Shilpi Somaya Gowda's Secret Daughter

“When one’s expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have” (Hawking). The novel, Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, explores this idea through the characters Asha, Kavita, and Somer. Expectations of motherhood and family set upon Kavita and Somer and a constant desire for something more within them all causes major internal and external conflicts to arise. When their expectations are not met, these characters start to see the resolution to major conflicts that impede their lives, subsequently altering their development and outlook on life. In the novel Secret Daughter, expectations for the future burden Kavita, Asha, and Somer from being content with their lives; ultimately, the lessons that are learned

Kavita’s unfulfilled expectations for the future aid with the resolution of her major conflicts and, shape her character development positively. Early in the novel, Kavita expresses her expectations of a happy family with her first child. Upon the birth of a female, is conflicted by the choice between her morals or the expectations set upon her. Consequentially, the death of her daughter and the unfulfilled expectations of a happy life caused “change, if only in small ways” (Gowda 8). A spite for her husband Jasu and a regret for blindly complying begins her rebellion, and with “each simple rebellion, she felt her confidence grow” (8). Kavita’s regret and the lesson she learns helps to surface a new confidence which allows her to overcome the conflict of societal pressures. She deals with the death of her daughter by channelling her pain into rebuilding herself and accepts the consequences of her situation with a determination to forbid it from recurring. As a result of the confidence built up by her small rebellions, Kavita has an epiphany, realizing that above all else she values her children and morals, regardless of what others believe. Due to the societal conflict of female inferiority,

Somer questions her definition of motherhood when she is unable to fulfill her expectations of a biological child. After a miscarriage, Somer “felt as if something is missing, something so immense and powerful that it overwhelms everything else” (30). However, upon discussing the alternative of adoption, she believes “there was a reason for all [her] pain” (47) and “perhaps this is what [she] was meant to do” (47). Redefining her identity as a woman allows Somer to realize her choices have a larger effect on her life than her abilities and allows her to understand that a biological connection is not necessary. Her fate causes realization of a greater good in adopting a child. Involuntarily, she discovers the solution to fixing her relationship with Krishnan while finding hope in her journey of motherhood. Ultimately, the possibility of adoption allows Somer to lift the weight of blame off her shoulders and relieves her from believing she has failed as a woman. Throughout building her relationship with Krishnan, there is an unbalanced commitment to each other's cultures which Somer expects to be overlooked by having a child. In turn, Somer has the expectation for her child to fix their relationship and terminate its root cause. Looking back at her life, Somer realises “just as she had married a man from another culture without understanding