There is a real disparity between Coelho’s depiction of Maria choosing to become a sex worker who can choose when and where to work as compared to the multitudes of young women who are trafficked into sex work against their wills. How would Maria’s experience as a sex worker differ from that of a young woman who was trafficked into such work against her will?

In every new setting she enters, Maria works to set herself apart from other workers. She works to become the most trusted drapery employee, the most engaged samba dancer, and the most sought-after sex worker in the Copacabana. Is it ironic for a person with Maria’s drive to become a sex worker, which most cultures would understand as having sunk hopelessly to the bottom of society? Maria herself acknowledges that the Swiss economy has plenty of jobs that a person in her position could fill, so why would such an ambitious, goal-oriented person become a sex worker?

Ralf Hart sees Maria as she sits in a cantina and recognizes she has a rare light about her that he wants not simply to paint but to experience.