International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 119 No. 16 2018, 5389-5395 ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) url: http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/ Special Issue http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/ Transmutation of Novel on Silver Screen 1Arya Manoharan and 2Geetha R. Pai 1Department of English & Languages, Amrita School of Arts & Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, India. 2Department of English & Languages, Amrita School of Arts & Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, India. Abstract The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic analysis of the transmutation occurring in the adaptation of a narrative for the motion- pictures. Literary adaptation is actually adapting a literary source into another medium. The fascination behind this sort of activity is that to witness how the magical power of words has been revamped into another media. Adaptation can also be considered as a form of communication that happens between the creativity of a particular author, text and the new form that has been created or adapted. Here, the miniature of an adaptation is exercised on the filmic adaptation of Tracy Chevalier’s novel Girl with a Pearl Earring, with an aim to understand the aspects in which the adaptation differs from the source novel. Key Words:Transmutation, narrative, adaptation shift. 5389 International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue 1. Introduction The colors, the light, the simplicity of the image, that direct gaze: a lot of Vermeer’s paintings are people not looking at us, in their own world, but she draws us in. In that way she’s very modern. When you think about the Monalisa, she is also looking at us, but she isn’t sitting back in the painting, self-contained. Whereas Girl with a Pearl Earring is right there- there is nothing between her and us. She has this magical quality of being incredibly open and yet mysterious at the same time – and that is what makes her so appealing. (Alastair Sooke). The journey of Girl with a Pearl Earring starts from there. Without, any doubt we can say that Girl with a Pearl Earring is an intensely successful novel by Tracy Chevalier. She ingeniously combines historical facts with imagination to tell the story behind the painting Girl with a Pearl Earring by a 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. The novel received the Barnes and Noble Discover Award in 2000. In 2003, a film based on the novel was released under the same title, receiving three Academy Award nominations in 2004, along with ten BAFTA’s and two Golden Globes. The filmic adaptation of the novel has been done by the movie designer Peter Webber under the same title. Tracy Chevalier perceived the things in a way that others did not, so that her historical novel Girl with a Pearl Earring took the heart of many. Her very second novel has been translated into more than thirty eight languages. This implies that Tracy Chevalier’s adroitness in subsuming fiction into history. Chevalier is an American – British historical novelist, born on October 19, 1962. She is a versatile genius who worked on many arenas of literature. Adapting literary works to film is, without a doubt, a creative undertaking, but the task requires a kind of selective interpretation, along with the ability to recreate and sustain an established mood claims DeWitt Bodeen, co-author of the screenplay for Peter Ustinov Billy Budd (1962). The novel and the film were the most popular narrative modes of the nineteenth and twentieth century respectively. It is broadly assumed that the written text is more superior to the filmic adaptation. Adaptation Theory and Criticism delves into the intertextuality of a dozen films through a series of dossier introduced through discussions of postmodern methodology and practice. Literature provides the raw materials for the filmic adaptation to create new visual forms and thematic contents. While adapting a work into another form of art alterations are possible according to the innovation and the need. Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the narrative of a sixteen year old girl named Griet. The novel opens in the year of 1664. Vermeer and his wife Catherina visits Griet’s house in order to hire a maid to clean the studio. The financial situation of Griet’s house has become worse after the untoward accident happened to her father. Griet’s father became blind in that kiln explosion and 5390 International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue she is forced to work as a maid in order to earn money. Her brother Frans has already begun as an apprentice in a tile making factory, but not started earning any wages. Griet has a younger sister named Agnes and she is annoyed with her for leaving. “I see you have separated the whites,” he said, indicating the turnips and onions. “And then the orange and the purple, they do not sit together. Why is that?” He picked up a shred of cabbage and a piece of carrot sand shook them like dice in his hand. I looked at my mother, who nodded slightly. “The colors fight when they are side by side, sir.” (Tracy Chevalier, Girl with a Pearl Earring, 3) When both Vermeer and his wife Catherina visits Griet’s house she was cutting vegetables for the soup and that has been separated by colors in a platter: carrots, onion, red cabbage, turnips and leeks. From that very action itself Vermeer recognized the natural artistic ability in Griet. Being Protestants, Griets mother advises her to close her ears for their prayers. “She also gave me an ornamental tortoiseshell comb, shaped like a shell, that had been my grandmother’s and was too fine for a maid to wear, and a prayer book I could read when I needed to escaped the Catholicism around me.” (Tracy Chevalier,Girl with a Pearl Earring, 5) On that fine morning Griet moved towards her master’s house and met his five children including Cornelia. She is a seven year old wicked girl who witnesses every single thing happens in between Griet, Vermeer and Maria Thins, her grant mother and notify that to her mother Catharine. From the beginning itself Cornelia has a disinterest in Griet and created so many issues like breaking her favorite tile, throwing her water pots into the river and even stealing the tortoiseshell comb. The household duties that assigned upon her were introduced by Tanneke, another maid. The main task assigned upon her is cleaning the studio which Vermeer considered as sacred. As studio being extremely important to Vermeer, nothing can’t be altered in the room she should work their assiduously. None other than Griet and Maria Thins are allowed in the studio. Due to the clumsiness Catherina is not allowed to enter into the studio. None of his daughters enters into the studio. Catharina, due to her negligence destroyed Camera Obscura, after that accident she is not allowed to enter into the studio. Another job entrust upon her is to purchase meat for the family’s meal. She frequently visited butchers shop and started interacting with Pieter butchers son. Pieter clearly falls in love with Griet however she hesitates about encouraging it. For the first few months Griet was unable to see Johannes Vermeer the painter, but was able to sense him around. She started familiarizing the new world filled with challenge and experienced the exciting information’s from Johannes Vermeer and his friend Van Leeuwenhoek. Two main catastrophes 5391 International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Special Issue occurred during 1664. Plague, it took away her sister Agnes another crisis is that she catches the eyes of the lecherous wealthy patron van Ruijven. Griet took a new role that to assist Vermeer for grinding colors, captivating supplies and doing other tasks. She loved doing that task so she could enjoy and learn from the painter and they kept the things away from his wife and children with the help of Maria Thins. While they were spending time together Griet began to cultivate an attraction towards him. But she was unable to express her emotions so channeled it to Pieter the butcher’s son. Van Ruijven the patron used to visit Vermeer’s house for commissioning the paintings. He frequently made inappropriate comments on her and groped on her. During the commission of the painting Women with a water jug, Maria Thins put forward bait to Van Ruijven and his family to be the models. He accepted the offer and changed it slightly that he would like to be in a painting with Griet. And that appalled her. By that time a bond was created between Vermeer and Griet. Van Ruijven wanted to paint the last maid and he impregnated her, hence Vermeer wanted to protect Griet from the same. He made his own deal to paint Griet alone rather than having her sit with Van Ruijven. Vermeer started painting Griet; however it was impossible to keep that secret for a quiet long time. By this time Pieter became stronger in his pursuit. Pieter proposed her at her eighteenth birthday. Griet was infatuated with Vermeer and was unable to think of leaving his household. She ignored the warnings from her friends that being an artist Vermeer will be interested only in his art. Griet was sure about her position after the painting got completed still the fascination forced her to wear the pearl earring while she was posing for Vermeer’s painting. After completing the painting Griet returns the earring to Maria. Vermeer leaves the house after his work. Cornelia witnessed this and notified her mother about this.