How does the author use metaphor in the novel, The Miniaturist?

In the novel, water is a metaphor used repeatedly to tie together ideas about Amsterdam, its wealth, and its religion. Water itself is an incredibly powerful substance: the ocean is vast, unknown, and one of the mightiest forces on Earth. Similarly, the Dutch East India Company sails these powerful seas in order to expand their empire. Water is the primary tool used for the expansion of the Dutch economy and the Dutch perception of the world. Anyone who can master it is effectively one of the most powerful people.

The fact that religious metaphors in the novel so often include a water or seafaring element is a testament to the reverence the Dutch people have for their expanding colonial empire and trading network. Their perception of the Dutch East India Company and men like Johannes is almost deified--a reaction we see in Agnes’s admiration of Johannes and his work.