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