MovieChat Forums > Girl with a Pearl Earring (2004) Discussion > Fly in his web

Fly in his web

posted 12 years ago by morningsidemary
6 replies | jump to latest

Who is the mother-in-law talking about? Vermeer or Van Ruijven?

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[–] izzybee3 12 years ago

I was wondering about that as well. Anyone know?

[–] lojo414 12 years ago

Best guesss...Vermeer

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[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] SnapCrackledThePop 9 years ago

Van Ruijven

[–] cobnut 9 years ago

Interesting. It had never occurred to me before that that sentence applied just as much to Vermeer and it did to Van Ruijven. From the context it's pretty obvious she was talking about Van Ruijven, but maybe the writers put it in as a deliberate double-nod.

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[–] angelosdaughter (158) 5 years ago

It was van Ruyven's web. He was Vermeer's's main patron in this story. In reality he was probably not the only one. The family was dependent on his commissions for their living. The Vermeers and their dependents were the flies in his web. He had the power to give or withhold commissions that provided income.