Girl With A Pearl Earring

Girl With A Pearl Earring THEMES:

Growing Up:

Growing up is the main theme in the novel. It shows that stage of moving from childhood, basically to adulthood. The story is based on Griet growing up into an adult, where she makes decisions. At the beginning, Griet leaves her family and her home with difficulty, taking her away from innocence and childhood. Towards the end, Griet is an adult, finding her place in the world, making decisions and choosing her future path.

The tile is a good example in relation to Griet growing up. The painting on the tile is about Griet's future, which her father gave to remind her of home. The tile shows children, a girl and a boy, the girl representing Griet, the boy with a wicked smile on his face, both not playing as other children do. In relation to growing up, the tile represents the end of their childhood.

Gender Issues:

There are a few gender issues displayed in the novel. Every character, especially Griet make different choices. Males and females are described as unequal. Girls, including Griet have less say in what happens to them. Females have lass power over their lives than men, in Griet's community. Females only owned their lives when they were the belonged to their parents. Later on, the people they work for own them and then their husbands take them in. It was unfair because men had more power over women. In Griet's society, women who hid their faces or heads showed innocence, and when their faces or heads were shown, they appeared to be different women.

Social Status:

Social status in the novel is displayed hugely. The market is a good example, where socials and rumors go around and through to people around them. Griet's family is at a low social status, where they have a poor diet, their lack of knowledge was shown, and the weakness to the people that are wealthy and more powerful. It all depends on who they are and where they belong. Social status is everywhere around Griet's society. There are parts of social status in the community, including the poor parts, middle-class, and upper-class parts. Griet and her family are positioned in the poorer parts, where they have a low social status, along with a low economic status. Vermeer and his family are in the middle-class part, as they have class and power over poorer people. Van Ruijven appears to be in the upper-class of the society, having the most power over people by using his wealth.

Love:

Love is an important