Breugel the Elder's Painting The Misanthrope is an interesting scene. Margaret Sullivan says it is a reference to a classical Greek story which would have been familiar to Renaissance humanists. OK. But the thief has a circle drawn around him. I have heard this described as a "glass bubble" but I disagree. Any comments from others on this? It looks to me like a bundle which the thief has tied onto himself and, in my opinion, could represent the weight of sin weighing him down. I see the cross in the upper left of the bundle as emphasizing this.
Further, the shepherd in the background could represent the "true Christian" who cannot prevent others from acts of sin, but stands in simple example, while the two sinners represent two ends of the sinning spectrum: the passive sin of self-absorption and the active sin of theft. Any comments?