Who is Maria from Eleven Minutes and what is their importance?

Maria is the protagonist and main character in the novel. Maria is a girl who grows up in a small town in Brazil where women's roles are strictly traditional. Maria hopes to fall in love with a wonderful man, marry, and raise children just like her mother. Maria's sense of adventure leads her on a different path from all the other girls she knows, and because Maria is especially beautiful she is chosen for an employment opportunity in Europe, an event that thrills Maria.