[3] The central element of the painting is a woman in blue standing in front of a window (not depicted) reading a letter.

The map of the County of Holland and West Friesland[7] in the Netherlands on the wall behind the woman has been interpreted as suggesting that the letter she reads was written by a traveling husband.

[9] The very action of letter-reading reflects a thematic pattern throughout Vermeer's works, as a common private moment becomes revealing of the human condition.

[11] The composition and the female figure are similar to Vermeer's 1657-59 painting Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window.

van Berckenrode [nl], was published in 1620 and reprinted by Willem Blaeu in 1621; it also appears in Vermeer's Officer and Laughing Girl.