Hannah is raised by Pom with the help of a nanny. She becomes a point of tension: British society sees her as illegitimate, while Indian society sees her as foreign. Pom’s determination to raise her alone, without revealing the father’s identity, drives much of the plot’s second half.
Mrs. Hamilton gives Pom shelter and education, but with the goal of converting her to Christianity and molding her into a “proper” domestic servant. She is kind but condescending, unable to see Pom’s agency.
Pom represents the subaltern voice—someone without caste privilege, education, or family. Her multiple names reflect her loss of identity and her strategic reinvention. She embodies the theme of survival through literacy and self-definition.