How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
And I have by me, for my comfort, two strange white flowers – shrivelled now, and brown and flat and brittle – to witness that even when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of man. (Epilogue.1)
The unnamed narrator gets the final word, which is an optimistic one. In the future, people might not be very bright or industrious, but they'll still have human emotions and sentiments. So it seems like feelings are the most important thing for a community – a rather unexpected conclusion for a science fiction book, perhaps. However, let's remember that the unnamed narrator isn't necessarily right – and he doesn't necessarily speak for Wells. His argument about "mutual tenderness" in the future is undermined by the fact that the other Eloi were ready to let Weena drown. Um, that doesn't sound like "mutual tenderness" to us.