The Diamond Eye

Eleanor Roosevelt also notices Mila’s response to her joke. She reflects that she will store this detail for her husband, as she often does, serving as a key resource in his work. The real purpose of sending tired young veterans is to impress upon the president, and other onlookers, that the Soviet Union is in dire need of military aid.

The narrative shifts back to Sevastopol in December 1941. While Mila’s official memoir will emphasize duty above friendship, especially for women soldiers, Kostia and Lyonya’s attempts to cheer her up are a vital and cherished experience. They playfully duel by her hospital bed, using medical supplies as their weapons. When Kostia leaves for a night-time attack, Lyonya tells Mila about the failure of his first marriage. Mila explains that she was also young when she married Alexei, who was unwilling to be a responsible father. Lyonya observes, “[Y]ou shrink around him, I don’t like to see it” (189). After Lyonya leaves, Mila feigns sleep, knowing Alexei is hovering over her bed.

After Alexei leaves, Lena tells Mila that Alexei is intensely jealous because he assumes that Mila is in a sexual relationship with one or both of her male friends. Lena tells her that Lyonya is obviously interested and kind, unlike other arrogant officers. She urges Mila to consider a relationship. Mila tells Lena that romance with Kostia would jeopardize their work, but Lena encourages Mila to pursue a relationship with Lyonya. Mila remains grim, certain that she will die after her return to combat.

As Mila is being discharged, Alexei attempts to seduce her, insinuating that he is a more suitable sexual partner than Lyonya. Mila storms out. She finds Lyonya outside waiting for her, and she accepts his invitation for a dinner date. When they arrive, Mila realizes Lyonya has decorated his private quarters, a small underground cellar, and done his best to secure quality provisions. Lyonya asks her to stay the night. He tells her, “[Y]ou dazzle me,” and then jokes, “I’m fairly certain I’m the only fellow in history proposing marriage to a woman who has personally dispatched over two hundred men” (195). She laughs and jokes that a new copy of her thesis is more valuable to her than matrimony.

Their conversation is interrupted by a mortar attack, and Mila hides under a table, panicked. Lyonya assures her that his care for her is unchanged by her fear and that he is also daunted by the noises and terror of war. She kisses him, taking care to establish that he has a condom. As they have sex, he confesses his love and proposes marriage again. Mila tells him she is not ready to plan a future but is content to be with him now.

Mila is embarrassed that Lyonya has filed the paperwork for a civil marriage for the two of them, as this forces her to admit she is not divorced from Alexei due to his procrastination. Lyonya only laughs, relieved the obstacle is legal rather than emotional.

Mila trains new recruits with Vartanov, who gripes about the government. He also assures her that the new trainees will be more compliant now that she has chosen a romantic partner, as this makes her authority easier to accept. Vartanov tells her Kostia has returned from leave, morose and hungover, implying that Kostia has been nursing a heartbreak. Mila recalls that he customized a new rifle for her before his departure.

Mila receives orders to neutralize a German sharpshooter who has been terrorizing the troops nearby. She assures her superiors she can end the threat. At a strategy meeting with Lyonya and Kostia, Lyonya explains that the Germans are now using snipers because the plan to take the city quickly has failed. Mila asks if Kostia is still able to partner with her, aware of the tension between them. He agrees and then toasts with her and Lyonya to the mission’s success.

That night, Mila and Kostia dig a trench with the help of fellow soldiers and then stage the key element of their trap: a scarecrow they have named Ivan, who will serve as a lure and a decoy. They wait for the German sniper to retreat to his own nest in the early morning, but he does not appear. They remain for several days, chewing tea to stay awake. When Kostia notices Mila’s unusual resolve to complete the mission, she explains that it reminds her of the philosophical aspects of her war. While some claim that sniper work is unsporting, a struggle with a fellow sniper is obviously a match of equals. Just before dawn breaks, the German sniper takes his position. The scarecrow is now dressed for the occasion: He has a uniform and helmet. The German sniper fires on him, indicating his location, and Mila fires back, killing him.

Back at camp with Lyonya, Mila explains that the sniper, Captain Bommel, was highly decorated. Lyonya is proud, but he admits to anxiety about Mila’s work. Mila tells him she will not let his fears influence her strategy or dedication. Lyonya concedes, telling her that this success means she is “about to become famous” (214). 

Mila’s narration recalls that the actual practice of becoming a public figure was tiresome and frustrating, another fact absent from any official account of her life. Journalists, writers, and filmmakers all wish to exaggerate the nature of her standoff with the German sniper, personalizing it and presenting it more like a face-to-face duel.

In the 1940s narrative, Lyonya tells Mila that he is asked about her often and that he praises her shooting as more valuable than any domestic skills. Mila is still reluctant to discuss marriage. Lyonya tells her that marriage would allow her to get survivor’s benefits; even if her father would care for her in the event of Lyonya’s death, Lyonya truly loves and wants to marry her. Her greatest concern is Slavka and whether Lyonya truly knows her well enough to commit to a family life. He describes the joyful domestic existence in Moscow they will have together someday, and Mila tries to convince herself it will come to pass.

As part of her growing fame, Mila gives an official speech to a group of women activists. Arriving in the city for her talk, Mila notices that even the civilian women seem fierce and tired; even without combat experience, they understand the gravity of war. Later, Mila tells Lyonya that she made a promise to the women to kill more Nazis, and she expresses hope this will be her last speech. Her narration reflects, ruefully, “[F]ate must have really had itself a laugh there” (225).

In March 1942, Vartanov tells Mila that spring will mean more attacks. She and her platoon hope to lure the Germans out of hiding by using “decoy bushes.” She and her platoon not only remove the enemy threat but also capture their radios, a key strategic advantage. Mila and her men are jubilant, and she finds herself overcome with fondness for them all. Lyonya celebrates with her, and she decides to visit Sevastopol with him rather than trying to find Alexei to conclude the divorce paperwork. They wander the city together, taking in historical monuments and basking in their brief freedom.

The next day, Mila joins Lyonya and Kostia for a morning of banter outside. The usual shellfire begins, and they assume it is at a distance. Moments later, they dive for cover as they are directly struck. Mila and Kostia are unhurt, but Lyonya is seriously wounded. She and Kostia rush him to the field hospital, donate blood, and wait for news. She recognizes one of the surgeons as Alexei, who tells her Lyonya has serious shrapnel wounds in his back.

Mila loses consciousness. When she comes to, she finds that her pistol has been taken out of fear she would injure herself or someone else. She goes to Lyonya’s bed, noting his pallor and stillness, and finds herself unable to read to him. Kostia takes up War and Peace, and Mila looks for any signs of life. When Lyonya seems responsive, Mila says, “‘We can marry now. I’ll marry you tomorrow.’ I kept saying it long after he was gone” (235).