Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, as well as an examination of its genre and Chevalier’s use of symbolism and stylistic devices. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 27-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Tracy Chevalier
• Presentation of Girl with a Pearl Earring
• Summary of Girl with a Pearl Earring
• Character study
  • Griet
  • Vermeer
  • Catharina
  • Cornelia
  • Maria Thins
  • Tanneke
  • Van Ruijven
  • Van Leeuwenhoek
  • Pieter
• Analysis of Girl with a Pearl Earring
  • A historical novel
  • The theme of religion
  • An ambiguous relationship
  • The symbolism of the hair
  • The importance of repetition

About Girl with a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring is Tracy Chevalier’s second novel. Inspired by the 17^th-century painter Johannes Vermeer, it presents Chevalier’s imagining of the story of the young woman who sat for this famous painting. Historians still have no biographical information about this model, so Chevalier created a story about a beautiful 16-year-old servant in the Vermeer household. The book depicts her life and the world around her from the beginning of her service in the household until the death of the painter.

Girl with a Pearl Earring was published in 1999 to widespread critical acclaim. It has since sold over three million copies in over 30 languages, and was adapted into an award-winning film in 2003.

About Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier is an American author from Washington. She studied English at Oberlin College, Ohio, before moving to England in 1984. She published her first novel in 1997, but did not achieve real success until 1999 with Girl with a Pearl Earring.