Someone Named Eva

The most important and recurring symbol in Someone Named Eva is Babichka’s star-shaped garnet pin. It serves as a symbol of Milada’s Czech identity and home and carries the promise Milada made to her grandmother to remember who she is and where she comes from. It represents Milada’s life before the war and is her only connection to her family.

Whenever Milada wears the pin, she is reminded of her true name and identity and remembers to repeat her name to herself. When she forgets her name at the facility, the pin unclasps and wakes her. When she goes outside, she sees a shooting star and remembers her name. Similarly, when Milada stops wearing the pin to protect the satin dress Frau Werner makes her, she begins to lose touch with her Czech self, forget her language, and assimilate into the Werner family. She forgets about the pin until the day she stumbles upon the women’s concentration camp. After, she reclaims the pin from her drawer and continues wearing it in secret.

The meaning of the pin evolves by the end of the story. After Milada has fulfilled her promise to Babichka—to remembered her identity and to find her way home—the pin symbolizes hope and reminds Milada and Mama of good times before the war.

The star shape of the pin alludes to the gold stars the Nazis forced Jewish citizens to wear on the outside of their clothes as identification. Milada, however, subverts this and wears the star-shaped pin on the inside of her clothes. Her sense of self-identity must remain hidden while she is at the facility and with the Werner family.

Stars are also an important recurring symbol throughout the story. Milada loves stars and looks to them for guidance. Stargazing is a way Milada bonds with her father and Babichka, and the stars come to symbolize the special relationship Milada had with Babichka. Even Babichka’s pin is star shaped, reinforcing the connection between Babichka and the night sky.

In Chapter 1, Milada and Babichka look at the stars, and Babichka tells Milada how the North Star will always guide her home. In Chapter 2, Babichka gives Milada the pin with the promise to remember herself and her home. Later at the facility, the pin unclasps and awaken Milada. When she goes outside, she sees the sees the shooting stars and immediately thinks, “Babichka! It had to be a message from my grandmother, telling me to remember, remember who I was” (54).

At the end of the book, Milada and Mama return to Lidice and look out over the field that used to be their town. Milada recognizes the place where she used to stargaze with her papa and watches for the stars to appear as it grows dark. When one single star appears, Milada thinks of her Babichka again and tells Babichka that she kept her promise to remember who she is and find her way home.

Names are a central motif to the story and support the theme of The Loss and Rediscovery of Identity During Nazi Occupation. Remembering her Czech name is Milada’s biggest challenge, especially since she is renamed so early into the story. Whenever Milada hears her Czech name, it is accompanied by feelings of peace, safety, and solidity. Initially, she is called “Milada” by her friends and family in Chapters 1 and 2. After that, she only hears her Czech name from Liesel in the chapel. After leaving the facility, she doesn’t hear her name from anyone besides herself until the war is over and the Americans come to return her to her mother. Contrarily, every time Milada is called “Eva,” there is a feeling of separation and coldness. The first time she is called Eva, she is slapped by Fräulein Krüger. Everyone else who calls her by that name is either a stranger or an enemy to her people.

The repetition of Milada’s name occurs in threes. Throughout her time at the facility, she repeats her name three times to herself. When she remembers her name after sneaking out to see the stars, she thinks, “Milada. My fingers touched my name, my beautiful, sweet name. Milada. The name that belonged to my grandmother and her mother before her. Milada. There it was, pure and real” (54). Again, when the American woman asks Milada if she will return to Prague, Milada repeats her name to herself three times. Lastly, when Milada is reunited with her mama, Mama repeats Milada’s name three times. This literary technique is anaphora, in which a word or phrase repeats at the beginning of a series of sentences. Anaphora was commonly used in religious devotionals and means “to bring back” or “to carry back.” In the novel, anaphora is used to metaphorically bring Milada back to her Czech roots.

The Czech national anthem is a motif that reminds Milada of her national identity. Throughout the book, the Czech national anthem is presented in contrast to the German national anthem. The first time Milada mentions the Czech national anthem is her first morning in the German facility. She is woken to the sound of music and believes it is the Czech anthem. She later learns that it is the German national anthem. At this point, she is still rooted in her Czech identity. The second time Milada mentions the anthem is after she has been living at the facility for a few months, and she must work hard to remember her mother singing the Czech anthem. Even later, Milada sings the Czech anthem in her sleep at the facility, proving that she has not yet forgotten her national identity. The last and most impactful time Milada hears the Czech anthem is when she finds the concentration camp in the woods behind the Werner home. When Milada hears the Czech anthem from the prisoners, Elsbeth is simultaneously singing the German anthem. At this point, Milada has lost most of her ability to speak Czech, but she still recognizes her original language. This moment is an awakening to Milada and reminds her of her national identity when she had nearly forgotten it.