Has anyone else seen the movie, “Girl with the Pearl Earring”? I came across it last night, looking for something to watch on Netflix, and I do love a good period piece. I decided to watch it. I was intrigued to learn more about the story behind the famous painting by Johannes Vermeer. Now that I’m more aware of how betrayed married women are often blamed for causing the trauma they endure at the hands of emotionally abusive, deceptive, cheating partners, and how their very reaction to their betrayal trauma comes under scrutiny and is often seen as inappropriate or “over-the-top”, I just can’t help noticing when media feeds into this kind of social scripting. It’s everywhere and oh, so subtle. The movie was well done, but the victim-blaming was obvious (at least to me).
Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 2003 drama directed by Peter Webber from a screenplay by Olivia Hetreed, based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier. Scarlett Johansson stars as Griet, a young 17th-century servant in the household of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer at the time he painted Girl with a Pearl Earring in the city of Delft in Holland. Essie Davis, a lesser known, but beautiful Australian actress plays the part of Catharina Vermeer, the painter’s wife and Colin Firth plays Johannes Vermeer.
In the movie, the first introduction between Griet and Catharina, the lady of the house (Catharina) meets her new servant (Griet), and comes across as cold, entitled and condescending – she tells Griet that there are no guarantees she’ll be permitted to stay. Griet and her family need the job, and she knows her place so she is obedient, works hard and is at all times respectful. But as Catharina’s husband, Johannes is asked to paint a portrait of the maid by a customer who has noticed the maid’s beauty, and commissioned the work, Johannes begins to spend a lot more time with the maid. But, the time spent and conversations they have and the things he asks Griet to do and the favours he provides her cross the line into the inappropriate for the time period.
Later in the movie, it comes out in the story that the last maid holding Griet’s new position was let go because an inappropriate relationship between the painter and previous maid had developed. Having been betrayed in marriage, I can understand if Catharina felt fear, anger, and suspicion at the prospect of another beautiful, young maid in the house – perhaps her initial cold demeanor isn’t really who Catharina is, and has less to do with Griet and everything to do with her unmended broken heart from her husband’s previous indiscretions?
The movie portrays Catharina as spiteful, ugly and distasteful – even in the way her hair and makeup are done, she is characterized this way. The way the story in the movie unfolds focuses on how unjust Catharina’s treatment of Griet is, rather than how harmful and cruel it would have been for Catharina to witness again (and how many times before?) Johannes’ inability to set aside his desire for a younger, beautiful, innocent maid servant. Catharina throws tantrums, and demands that Griet be removed from the home as she notices Johannes’ increased fascination with Griet, but Johannes, who has the last say as man of the house, does not send her away. Catharina becomes increasing angry and frustrated with the situation as she realizes she has no power to influence her husband to stop the emotional abuse and psychological harm he is putting her through. To me, this behaviour is NORMAL for a woman in this situation, and in my lived experience, I have been this woman.
BOTH women in the story, in fact, are not to blame for Johannes’ harmful and exploitative behaviour – Griet is powerless as the maid. Catharina is powerless as the wife. But instead of focusing on what Johannes is doing that is causing his wife so much distress, the movie villainizes Catharina, who is truly a victim in the story. Her anger, frustration and tantrums make it easy to think that “of course Johannes strays, look at what he has to deal with”…
The movie sweeps the viewer away into the wonder of a man falling in love; the maid is youthful, innocent, beautiful, and the painter becomes mesmerized with her. What married woman that has lived day in and day out with a man, her husband, and maybe the father of her children, wouldn’t want to be the focus of his undying devotion and love the way Johannes is focused on Griet. But when someone else has the attention that was once promised to the wife, the pain is insufferable. In the movie, the budding romance is glorified while the wife’s reaction is made to look wrong, uncalled for, and out of line. The wife “acts out”, is freaked out and seems crazy, while the quiet, soft-spoken, seemingly sweet husband says very little and appears simply to be “taken over” by the maid’s beauty and unaware of the harm he is doing to his wife. This is backwards and a clear example of how media feeds the social scripting around victim-blaming betrayed, emotionally abused women.
Recently, I learned while reading Lundy Bancroft’s book, “Why Does He Do That?”, that it is very common for people to get victim and perpetrator mixed up when there are allegations of abuse, betrayal and harm in marriage. A direct quote from Mr. Bancroft’s book, “I’ve had couples counsellors say to me, for example: ‘He just isn’t the type to be abusive; he’s so pleasant and insightful and she’s so angry.'” As if, a wife’s anger (in comparison to her husband’s smooth demeanor) makes her claim that her husband’s behaviour is harming her invalid and unbelievable?
As her husband, Johannes had a duty to protect his wife, including from any emotional trauma that would result from his betrayal of her. So, to depict Catharina in the movie “Girl with the Pearl Earring” as somehow undeserving of this protection or at fault because of her completely normal reactions to a situation that was making her feel scared and traumatized is adding to the many other backwards messages society is receiving on this issue.
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