Question

Which parts of this excerpt from "Editha" by William Dean Howells denote the meaninglessness of war?

"No, girls don't; women don't, when they give their men up to their country. [[They think they'll come marching back, somehow, just as gay as they went]] , or if it's an empty sleeve, or even an empty pantaloon, it's all the more glory, and they're so much the prouder of them, poor things!"

The tears began to run down Editha's face; she had not wept till then; but it was now such a relief to be understood that the tears came

"No, you didn't expect him to get killed," Mrs. Gearson repeated, in a voice which was startlingly like George's again. [["You just expected him to kill someone else]], [[some of those foreigners, that weren't there because they had any say about it, but because they had to be there, poor wretches]]-conscripts, or whatever they call 'em.[[ You thought it would be all right for my George, your George, to kill the sons of those miserable mothers and the husbands of those girls that you would never see the faces of."]] The woman lifted her powerful voice in a psalm-like note. "I thank my God he didn't live to do it! [[I thank my God they killed him first]], and that he ain't livin' with their blood on his hands!" She dropped her eyes which she had raised with her voice, and glared at Editha.

THERE CAN BE MORE THAN ONE ANSWER 

Answer 1

"No, girls don't; women don't, when they give their men up to their country. They think they'll come marching back, somehow, just as gay as they went, or if it's an empty sleeve, or even an empty pantaloon, it's all the more glory, and they're so much the prouder of them, poor things!" The tears began to run down Editha's face; she had not wept till then; but it was now such a relief to be understood that the tears came "No, you didn't expect him to get killed," Mrs. Gearson repeated, in a voice which was startlingly like George's again. "You just expected him to kill someone else, some of those foreigners, that weren't there because they had any say about it, but because they had to be there, poor wretches-conscripts, or whatever they call 'em. You thought it would be all right for my George, your George, to kill the sons of those miserable mothers and the husbands of those girls that you would never see the faces of." The woman lifted her powerful voice in a psalm-like note. "I thank my God he didn't live to do it! I thank my God they killed him first, and that he ain't livin' with their blood on his hands!" She dropped her eyes which she had raised with her voice, and glared at Editha.

Step-by-step explanation:

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Answer 2

First and third parts of this excerpt from "Editha" by William Dean Howells denote the meaninglessness of war. The meaninglessness of war is shown through the words of Mrs. Gearson whose late son, George, died in war. She explains that people think that men would come as joyous as they went to war, not knowing its horror, but that is not the case. Then she explains to Editha that many of their “enemies” aren’t in war because they want to fight, but because they have to.