The Miniaturist

The next evening, Johannes takes Nella to a feast at the Guild of Silversmiths. Before they leave, Marin instructs Johannes to talk to the Meermanses and ask them to dinner.

Nella and Johannes travel to the event on a barge. Johannes explains to Nella that the guilds are powerful in Amsterdam because they control market prices. However, some items, such as sugar, are not under the guilds’ jurisdiction. Sugar sellers can set their own prices. Johannes reveals that Agnes Meermans inherited a sugar plantation from her father, and her husband, Frans, manages it. He implies that the Meermanses are greedy and obsessed with social status. Johannes bets Nella a guilder that Frans will wear a hat larger than everyone else’s.

Johannes tells Nella that women are prohibited from the guilds except for special events. However, he claims women have more freedom in Amsterdam than in England or France, as they can go out alone. When Johannes touches her face, Nella thinks he will kiss her. Instead, he says he will have a silver necklace made. Something about his words fills Nella with an apprehension she doesn’t understand, and when Johannes senses her tension, he promises he will not hurt her.

The guests at the feast are presented with a sumptuous array of food, which Johannes takes great pleasure in. When her husband talks business with the other merchants, Nella is approached by Agnes Meermans. Agnes implies that Marin must have arranged her brother’s marriage, as she is determined for him to produce heirs. She also refers to Otto as “the Negro,” making Nella uncomfortable.

When Agnes introduces her husband, Frans, Nella notes that he holds a hat with an exceptionally wide brim. Agnes instructs Frans to talk to Johannes about the sugar, complaining it has already been in the warehouse for two weeks. Johannes tells the couple he plans to sell their sugar in Venice. Although Nella reminds Johannes of Marin’s instruction to invite the Meermanses to dinner, he fails to do so.

Johannes falls asleep in the barge on the return journey. When they get home, he shuts himself in his study, urging Nella to go to bed. Believing someone is behind her in the dark hallway, Nella is frightened. She hammers on Johannes’s door until he lets her in. Nella kisses her husband, and Johannes briefly responds. However, when she tries to touch him intimately, he recoils. Humiliated, Nella runs to her room, kicks the cabinet, and turns the paintings to face the wall.

Cornelia is evasive when Nella questions her about why Marin insists on selling the Meermanses’ sugar; Nella asks if it’s because the Brandts are “poor,” but Cornelia becomes offended and reminds Nella that she is fortunate, as Johannes is a generous husband who treats her with respect. The maid adds that Johannes is equally kind to his servants and brought up Otto “like a son” (112).

Nella receives another parcel from the miniaturist with a note that reads, “I FIGHT TO EMERGE” (113). Inside she finds numerous miniature replicas of items from the house and a small golden key.

As it is Sunday, Nella agrees to attend a service at the Old Church with Marin, Cornelia, Otto, and the dogs. Johannes does not accompany them. On the way, people stop and stare at Otto. When a man covered in smallpox scars refers to Otto as an “animal,” Cornelia angrily calls the man “Hole-Face.” Marin asks if Johannes invited the Meermanses to dinner. She is furious when Nella reluctantly admits he did not.

When they arrive at the Old Church, Marin emphasizes the importance of public worship. They see the Meermanses, and Agnes pointedly asks where Johannes is. Marin claims her brother has important business to attend to and invites the couple to dinner the next day. In the congregation, Nella spots the fair-haired woman from the Kalverstraat. The young woman stares at Nella and her companions, making Dhana bark. When Nella looks again, the woman is gone.

During the sermon, a starling is trapped in the church. Pastor Pellicorne warns the congregation that God can see their actions behind closed doors. Marin looks distressed as the pastor encourages them to look for sin in their neighbors and themselves. However, Cornelia mutters under her breath about Pellicorne’s hypocrisy, as he preaches against materialism while wearing expensive clothes.

In bed that night, Nella hears voices whispering and doors closing. She is frightened by a scrabbling sound until she realizes it is Rezeki looking for her master.

The next day, Nella visits the Kalverstraat alone. The miniaturist does not come to the door, but Nella recognizes the fair-haired figure at the window as the woman who has been watching her. The man Cornelia named “Hole-Face” hears Nella shouting to the woman and says she will not answer. He disapprovingly reveals that the miniaturist lives alone, has a foreign accent, and abides by her own rules. Before leaving, Nella shouts that she looks forward to her next parcel.

The Meermanses arrive for dinner that evening, but Johannes fails to return at the appointed time. When Agnes learns about Johannes’s wedding gift to Nella, she is envious and claims she has an even more expensive cabinet made of silver. Agnes claims she often visits Frans at work and suggests Nella should do the same with Johannes.

Johannes arrives late for dinner and is visibly uncomfortable. During the meal, Agnes recounts with relish how she witnessed thieves coming out of the prison with their hands cut off—their punishment for theft. The Meermanses bring a sugar loaf as an example of their produce. At the end of the meal, Cornelia presents the loaf on a plate, and they all sample the sugar. Johannes promises he will go to Venice within the month to sell the Meermanses’ sugar.

Nella is surprised when Marin asks her to entertain their guests by playing the lute. As the Meermanses leave, Agnes can be heard demanding a finer cabinet than Nella’s. She also comments on Marin’s face when she tasted the sugar. Frans orders his wife to be quiet.

The next morning, Nella tells Marin she wants to visit Johannes’s office to find out where Bergen is. Marin informs Nella that Bergen is in Norway and advises her not to interrupt Johannes. Undeterred, Nella tells Cornelia she is going out to run “errands.” Cornelia seems anxious, but Nella disregards her advice not to go out alone. At the Old Hoogstraat, Nella walks into her husband’s office to find Johannes receiving fellatio from Jack Philips. She faints just as Cornelia arrives. Cornelia helps her mistress home and puts her to bed.