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The challenge, as Karin alluded to, is that the lightest light in that eye shouldn't be lighter than the darkest dark in the other (save perhaps for an accent or two in the latter).
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Not exactly what I said...and here is the general principle (I call it "the uninterrupted flow of light") and what I meant in my comment:
Light flows across an object in a path from the center of intensity (highlight) and should not be interrupted by any dark shadows in its flow. (i.e., shadows appear lighter in the light - they never equal a true shadow).
True shadows ought to connect into a pattern whenever possible (the eye on the left is "disconnected" therefore it ought to be slightly lighter than the eye in shadow on the right).
Light should be separated in a consistent manner from shadow. No light should appear in a shadow and no dark shadows should appear in the light. (i.e., the left eye shadow breaks the flow of light and must be lighter than any single shadow on the dark side of the face.)
I believe this to be a solid principal of handling light and not just my subjective opinion. It would apply to all other areas of this painting found in the "path of light" ....I just mentioned the eye because it was so darn obvious (to me).
I hope that this clarifys what I have been trying to say...please look at any painting by Vermeer to see an example of this principle of how light flows in an uninterrupted fashion.