[General] And she wasted her pity. = And there is nothing to regret.

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

Never could she understand how he cared. But those Indian women did presumably-- silly, pretty, flimsy nincompoops. And she wasted her pity. For he was quite happy, he assured her--perfectly happy, though he had never done a thing that they talked of; his whole life had been a failure. It made her angry still.

And she wasted her pity. = And there is nothing to regret.

Thanks for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

 

[Leandro-Z]

It means that she lost her compassion

 

[SoothingDave]

Not a teacher.

She pitied him, she felt sorry for him because his life "had been a failure" in her estimation. But it was a "wasted" emotion, because he was perfectly happy.

She should instead feel pity for someone who is really sorrowful and sad.

 

[RonBee]

I agree with Dave. She wasted her pity on him because there was no reason to pity him. (Their opinions (his and hers) were quite at odds.)