Hope remained inside Pandora's opened jar in the traditional retelling of the myth. After the jar is opened, destructive forces escape, while hope stays behind, giving humanity a possible comfort amid suffering.
Hesiod's wording is more complicated than many short summaries suggest. In Works and Days, the jar contains evils, and Hope is described as remaining inside after the lid is replaced. Scholars have debated whether hope is presented as a benefit, a trapped force, or part of Zeus's broader plan.
The modern moral usually treats hope as the positive element left to humanity. The story does not clearly say that Pandora intentionally released the evils, and Hesiod does not name the container a box. Those familiar details come from later interpretation and retelling rather than a single universally fixed version.