Vermeer's Girl With A Pearl Earring

Carol Pearson says “heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.” In Girl with a Pearl Earring, a novel by Tracy Chevalier, protagonist, Griet, does all of those things. In a way to deal with unfortunate events, Griet becomes a maid for the Vermeer family. In this unknown upper-class world, Griet takes a hold onto something that she thought could provide a future for her, Johannes Vermeer, her master. She becomes an apprentice to him, and this eventually leads to Vermeer painting her with a special pair of pearl earrings. All of her challenges through this story help Griet find her identity. Although Paptists’ Corner is not completely unknown to Griet, Griet does fit the archetype of a hero’s quest because she has a call after she is missing something and has a transformation because of the Vermeers.

In Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" is the story of Mathilde Loisel, who resents her "station" in life. Mathilde Loisel is shown to be a vain and ungrateful person who believes that she was born to have a better life. She feels that she has married beneath her, in spite of the fact that her husband is a hard working and dependable man. Mathilde is unable to recognize and appreciate the

In a girl with the pearl earring the protagonist, Griet, is sent to be a maid the artist Johannes Vermeer and his growing family. In this household she becomes close to Vermeer’s work, and eventually the secretive painting of Griet seeps out into the rest of the family and the town beyond.

An important part in every person’s life is the search for personal identity and self-knowledge. This struggle involves working out a concept of oneself as a unique individual and embracing an ideology or system of values that provide a sense of direction, as stated in Weiten’s Psychology: Themes and Variations. Similarly, in Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, Griet grapples with her identity as a maid, and entertains the idea that she can choose a path not set out for her. Her journey of self-discovery leads to a deeper understanding of her role in Vermeer’s paintings, and what it means for her own life. The Vermeer’s influence on Griet affects her transition from adolescence into adulthood, thus affecting the choices she makes. These choices define Griet as a person even when she feels she no longer has any trace of her old self left. Although Griet does not completely sever her ties to her old life, Griet does fit the archetype of a hero on a hero’s quest because of the challenges crucial to her journey and through the redemption of her personal values.

In the novel Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, Griet faces many challenges which causes her identity to change. Though Griet starts out as an innocent maid who has to follow orders, she starts developing her own opinion and the ability to make decisions. Griet changes from an household servant to having the courage to share her opinion to a mature lady, capable of making her own decisions. Many factors contribute to the change in Griet’s identity, but the main factor is Vermeer, her master.

Now consider the role of Mathilde Loisel in “The Necklace”. She constantly grieves about her simple life and fantasizes about extravagant life style with rich people and food surrounding her. Her husband is a simple man and is satisfied with his life. He appreciates her for the food which is cooked and never complains. Being in the Ministry of Education their lifestyle is modest. Mathilde is not satisfied on the other hand even when her husband proudly announces that they have been invited at a formal party held by the Ministry of Education. The irony in the story is more or less the same with regard to the female characters. Mathilde cries and gets her prize in the form of a dress but she is never satisfied. She wants jewelry as well. The necklace that she borrows from Madame Forestier teaches her a lesson of life. Since she is not familiar with the real jewelry she picks the cheapest one from her collection and wears it to the party why she loses it. Upon not finding the jewelry her husband takes the pain of selling everything out just to purchase an identical necklace worth 40,000 francs which leaves them poverty stricken for the next ten years during which her husband does three jobs and

In The Necklace, the setting of Paris in the late 19th century is a world of elegance and wealth. If not born into a wealthy family, one would have two options: marry into a wealthy family, or stay in their social class. That is just the case for Mathilde Loisel, who is endowed with beauty but born into a family of clerks. She was born free and could have had a plentiful life because of her beauty. However, she was held back by the chains of her social status and forced to marry her wealthy husband Monsieur Loisel. Together they have an awkward relationship consisting only of their need for marriage.

‘The Necklace’ is a morality tale written by Guy de Maupassant where he portrays the life of a beautiful but dissatisfied girl named Mathilde who desires to live a luxurious life despite being born into a clerk’s family and marrying a clerk too. Mathilde’s discontentment in life instigates her to pretend someone rich that she is not. Moreover, it leads her to severe trouble that caused ten years of hardship to Mathilde and her husband. So, this suffering is a punishment for Mathilde which taught her a lesson and changed her dramatically over the course of the story by making her a person of completely different personality for whom appearances

In Vermeer’s Hat: The seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World, Timothy Brook uses Vermeer’s paintings to show the effects of trade on the world and the overall globalization occurring. Brook argues that this globalization had begun in the seventeenth century. He takes a look at Vermeer’s paintings, and uses them as windows into seventeenth century history to discuss further topics of interest. Through every painting, it leads to a door that

Have you ever looked at a piece of art and wondered how it could be based on real life, because it was just so beautiful? Well Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun was able to paint in such new and exciting ways; people were left wondering just this. Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun was a woman of many talents. In her life time she came up with new ways of painting, revolutionized fashion in France, and overcame any prejudice thinking because she was a woman. Before dying at the age of eighty-seven, she had gained the respect of women and men all across the world. Being a female artist in the eighteenth century was not easy, especially when you had to keep a career and your life together during the

The internal conflicts established in “The Necklace” were a result of Madame Loisels perception of happiness. Because of her ungrateful and dejected views on life, she didn’t realize nor recognize true merriment. In the text, Guy De Maupassant shows how Madame “..was one of those pretty and charming girls born as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of

Guy uses diction when he says, “Natural delicacy, distinctive elegance and a quick wit determine their place in society, and make the daughters of commoners the equals of the very finest ladies.” At the beginning of the sentence he uses such words as “delicacy” and “elegance” to describe the kind of woman they shall be. These words also give the reader an idea that women should be looked at as delicate and elegant. He makes a point that she is miserable and not happy with her surroundings by saying, “All these things that other women of her class would not even have noticed, tormented her and made her resentful.” Not just in that quote; but throughout the story, she wishes she was of a higher state and had the luxuries that wealthy people had. The author shows that the rest of the husband’s life would be full of work and depression when he states, “by the black misory that was about to fall upon him.” This all is because of the necklace being lossed, which lead to them having to sacrifice many things and made them work longer and harder.

The portrait is displayed horizontally with a gold trimmed frame. The subject is a female that looks to be in her early 20’s sitting upright on a large brown chair. If the viewer travels up the painting the first indication of the woman’s class is her satin, blue dress. The saturated blue shines and falls in the light like water. Paired with the dress are her exceptionally detailed endings to her sleeves. The lace is even painted as though it is translucent, allowing a little of the blue dress to show through the sleeve. Flowers throughout history have symbolized innocence of a woman and her virginity. The repeating theme of flowers, in the sleeve cuffs and ribbon) in the woman’s attired suggests her purity or innocent nature. Another very details section of the painting includes the corset/torso details. The sewing suggests texture in the torso with small beading in between. Towards the top of the chest in the center, the female seems to bear an extravagant, ribbon piece with a tear drop bead in the center. The light pink

How you ever met a person who is different on the inside than on the outside? Mathilde Loisel is a pretty, middle-class woman who lives in Paris in the late 1800s. The story “The Necklace” is written by Guy de Maupassant. She doesn’t think about others/selfish. Her husband treats her like he should and she isn’t happy with it. She cares too much about her outward appearance. Besides the fact that she is pretty, Mathilde Loisel is also a closed-minded, selfish, and a vain person.

Money and wealth isn't everything. Madame Loisel from The Necklace by Guy Maupassant has to learn that the hard way. Madame Loisel is a woman who feels entitled to a lavish lifestyle. She is a character who is dissatisfied with her current lifestyle even though she has a caring husband who provides her with everything he can. Madame Loisel is invited to an elaborate party in which she feels she needs a beautiful gown and a diamond necklace. In order for Madame Loisel to attend the party her husband gives her 500 Francs and she borrows a very expensive diamond necklace. After the Loisels attend the party they realize that they have lost the necklace and now their lifestyle must change dramatically so that they can pay to replace the necklace. The Loisels both work very hard for the next ten years to pay back the money they borrowed to replace the necklace. Madame Loisel realizes what a comfortable life she had and how her greed got the best of her. Leading her to a life of misery and hard labor to replace the diamond necklace. Madame Loisel is a complex character because she is both round and dynamic.