Summary of Story: H.H.
Munro's (Saki) "The Open Window" brilliantly portrays how one's
nerves affect his/her personality. As Framton embarks on a trip intended as a
"nerve cure," he finds himself in an unfamiliar situation that
ultimately has a negative effect on his seemingly nervous personality.
Plot
Frampton Nuttel suffers from a nervous
condition and has come to spend some time alone. His sister sets up
introductions for him with a few members of the community. His first visit is
to the Sappleton house where he meets fifteen-year-old Vera, the niece of Mrs.
Sappleton. Vera keeps Nuttel company while he waits. Upon hearing that Nuttel
has not met the Sappletons, Vera tells Nuttel some information about the
family. Vera says that three years ago to the date, Mrs. Sappleton's husband
and two younger brothers went on a hunting trip and never returned. Vera goes
into detail about the clothes they were wearing, the dog that accompanied them,
and the song that Mrs. Sappleton's brother sang upon their return. Vera says
that her grief-stricken aunt watches out the window expecting their return.
When Mrs. Sappleton enters, she tells Nuttel that she expects her husband and
brothers to return at any moment. Nuttel listens, thinking that Mrs. Sappleton
has in fact gone crazy. Suddenly, Mrs. Sappleton brightens as she tells Nuttel
that they have returned. Nuttel turns only to see the "dead" hunters.
He becomes frightened and leaves in a rush. Mrs. Sappleton doesn't understand
Nuttel's strange behavior, but Vera replies that he is deathly afraid of dogs. Not
until the end of the story does the reader realize that Vera has tricked Mr.
Nuttel. This is revealed with the last line of the story: "Romance at
short notice was her [Vera's] specialty."
Sources: unit3english.blogspot.com/2011/.../open-window-h-h-munro-saki.ht...17.08.2012
Armed with a letter of
introduction, Framton Nuttel is visiting Mrs. Sappleton’s country estate for a
“nerve cure.” Mr. Nuttel is greeted by the niece, Vera, a polite
“self-possessed young lady of fifteen,” who begins telling him about her aunt’s
great tragedy. Pointing to the open French window, Vera (Latin, meaning
“truth”) spins a yarn about her aunt’s husband and two brothers who went out
through the window on a hunting trip through the moors fifteen years earlier
and never returned. The aunt keeps the window open in expectation of their
imminent return. Suddenly the aunt enters. Over the civilities of tea and
polite conversation, she alludes to the hunting trip, and Mr. Nuttel becomes
gradually unnerved. When, indeed, the hunting party returns, Nuttel, as if he
had seen ghosts, flees. The niece, we learn, had told the truth about the
hunters, but had made up the part about their disappearance. They had simply
gone out that morning, but, says Saki, Vera was incorrigible. “Romance at short
notice was her specialty.” At first glance the story appears to be a mere joke;
but “THE OPEN WINDOW” can be reread with pleasure because of its masterful
tone--a finely honed, polite restraint with only a hint of a smirk on the
authorial face.Finally, the narrative works as a parody of the traditional
ghost story. Vera’s yarn has all the trimmings of the standard mystery--the
journey on the moors, the mysterious disappearance, even Mr. Nuttel’s role as
scared listener. In the end, the tradition is subverted. Romance is but a
prank.
"The Open Window'' is Saki's most popular
short story. It was first collected in Beasts and Super-Beasts in 1914.
Saki's wit is at the height of its power in this story of a spontaneous
practical joke played upon a visiting stranger. The practical joke recurs in
many of Saki's stories, but "The Open Window'' is perhaps his most
successful and best known example of the type. Saki dramatizes here the
conflict between reality and imagination, demonstrating how difficult it can be
to distinguish between them. Not only does the unfortunate Mr. Nuttel fall
victim to the story's joke, but so does the reader. The reader is at first
inclined to laugh at Nuttel for being so gullible. However, the reader, too,
has been taken in by Saki's story and must come to the realization that he or
she is also inclined to believe a well-told and interesting tale.
The Open Window Summary
Framton Nuttel has presented himself at the
Sappleton house to pay a visit. He is in the country undergoing a rest cure for
his nerves and is calling on Mrs. Sappleton at the request of his sister.
Though she does not know Mrs. Sappleton well, she worries that her brother will
suffer if he keeps himself in total seclusion, as he is likely to do.
Fifteen-year-old Vera keeps Nuttel company while
they wait for her aunt. After a short silence, Vera asks if Nuttel knows many
people in the area. Nuttel replies in the negative, admitting that of Mrs.
Sappleton he only knows her name and address. Vera then informs him that her
aunt's "great tragedy" happened after his sister was acquainted with
her. Vera indicates the large window that opened on to the lawn.
Exactly three years ago, Vera recounts, Mrs.
Sappleton's husband and two younger brothers walked through the window to go on
a day's hunt.
D.N. Aloysius
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