Who is The Little Girl from Notes of a Dirty Old Man and what is their importance?

Appearing in three stories in this book, the little girl is never named, but appears to represent Bukowski's own daughter. Appearing to be five or six years old, the little girl clearly loves her father, and is often seen getting him beer or playing with him. While their relationship is clearly dysfunctional, her father is obviously an adoring man who loves his daughter immensely. While it is never clear the child is Bukowski's, his ease of writing and the style of the child's words suggest a strong link between author and child, and the raw, honest emotion presented in these stories strengthens that idea.