What is the theme for the open window

The Absurdity of Etiquette

“The Open Window”—Saki’s tale of the anxious Framton Nuttel’s ill-fated encounter with the precocious young storyteller Vera in the English countryside—is, ultimately, a satire of excessive decorum. Saki wrote the story during the Edwardian Era (1901-1914), when British social mores were beginning to loosen. In the story, Saki positions the excessive social graces of the previous period as shallow and arbitrary, but also as actions that, ironically, allow for rudeness and deception.

In “The…

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What is the theme for the open window

Fiction and Perspective

“The Open Window” uses its story-within-a-story structure to explore the interplay of truth and imagination. Whether viewed as a cruel prank or an enjoyable practical joke, the stories that Vera makes up in “The Open Window” control the perspectives of everyone around her.

Saki mines comedy from contradicting perspectives, as Vera’s story results in a farcical disconnect between Mr. Nuttel’s experience of the world and Mrs. Sappleton’s. Based on Vera’s story, Mr. Nuttel…

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What is the theme for the open window

The Romance of Hypochondria

In the story of Mr. Nuttel going to the country to search for the “nerve cure” for his anxieties, Saki lampoons not just the strict etiquette of the previous (Victorian) era, but also its tendency to romanticize the English countryside, tragedy, and illness.

The exact nature of Mr. Nuttel’s condition is never specified beyond being a vague issue of “nerves.” His prescription for “complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in…

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What is the theme for the open window

Innocence and Guile

Saki subverts expectations of naiveté, as the young, too-easily-dismissed Vera handily manipulates the adults around her. In “The Open Window,” age does not necessarily confer wisdom, and a childish demeanor can mask audacious cunning.

In the opening line of the story, Mr. Nuttel immediately observes that Vera is a “very self-possessed young lady,” yet nevertheless fails to detect her prank. This is in large part because, in keeping with her self-possession, Vera knows how to…

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What is the theme for the open window

The Open Window Themes

Saki disrupts the otherwise placid house visit with such strange occurrences as a supposed ghost siting and a tragic death. The open window is the vessel through which this chaos enters the orderly sitting-room scene. The particular type of chaos Saki utilizes in this story is closely related to his fascination with the wild: it involves wild dogs, dangerous terrain, and a forest. Saki commonly uses chaos to mock the customs of English society, preferring the chaotic to the boring order of adult life.

Closely related to Saki’s preference of chaos over order is his frequent positioning of children as foils for frail adult characters. Vera, the child in this story, repeatedly bests the adult characters with the power of her imagination. She finds a particularly good target in Framton, whose nerves make him a natural audience for her trickery.

Both Framton and Vera possess a strong desire to escape. Vera seeks escape from the adult world she inhabits through her imagination and storytelling. Framton is brought to the rural town out of a desire to escape and recover from his nerve disorder. While Vera’s escape proves fruitful and entertaining, Framton’s is not so successful: it provokes more chaos than calm.

Saki commonly uses the ‘story within a story’ technique in his works. He takes this a step further in “The Open Window” by using Vera as storyteller to convey a theme about storytelling as an art form. Saki and Vera both rely on the short story to fool their audience. As one who relied mainly on the short story to capture his ideas, Saki includes storytelling in this work to communicate its unique compatibility with the comedic tale.

This theme is closely related to the chaos vs. order theme. Several characters allude to the supposed peacefulness of the rural setting: Framton’s doctors suggest it as a retreat to calm his nerves and Framton himself is surprised to find that tragedy would ever occur in the rural landscape. Ironically, the setting becomes another source of anxiety for Framton with the addition of Vera’s storytelling.

Saki is well known for his satirical illustrations of Edwardian English society. “The Open Window” is yet another example of these satirical writings. Mockingly, Saki exposes the absurdity of the house visit during conversations between Framton and Mrs. Sappleton. Both find the encounter “purely horrible” and Mrs. Sappleton can barely contain a yawn as her guest discusses his medical idiosyncrasies (226).

Comedy plays a significant role in “The Open Window.” Vera’s stories, although perhaps initially credible, are revealed at the end to be fantastical and comedic fantasies of a child’s making. Thus comedy is posited as a refreshing contrast to the dull and adult setting and lifestyle.

What is the moral lesson of The Open Window?

The moral that we draw from the lesson "The Open Window" is that one should not deceive another person. He or she should be sensitive towards a person's needs or circumstances.

What is The Open Window story about?

It follows the life of Framton, who moves into a new town. He wishes to cure his nerves and his sister helps him as she lived there. She arranges a meeting with one of her acquaintances, Mrs Sappleton. On reaching her house, he encounters her niece, Vera.

What type of conflict is in The Open Window?

Conflict: Person vs person – Vera aims to disrupt Nuttel's chance for peace and serenity. Also, person vs self is present, to a lesser extent, in Nuttel's poor attempt to hold on to his fragile mind. Theme (central message of the author): Adults can be exceedingly dim-witted and easy to fool.

What is the mood of The Open Window?

Tone & Mood The tone is mysterious because we know what the tragedy is, but the lost men have never been found, and that adds to the mystery. As a result, the mood is uneasy because we know that their disappearance is a tragic thing, but at the end it is revealed that the niece has been tricking Mr.