The Open Window

Chapter Summary

Framton Nuttel was suffering from a nerve disorder and to get rid of it he shifted to a new town, where his sister lives. In the urge of helping his brother, she arranged a meeting with Mrs. Sappleton, who is their family friend. After reaching their house, Framton Nuttel meets with a young girl, named Vera, who is the niece of Mrs. Sappleton. As she was away for some reason, Vera starts small talks with Framton. She described a tragic story about an open window of the house.

She told him that. Her aunt’s husband and two brothers were killed three years prior and as they never found any bodies, her aunt still believes that they will return and because of that she always keeps the large window open. After returning home, Mrs. Sappleton firstly apologises for her absence and then tells Framton that she is waiting for her husband to return. Framton was disturbed and horrified hearing this and the situation gets worse when he saw three males approaching the house, without wasting time he ran out in hurry. The story ends with a twist that Vera has a unique talent for making up her own stories in a short time.

Framton Nuttel came to the Rural Retreat

Framton Nuttel came to the rural retreat because he was suffering from a major nervous breakdown. For the betterment of his health condition, his doctor suggested him a break from his daily life in the city. He came to the new place with the hope of improvement in his health condition. However, the situation turns out differently, when he decided to visit one of their family friends Mrs Sappleton. As she was absent, he meets her young niece, whose horrifying story about her aunt's life makes the whole situation more difficult for Framton.

Reason Why Framton Nuttel’s Sister Gave aLetter Of Introduction

Framton Nuttel was new to the place; he did not know anyone in the countryside. That is the reason his sister gave a letter of introduction, to make him comfortable with the neighbours. As she knows if he will not speak, his health condition will get worse.

Mrs Sappleton About the Open Window

Mrs. Sappleton says Framton that she is waiting for her husband and two young brothers. That is the reason; she kept the window open till it’s dark so that they can enter the house with it.

The horror on the girl’s face made Framton swing around in his seat

The face of Mrs. Sappleton's young niece was completely horrified, and as Framton follows her eyes, he saw three men approaching with guns. This is familiar with the description that the young girl gave to Framton about the dead family of Mrs. Sappleton. He finds similarities between the two incidents and that makes him horrified about the whole situation.

Why did Framton rush out?

The young niece of Mrs Sappleton told Framton that her aunt's husband and two brothers were killed and their bodies got missing. That evening Framton noticed three men approaching the house, which left him horrified because it matches the description of the young girl. He thought he encountered ghosts, so he rushes out.

Is this a mystery story? Give a reason for your answer.

It is a mystery story about an always-open French style window in Mrs Sappleton’s house. About the window, the young niece of Mrs Sappleton created a completely imaginative story that left her aunt's visitor Framton, horrified. She told him about her dead husband and brothers of her aunt, and when Framton saw three men approaching the house, he finds similarities between them, and ran out of the house as he felt he encountered ghosts,

Good examples of the Use of Irony in ‘The Open Window’

The word irony indicates a specific state or situation of an event, which seems deliberately opposite or contrary and sometimes amusing as a result. In the story, The open window, as Framton was new to the place he came to visit a family friend, named Mrs Sappleton.

During his visit to the house, Mrs Sappleton’s young niece creates an imaginative story about her aunt’s husband and brothers being dead, in the absence of her aunt and tells her story to the visitor, Framton. It makes him disturbed and things became worse when he noticed a silhouette of three men approaching the house, it makes him believe that he has encountered ghosts. The situation and the timing were complete ironies in that case and it is the main attraction of the story.

FAQs

Q1. What is the main idea of the Open window?

Ans. The main idea of the Open window is the use of irony. From the beginning of the story, the reader will believe what Framton hears from Vera, but once he ran out of the place being horrified it was clear that the whole story was made up by Vera, and she was lying.

Q2. What is the type of conflict that is used in The Open Window?

Ans. The conflict that is portrayed in the story of The Open Window is individual vs individual. Here, Vera uses her skill of making up stories against her nervousness about Framton.

Q3. What is the tone used in the open window?

Ans. The Story the open window is about two different stories. One is the main story and the other one is lying under the main story, that makes the story light and comical and at the same time, dark.

Q4. What is the location of the story the open window?

Ans. The story The open window is all set in the countryside of the United Kingdom and the whole story is occurring in the autumn.