Throughout this story a theme of life and death arises. I mostly realized this theme when reading about Agnes’s death and the birth of Franciscus. Griets town is struck with the plague and her sister, Agnes passes away. This shows a stark contrast in the plot line. As Griet’s family shrinks and loses a member, her other home gains a life. Almost as if showing that Griet’s family is fading away from her while her job becomes more present in her life. This also comes into play when Griet goes home and realizes shes more familiar with the home of her employers than the home of her family.
Another moment of contrast in life vs death is the aprons. Griet frequently remarks on the stains of blood on the buther and his son’s aprons. How she can barely look at them. Then later in the story Griet is smeared with red pigment from helping Vermeer. This dirties her pristine apron in the same way the blood muddies the butchers. One is blood, being the end of a life, the other paint pigment, maybe showing the beginning of something new. The cleanliness of Griet’s fingers and clothes also contrasts her friend Pieter who is always stained from his work, while she is sparkling from hers.