Girl with a Pearl Earring (Pgs 117-174)

Summary:
Griet is starting to know things about the family that she did not know. Pieter, the son told her about Catharina's brother and how he hit her when she was pregnant with Johannes and how Tanneke got in and tried to protect her. Pieter, the son is interested in Griet. One Sunday, he went to her church and met her parents. At first they were not easy on him but when he started to go to the church frequently, they started to like him. One day they invited him over to their house and he accepted. When it was time for him to go, Griet went with him and then he kissed her. Johannes finished the painting with the baker's daughter and sold it to him on May but he did not started his next painting until July. His next painting was going to be of Van Ruijven's wife. One day while Griet was cleaning she moved the things that were in the background on the painting because according to her it needed that to follow his style. When noticed that a change had been made he made in the painting and asked Griet why did she do it but she simply explained that the painting needed something to tease the eye. When he was working on this painting he had to use Catharina's jewelry box, but Catharina did not like this because since Griet was sleeping in the attic she did not know what was Griet going to do with it. Catharina complained about this with her husband, and he decided to take the box back to her room after he was done working with the painting each day. Cornelia did not like Griet, so she would always do something so Griet could get in trouble. One day she took one tortoiseshell comb from her mother and put it in Griet's things so she could get in trouble. When Griet heard about this she went to her things to look for her comb and she saw that it wasn't hers, so she told her master what was happening and he took her side and they punished Cornelia for what he did. After this everyone was questioning why did he took Griet's side and Maria Thins had to tell her daughter that Griet had been assisting him while he was painting. Everyone in the house started to treat Griet with more respect after this incident because they knew that Johannes was on her side. Catharina was expecting another child, so Maria Thins went to talk to Johannes about his next painting. When Van Ruijven came to get the painting of his wife, Maria Thins suggested the continuation of one of the paintings Johannes had already painted for him. The problem is that Van Ruijven wanted Griet to be in the painting. Everyone at the Meat Hall was talking about it, but Griet was the only one to not know about it. Pieter, the son was mad because he didn't want her to be painted next to Van Ruijven after what happened with the maid of the red dress. One Sunday Griet went to visit her brother and he was working. He was working really hard as form of punishment because he wanted his master's wife. Griet was telling him that what he has done was wrong, but Frans told her that she did not have the right to judge him because no matter how she tries to hide in front of everyone he knew that she also wanted her master. Griet tried to answer back but she knew that what he said was true. When Johannes was doing the next painting, Griet will always go to do errands in order to avoid interactions with Van Ruijven. Johannes was going to paint Griet. It was 1666, and one day Griet went to visit her parents,and her father told her that she smelled like linseed oil but she did not tell him about her master painting her. Griet's mother noticed that after Griet started working, she has changed and their relationship changed as well. When Pieter, the son visited them he even noticed the awkward silences between them but he did not say anything at all. He has started to trust Griet.

Quote:
" "You don't understand what its like," Frans murmured. "Working here, it's exhausting, it's boring. It was something to think about, that's all. You have no right to judge, you with your butcher that you'll marry and have a fine life with. Easy for you to say what my life should be like when all I can see are endless tiles and long days. Why shouldn't I admire a pretty face when I see one?" " (Chevalier 166).

Reaction:
It is clear that irony is depicted in this quote. This is because Griet is arguing with her brother telling him that what he did was wrong about wanting his master's wife, but at the same time she wants her master. Her brother was punished for wanting his master's wife, so is Griet going to be punished for wanting her master as well? At the end of Griet's visit with her brother, I was able to see that he knew that Griet wanted her master,and that even though she tried to hide it from everyone, she was not able to do it with him. Everyone in the house is questioning why did he defended Griet when Cornelia tried to play dirty on her. This makes me think that sooner or later they are going to notice that Griet wants her master and that she might get fired for her job for not respecting that he was married and for not knowing what was her place in the house.