# The Epilogue explained — In the Days of the Comet

> Chapter companion for In the Days of the Comet by H. G. Wells.

## What happens

The narrator, having finished reading Leadford's manuscript, reflects on the profound psychological and moral transformation wrought by the comet. He struggles to comprehend a world where jealousy, possessiveness, and social conventions have been replaced by a universal, generous love. In conversation with Leadford, the narrator confronts his own lingering 'old world' suspicions, particularly regarding Nettie, Verrall, and the nature of their relationships. Leadford's serene explanation of their 'personal lovers in a world of lovers' leaves the narrator feeling coarse and out of place, highlighting the unbridgeable gulf between the old humanity and the new.

## Themes in this chapter

### Transformation and Renewal

The comet's change is depicted as a complete moral and psychological renewal, creating a humanity that is 'beautiful and noble' but alien to the old world.

### Memory and Retrospection

The narrator's reading of Leadford's story and his subsequent conversation serve as a retrospective lens, highlighting the gulf between past and present human nature.

## Character check-ins

### Willie Leadford

The author of the manuscript; now a gray-haired, pleasant-looking man who embodies the post-Change serenity and moral transformation.

### Nettie Stuart

Mentioned in the narrator's questioning; Leadford confirms she remained a beloved figure in the new world, loved by many.

### Edward Verrall

Mentioned as part of the 'four' who remained close friends and lovers in the transformed society.

## Key lines

> It was no mere change in conditions and institutions the comet had wrought. It had made a change of heart and mind.

The comet did not just alter society's structures; it fundamentally transformed human consciousness and emotion.

_The narrator identifies the core of the transformation as internal, not external._

> He and these transfigured people—they were beautiful and noble people, like the people one sees in great pictures, like the gods of noble sculpture, but they had no nearer fellowship than these to men.

The post-Change people are aesthetically and morally elevated, like figures in art, but this makes them feel distant and alien to the narrator.

_The narrator feels a sense of estrangement from the very perfection of the new humanity._

> We four from that time were very close, you understand, we were friends, helpers, personal lovers in a world of lovers.

Leadford, Nettie, Verrall, and another formed a close-knit group of mutual affection and support in a society where love was freely shared.

_Leadford describes the new relational norms that the narrator finds difficult to comprehend._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se/chapters/the-epilogue
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se/chapters