read the last two chapters again - probably will go back and read several earlier as well -
The one thing that has always stayed in my mine while reading this work is the question of guilt and regrets - How would all this play out in the mind of a woman who might feel that her acts, or lack of action, were a vital part and cause for the horrors that happen to another. This guilt, based on truth or not, would be such a terrible thing to live with. In going back to your mention of soldiers and the wars of the Middle East - how would a mother feel that sent her son off to war with her blessings of "go fight for your country and democracy" and have him come back destroyed from that war - on top of all this, what happens to that mother when she is confronted with the realities of the politics and economic foundations that wars are really based on? Can't help but think of "Johnny Got His Gun" (sorry if the title is wrong) "All Quiet On The Western Front" - How would that mother deal with the guilt from having her son or daughter come back in a coffin, or worst, see what happens to that child as they fall into a living hell? This idea of guilt and deep remorse for her past acts/inactions, feel on a gut level, as a vital part of this piece.