Girl with a Pearl Earring Character Analysis

Griet

At the beginning of the novel, Griet is a girl approaching marriageable age and living at home with her father, mother, and sister Agnes (her younger brother, Frans, is living away from… read analysis of Griet

Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer is a painter and art dealer in Delft. He is married to Catharina and father to Maertge, Lisbeth, Cornelia, Aleydis, Johannes, and Franciscus. His mother-in-law, Maria Thins… read analysis of Vermeer

Catharina

Catharina is the daughter of Maria Thins and the wife of artist Johannes Vermeer. In Griet’s eyes, she is the opposite of her husband: loud where he is quiet, perpetually frazzled where he… read analysis of Catharina

Cornelia

Cornelia is the third child of Catharina and Vermeer. Described as a wild, ungovernable child, she takes the most after her mother. She comes to dislike to Griet, possibly because Griet slapped her… read analysis of Cornelia

Maria Thins

Maria Thins is Catharina’s mother and Vermeer’s mother-in-law. A shrewd, watchful woman with a sound head for business, she separated from her own abusive husband long before her daughter married the painter. She… read analysis of Maria Thins

Pieter

Pieter, son of Pieter the Butcher, runs a stall selling meat at the Delft market with his father. When Griet begins to shop there on behalf of Catharina, he becomes interested in the… read analysis of Pieter

Tanneke

Tanneke is Maria Thins’s maid, who fulfils the role of housekeeper for Catharina and Vermeer, although she doesn’t always do the best job with her duties. She has loyalty to these three above… read analysis of Tanneke

Van Ruijven

Van Ruijven is a wealthy and important citizen of Delft who, along with his wife, patronizes Vermeer. Despite his large art collection, Griet doesn’t think that he truly understands or appreciates what makes… read analysis of Van Ruijven

Mother

Griet’s mother is an upright, conscientious Protestant woman. Her faith is important to her; she ensures that Griet will be able to leave Vermeer’s Roman Catholic household once a week to attend Protestant church… read analysis of Mother

Father

Griet’s father was a master painter of Delft tiles, which earned him, Griet’s mother, Griet, Frans, and Agnes a comfortable life as a middle-class artisan family. But when an accident costs him… read analysis of Father

Pieter the Butcher

Pieter the Butcher is the butcher patronized by Catharina. He runs his meat stall with his son, also named Pieter. Pieter the Butcher is a handsome, gregarious man with a loud voice and… read analysis of Pieter the Butcher

Van Leeuwenhoek

Van Leeuwenhoek is a friend of Vermeer’s. He owns a camera obscura, which he frequently lends to the painter, and he dislikes Catharina because she once broke it. He is kind and gentlemanly… read analysis of Van Leeuwenhoek

Frans

Frans is Griet’s younger brother and the middle of her mother and father’s three children—Agnes is younger than him. Soon after their father’s accident, his parents apprentice him to another tile maker… read analysis of Frans

Minor Characters

Maertge

Maertge is the eldest child of Catharina and Vermeer, named after her grandmother, Maria Thins. Initially aligned with her mother and sisters in supporting family interests, she eventually befriends Griet and keeps her in the loop about family affairs after Griet leaves the home. She marries a silk merchant.

Agnes

Agnes is Griet’s younger sister. She feels terribly grieved when Griet must become a maid to support their mother and father. She dies of plague.

Van Ruijven’s Wife

Van Ruijven’s wife is married to van Ruijven, Vermeer’s primary patron. She sits as a model for two of his paintings during Griet’s time in the house.

Lisbeth

Lisbeth is the second child of Catharina and Vermeer. Along with her sisters Maertge, Cornelia, and Aleydis, she greets Griet upon her arrival at their home.

Aleydis

Aleydis is the fourth child of Catharina and Vermeer. She is only four years old when Griet joins the household.

Johannes

Johannes is the fifth of Catharina and Vermeer’s children. He is still a baby when Griet arrives at the house.

Franciscus

Born in the fall of 1664, Franciscus is the sixth and youngest of Catharina’s and Vermeer’s children alive when Griet lives in their home. When Griet returns 10 years later, he recognizes her from the portrait his father painted of her.

Jan

Jan is the elder son of Griet and Pieter, named after Griet’s father.

Little Frans

Little Frans is the younger son of Griet and Pieter, named after Griet’s brother Frans.