Hope was left inside Pandora’s container after the other troubles escaped.
In Hesiod’s version, Pandora closes the vessel before a final presence can get out. The Greek word is often translated as hope, although scholars have debated the exact meaning and role of the figure called Elpis. The story does not present a long modern-style explanation of why hope remains; the image itself became the basis for later interpretations.
Some readers understand the trapped hope as a comfort that allows humanity to endure suffering. Others have asked whether hope is itself being withheld, or whether it is preserved for human use. Ancient and modern commentators have therefore treated the ending as deliberately ambiguous.
The familiar phrase “hope remained” is still firmly associated with the myth. It should not be confused with the idea that every positive quality survived: the specific final occupant traditionally named in English is Hope.