Saki's The Open Window

Saki's short story "The Open Window" is the story of a practical joke. Saki's work is an examination of the conflict between what the central character knows to be true (reality) and what he believes (imagination). Saki suggests that it is difficult to determine the difference between the two. It is Mr. Nuttel who falls for the practical joke, and also the reader. The story begins with Framton Nuttel coming to the Sappleton house; he needs to rest his nerves. His sister, who thinks he should socialise while he is there, has given him letters of introduction to families in the neighbourhood who she got to know when she was staying there a few years previously.Framton goes to visit a Mrs Stapleton, and while he is waiting for her to come down, he is entertained by her fifteen-year-old niece. The niece tells him that the French window is kept open, even though it is October, because her aunt's husband and her brothers were killed in a shooting accident three years ago, and Mrs Stapleton believes they will come back one day.

When Mrs Stapleton comes down she talks about her husband and brothers, and how they are going to come back from the shooting soon, and Frampton, believing she is derranged, tries to get her to distract her by talking about his health. Then, to his horror, Mrs Stapleton points out that her husband and brothers are coming, and he sees them walking towards the window, with their dog. He thinks he is seeing ghosts, and runs away. Mrs Stapleton can't understand why he has run away, and when her husband and brothers (who of course are not ghosts) come in, she tells them about the odd young man who has just left. The niece explains that Frampton Nuttal ran away because of the spaniel, he is afraid of dogs since being hunted by a pack of pariah dogs in India. The niece enjoys making up stories about people.

Themes:

Vera tells a very convincing story to Mr. Frampton Nuttel, she is so authentic in her description that his frame of reality about the family is created through her story. The point of this theme is that what Vera fabricates becomes his belief. Frampton Nuttel expected to see three ghosts come through the window, so when he saw the men coming towards the house, he could not get out of there fast enough.

Vera obviously deceives Frampton Nuttel when she tells him tall tale about her aunt who waits for the return of the hunting party lost in the marsh. She shows how her sweet and innocent nature is but she is actually a mischievous and slightly cruel character. Her imagination is brilliant and overpowering that everyone is tricked by her tall tale. Her quick thinking attitude.  Horror stories at short notice were her speciality. She is aided by her imagination to create the disturbing story to Mr. Nuttel. She also deceives Mrs. Sappleton by telling her the reason why Mr. Nuttel runs away when the hunting party comes back.

The author deliberately tries to confuse the readers into thinking that Mrs. Sappletonâs husband and children are ghosts. This adds mystery to the story as the readers attempt to find out what really happened in the story. Also, I think it explores how the correct use of foreshadowing techniques can make a story suspenseful and really believable.The most important symbol in âThe Open Windowâ is the open window itself. When Mrs. Sappletonâs niece tells Mr. Nuttel the story of the lost hunters, the open window comes to symbolize Mrs. Sappletonâs pain and heartbreak at the loss of her husband and younger brother and is a representation of the tragedy. When the truth is later revealed, the open window