The War of the Worlds VII. THE MAN ON PUTNEY HILL. Summary

Summary

The Narrator spends a fearful night in an inn on Putney Hill, reflecting on his recent flight, the killing of the Curate, and the uncertain fate of his wife. He confesses the killing as an act driven by circumstance rather than remorse and pries for news of the Martians, praying in the dark that his wife might have been spared a worse fate. At dawn he prowls toward Wimbledon Common, where he sees signs of the recent panic—abandoned carts, trampled hats, and smashed glass—and discovers a crouching, dirty man who turns out to be the Artilleryman he met earlier.

The two men compare experiences: the Artilleryman reports Martian activity around London and argues that the invaders are not finished — they are pioneers preparing for a fuller occupation. He insists humans have been overwhelmed and must accept a new reality. From this conviction he develops a practical, grim plan: select able-bodied men and women, live and breed underground in drains, tunnels, cellars and vaults, salvage books and knowledge (especially science), and bide time to learn the Martians’ machines and perhaps turn one against them. The Narrator, initially appalled by the soldier’s stark social judgments and harsh view of those he deems useless, is nevertheless won by the man’s resolution. They waste and revel in a strangely ordinary human pastime—card games, cigars, champagne—and then climb to the roof to survey London’s changed landscape: red weed in the river, dead foliage on the old palace trees, fires and a violet fluorescent glow from distant red-weed illumination. The Narrator, ashamed of his evening’s revelry and fearful for his wife, resolves to leave the Artilleryman’s dreamer’s lair and go into London to learn more about the Martians and humanity’s condition.

Key events

1. Narrator spends the night on Putney Hill and reflects on the Curate's death and his wife's fate.
2. On Wimbledon Common he discovers the Artilleryman, who recognizes him.
3. The Artilleryman explains his view that the Martians are winning and outlines a bleak future.
4. They dig a short tunnel toward the drains and the Artilleryman describes an underground survival plan.
5. They pass the day bonding with food, cards, cigars and champagne, then watch London from the roof at night.

Analysis

This chapter shifts the novel from immediate flight and panic to a more reflective appraisal of what the invasion implies for the future of humankind. The Narrator’s interior honesty about the killing of the Curate and his midnight prayer deepen his psychological portrayal: he is not merely a reporter of events but a man forced to reassess moral categories under catastrophic pressure. The Artilleryman functions as a foil and a thematic mouthpiece: blunt, practical, and ruthless in his social Darwinism, he embodies both martial resourcefulness and disturbing contempt for civilisation’s weaker elements. His underground plan crystallizes two core themes — survival at the cost of civilisation’s values, and the preservation of knowledge as the seed of future recovery.

Structurally, the chapter provides respite and planning after a sequence of fugitive episodes, allowing exposition and ideological debate. The soldier’s rhetoric about cages, petting and breeding, and the distinction between the “fit” and the “useless” foreshadows moral dilemmas the invasion provokes: what is worth saving, and at what human cost? Symbolically, the tunnels and drains suggest both safety and burial, a liminal space that promises continuity while acknowledging cultural collapse. Wells’ narrative technique—first-person confession mixed with reported dialogue—keeps the reader close to the Narrator’s fluctuating sympathies: he admires the Artilleryman’s energy even as he recoils from his brutality. The chapter thus works as a hinge: it contains planning, ideology and a vivid portrait of human adaptability that will influence the story’s next moves.

Important quotes

“Three things struggled for possession of my mind: the killing of the curate, the whereabouts of the Martians, and the possible fate of my wife.”

NarratorThe Narrator describes the anxieties that keep him awake the night he spends on Putney Hill, framing his internal trial and guilt.

Characters in VII. THE MAN ON PUTNEY HILL.

• The Narrator
• The Artilleryman
• The Curate
• The Narrator's Wife
• The Martians