The Wasp — 1921 — page 25: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents a dramatic dialogue between a General and a woman named Mel (likely short for Melina or similar). The scene depicts Mel revealing herself as **Irma Korevna**, a female soldier from the "Battalion of Death"—a real Russian all-women combat unit active during WWI and the Russian Revolution. The satire critiques Russian military leadership and revolutionary violence. Mel/Irma represents the radical cost of Russia's internal conflicts, having personally killed numerous members of the "Brotherhoods" (likely political/military factions). The General's shock at being "killed by a woman" underscores the dramatic role-reversal and the destabilizing chaos of the Russian upheaval. The piece appears to comment on how Russian internal violence—especially involving unconventional combatants—threatened established military hierarchy and tradition.