Indian historian, Singh comes from militant people and has been arrested in the struggle for freedom in India. Marie describes him as tall, thin, and ugly. He becomes Marie's teacher, mentor, and employer. Talvar Singh - One of many Indian students who congregate in Sardarji Ranjit Singh's home. Talvar passes to Marie a confidential list of Indian names for safekeeping. Authorities arrest him at the same time they take Marie into custody and accuse her of being a spy. Critical reception and analysis Possibly the two most popularly addressed issues with Daughter of Earth are gender and class. Barbara Foley asserts that Marie's desire for sexual egalitarianism ties in with her struggle to create a better world. In her view, Marie's eventual ability to feel passion for Anand is a sign of her trust for Anand as a political comrade. Once she realizes that he doesn't live up to her ideal notions of gender equality, she leaves him. Sondra Guttman claims that the issues of gender, race, and class intermingle, impeding the progress of one another. The struggle between men and women for equality is impeded by the challenges of working-class life, which often cause men to feel inadequate and women to feel helpless. Men and women are pitted against one another by capitalism in order to keep the working class from strengthening. The oppression Marie sees as a child is predominantly gendered, but as she grows to adulthood, oppression based on class and race become more popular. The scene of Marie's rape is viewed not as the rape of a woman by a man but as a white woman by an Indian man, which impedes interracial and gender relations. Christie Launius, in her comparison of Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska, Daughter of Earth by Agnes Smedley, and The Great Midland by Alexander Saxton, notes issues related to gender as well. Launius notes that Marie's aversion to marriage may largely be based on her motivation to obtain class mobility. Being married to a working-class man would obstruct this goal because Marie would not likely be allowed to continue her education. This is why both of Marie's marriages are to educated men who will not deny her goals and may, in fact, help her to obtain them. Yerkes makes a similar point. He contends that Marie sees education as a form of escape from the vicious cycles of marriage and family