The Miniaturist

In Amsterdam’s Old Church, a funeral takes place for an unnamed person. The ceiling bears a mural depicting “Christ in judgement hold[ing] his sword and a lily, a golden cargo break[ing] the waves,” but there is also an avaricious sinner portrayed—“a man shitting a bag of coins, a leer of pain chipped across his face” (1). Pastor Pellicorne conducts the service. A wide spectrum of society is present, including Amsterdam’s rich merchants, but none of the attendees are friends of the deceased.

An unnamed woman watches the congregation, judging them to be “hypocrites.” As the coffin is lowered beneath the floor, a grieving young woman throws down a bouquet. A maidservant cries, and two female congregants whisper disapprovingly at this display of emotion. When the service ends, the unnamed watcher approaches the burial site and places a miniature house on the gravestone. On her way out, she sees a trapped starling in the church. The woman holds the door open for the bird, but it refuses to leave.