In the Dutch Master' times
a book review by Roxanna Cain
Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier
Dutton, 2000, 233 pages
Girl with a Pearl Earring might be classified as a minimalist
novel, insofar as it is sparse, but by no means because it lacks
anything. Quite the opposite. Tracy Chevalier has chosen to populate
her work with only a few, fascinating characters, and place them
in a contained setting, allowing readers to explore the delights
of the rich tapestry of emotions and events that play themselves
out in this short novel.
The story is about Griet, a sixteen-year-old girl who lives in
the 16th century town of Delft, in The Netherlands, who enters
an unlikely relationship with the fictionalized Dutch master Jan
Vermeer. It is not a historical novel. The plot is so modern,
in fact, that one might well pluck it up from the 16th century
and place its characters in the present time and everything would
still develop the same. It is helpful, upon reading the book,
to have seen at some point any painting or illustration by a Dutch
or Flemish master - Rembrandt or Van Dyck, for example - to visualize
the town and people in which it is set. If one has not, imagination
suffices to fill in the gaps.
Griet arrives as a maid in the household of the master Vermeer,
and her experience there totally transforms her. She lives through
heated emotions, discoveries, and hopes. In this she is assisted
by the members of the Vermeer family: a dominant, wise elder,
some jealous younger kin, and her partner in the home chores,
Tanneke, the bringer of all news, both good and bad. This reviewer
felt anxious, happy and sad with Griet as the story unfolded,
enjoying ingredients of suspense and drama that serve to enrich
the tale.
Tracy Chevalier took her inspiration for this work from one of
Vermeer's famous paintings, "Girl with a Pearl Earring," which depicts a young woman of that time, cloaked in rich colors
and an intriguing smile. The painting presently hangs in a museum
in The Hague, The Netherlands. This is the author's second book.
