Character Analysis

Diido doesn't have many friends when we first meet her. She's been kicked out and has nowhere to turn, and is used by the soldiers. It's particularly sad when we hear what it's been like for her—it's ain't pretty:

Watching her, Diido hurt: for the little girl she herself had been before the soldiers had come; for the angry grieving look on the child's face. Even here, in this place of peace and plenty, so far, far from the soldiers, why that look? (8.46)

Diido's war isn't anything like Cam's experiences on the battlefield, but it's just as real and just as horrific. She's used by the soldiers and powerless to stop them—so for her, the war represents the loss of herself.

Eventually Diido finds happiness and protection with Cam, and it warms our hearts to see these two outcasts bond with each other. Yet we can't help but feel that there's a lot of baggage because of the war. Diido shows us that even the women who didn't fight on the front lines suffered from the war—and still are in trouble, well after it's over.