Griet is overjoyed both to work with her intriguing master and to find an outlet for her talent. However, problems arise when Vermeer's most valued customer demands Griet be the subject of the artist's next painting. As Griet becomes part of her master's work, their growing intimacy spreads disruption and jealousy within the ordered household and ripples in the world beyond. Like mirror, literature is reflective. It reflects the current status of the society and allows us to realize the hidden part of human conditions and understand a better world.
Mirror helps us see the details that we may not have realized in our daily life. It helps us to see whether we have dirt on our faces or holes on our shirts, things we may have ignored if we did not see the reflections of ourselves in a mirror. Similarly, literature enlightens us of details of those societal issues that otherwise we may have overlooked. The novel Secret Daughter describes the panic of Kavita when she has to give her child away, describing in the novel, "She did not dare ask what had happened to her baby. Whether she was drowned, suffocated, or simply left to starve, Kavita hoped only that death came quickly, mercifully Like so many baby girls, her firstborn would be returned to the earth long before her time" (7). Kavita could not embrace the happiness of giving birth to her child. She immediately lost all the hope when she realized she has birthed a baby girl. Kavita's situation stimulated my feelings of sympathy and grief for her. Next, I felt anger with the sudden realization that sexism is a serious issue in many countries, not only in India. With more thought, I realized I have observed countless instances on sexism, although they are not as serious as what the book describes, they are personal. In the country where I was born, China, males are believed to be superior to females due to gender roles and expectations that has resisted through time.
