigued by her perceptive nature and fascination with his artwork. She becomes a crucial piece of Vermeer’s art, and with that, their relationship strengthens. Vermeer’s wife doesn’t know that her husband has been painting their maid, and so they keep that hidden. However, soon enough their level of intimacy is seen and gossip is spread through the town about their relationship. Griet doesn’t actually have the type of relationship with Vermeer that the town folk of Delft assumes she does. Actually, the butcher’s son, Prieter catches Griet’s eye. Through out the story, Griet is seen as a dynamic character with her change in perspective due to the short amount of time spent with the genius, Johannes Vermeer.

There are several things about this book that I enjoyed, but in specific the way the author includes facts about the time period enhances the understanding of what’s happening in the novel. For example, Tracy Chevalier includes historical events such as the plague as it spread to the town of Delft in the Dutch Golden Age. Also, the way the people speak to each other isn’t modern, and you can see that it was set in an older time period. Furthermore, the author gives physical descriptions of what people were wearing at the time, to display their wealth and place in the social structure. The novel include ideas of the Catholic Church since the Catholics and Protestants were separate groups back in the Dutch Golden Age. By reading this historical fiction, you see the importance of religion and social structure in the seventeenth century. Since history is my favorite subject, the facts and details about the time period truly add to the book. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history, or is interested in art. It’s a rather easy read, and quite fascinating.

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Reviewed by :  Stephanie Pekic

Teacher:  Mara Pufko