Girl with a Pearl Earring (1999) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

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• Griet: Add a description of this character.
• Johannes Vermeer: Famous Dutch painter.
• Catharina: Vermeer's wife.
• Maria Thins: Vermeer's shrewd mother-in-law.
• Tanneke: The Vermeer family's loyal maid.
• Cornelia: Vermeer's six-year-old daughter. A mischievous girl who sees more than she should.
• van Ruijven: Vermeer's wealthy patron.
• Pieter: Butcher's son
• Maertge: Vermeer's eldest daughter who befriends Griet.
• Agnes: Griet's 10 year old sister
• Frans: Griet's brother
• Van Leeuwenhoek: A friend of Vermeer who brings him the camera obscura
• Lisbeth: One of Vermeer's daughters
• Aleydis: One of Vermeer's daughters
• Oude Langendijck: Street that the Vermeer family live on
• Franciscus: The youngest child in Vermeer's family

Quotes edit see section history

• “Only children and thieves run.”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• A painting in a church is like a candle in a dark room—we use it to see better. It is the bridge between ourselves and God. But it is not a Protestant candle or a Catholic candle. It is simply a candle.”

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• “I had not thought I would learn something from a maid,” he said at last.

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• 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 what I did and did not do.

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• Paintings may serve a spiritual purpose for Catholics, but remember too that Protestants see God everywhere, in everything. By painting everyday things—tables and chairs, bowls and pitchers, soldiers and maids—are they not celebrating God’s creation as well?”

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• I preferred to think of him alone in his studio. Or not alone, but with only me.

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• Pieter would be pleased with the rest of the coins, the debt now settled. I would not have cost him anything. A maid came free.

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• As I turned to go I caught the glance that passed between father and son. Even then I knew somehow what it meant, and what it would mean for me.

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• Cornelia had not known when she broke the tile of Frans and me that she would come to be right—that he would split from me and from the family. Will I ever see him again? I thought. And what will our parents say? I felt more alone than ever.

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• Later I discovered they were all by other painters—he rarely kept his own finished paintings in the house. He was an art dealer as well as an artist, and paintings hung in almost every room, even where I slept. There were more than fifty in all, though the number varied over time as he traded and sold them.

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• It was another picture of Christ on the Cross, smaller than the one upstairs but even more disturbing. Christ had thrown his head back in pain, and Mary Magdalene’s eyes were rolling. I Iay back gingerly, unable to take my eyes off it. I could not imagine sleeping in the room with the painting.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Meat Hall
• Molenpoort
• New Church
• Town Hall

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• flagon: A large vessel usually with a handle, spout and lid, for drinks such as wine or cider
• fishmonger: A person who sells fish
• paternity cap: A cap worn by young fathers from the birth of a child until baptism
• footwarmers: Before the mid-1800s, American homes and public spaces were often poorly heated. One device that helped early Americans keep warm was the foot warmer, a box with holes poked in the sides and a tray inside for hot coals.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Where the Red Fern Grows, and followed by The Color Purple.

Preceded by The Color Purple, and followed by The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Tracy Chevalier (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Alex Awards (2001)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3553.H4367 G57 1999
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Sensuality

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Historical
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Girl whit a Pearl Earrings

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Girl with a Pearl Earring (IMDb): 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth and Tom Wilkinson.

More Books Like This edit see section history