34 Vermeer 1632-1675, a native of Delft who never left the small city, relied on the
bourgeoisie for his living. Vermeer, a Protestant who converted to Catholic when he married, struggled to support a large family. Many of his paintings depict the
wives or daughters of his Protestant patrons caught in the middle of common household actions—pouring a pitcher of water, writing a letter, or playing an
instrument. He strove for realism, going so far as to blend sand in his paints to create an accurate texture of bricks in the famous portrait of his hometown, “View
of Delft”. The most well known departure from Vermeer’s calculated paintings is the
intriguing, mysterious subject of “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, thought to be painted in 1665. In the painting, a young woman, adorned in an unusual head wrap and
wearing a prominent pearl-drop earring, turns to face the painter over her left shoulder—eyes sympathetic and slightly lowered, mouth demurely parted. The
moment captured by the painting is captivating—sexually charged yet undeniably innocent.
D. Theoretical Framework
The analysis of the study talks about the socio-historical background of Delft, Netherlands in the 17
th
century which situation of religion, socio-economic, and art, influence the main characters of the novel, Vermeer, Catharina, and Griet.
The situations also affect the characters’ life, such as religion problem between Catholic and Protestant; Griet’s family socio-economic condition; Griet’s art
special ability; the great 17
th
century artist, Johannes Vermeer; and Griet’s love
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35 for her master. The theories used are the theories of character, methods of
characterization, theory of personality, psychological approach, theory of motivation, theory of symbol, theory of love and some reviews on the socio-
historical background. The first, second, and the third theory will be used as a basic theory to
analyse the character of Vermeer, Catharina, and Griet in which it helps answering the first problem formulation. Whereas, the rest of the theories will be
used to analyse the second problem. The review socio-historical background on religion, socio-economic, and art will be used as basic knowledge to the
description of the real events happened in Delft, Netherlands. It is also useful for analysing the second problem formulations, in which the writer thinks that the
conditions in the society are what had influenced the characters most.
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36
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methods of the study to solve the problems stated in chapter I. This study is intended to answer: how Vermeer, Catharina, and
Griet are portrayed in the novel, and what are the true meanings of the pearl earrings to the three main characters as seen in Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a
Pearl Earring.
A. Object of the Study
Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of the most popular novels of Tracy Chevalier. It was first published in 1999 by Harper Collins Publisher and later
became the bestseller. Girl with a Pearl Earring was a story written in 1999— after she published her first novel on 1997. She wrote it in London when she was
pregnant. On the interview by Gavin J. Grant, Johannes Vermeer’s painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring, was inspired her. She was 19 when visited her sister in
Boston and saw it in her sister’s room. She has been loving the painting very much until now. The novel has the same name as the painting because the painting
is the culmination of the story; its creation is what the story is leading up to. The novel itself could not exist without the painting.
The novel was printed and bound in the Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc. The text is divided into four chapters and runs up to 248 pages. Girl with
a Pearl Earring belongs to the genre historical fiction. Historical fiction usually tells a story that is set in the past. The setting is real and drawn from history, and
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