“Where will we all be next year?” “Dead, perhaps?” Mr. Waite suggested helpfully. “Don’t say that,” Mrs. Waite told him, “I don’t even like to talk about it.” “Let us flatter ourselves,” Mr. Waite said into his glass, “that I may be the survivor.”
In form of flattery, he would be the one to survive but in regular circumstances he wouldn't be strong enough to be the lone survivor? His self-deprecation is irritating but it makes sense that he puts down others in order to feel better about himself. That at least he's smarter and better than his wife for example.
