Text analyses “The open window”

To begin with I’d like to say that the text “The open window” is written by Hector Hugh
Munro (Dec 18, 1870 - Nov 14, 1916) was a witty British author who published under the pen name
SAKI or H.H. Munro. The inspiration for the pen name "Saki" is unknown, it may be based upon a
character in a poem or on a South American monkey. He is considered by English teachers and
scholars a master of the short story and is often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker.

The title of the story is “The open window”, which invokes us an idea about the all the
actions that happened around Mrs. Sappleton's life, she being the center of them, but also about the
ironic way with which Mr. Nuttle is treated.

I think that it is closely connected with the plot of the story and it gives us an idea about the
problems treated here like as health problems, tragic news, teenage innocence, cunning, and the
mischief in disguise, desire to escape, comedy.

Reading the title, we can guess that the story is about an ironic event that happens between
an innocent adult girl and an which leaves a major mark in the lives of the characters. The structure
of the title is a word combination formed by: “the” it is article, “open” adjective, “window” noun.

Reading the story, we could distinguish both main and minor characters. The main characters
of the story are Mrs, Sappelton, Vera her niece and Franton Nuttle, the minor character are Mrs.

Sappelton’s husband and her brothers. It should be remarked that Vera introduces childhood, a
theme common in many of Saki’s stories. Saki frequently portrays childhood as an unfortunate state
of children being trapped in a boring, adult world. It is worth mentioning that the window is a
representation of this desire to escape. It is a symbolic window to a different world through which
Vera can travel into an alternate reality entirely of her own making. In this way, Vera’s tall tales are
a means of escapism from life in the boring, adult world.

I would like to say that Vera’s story imbues the otherwise mannered and bourgeois scene
with a grim tale of death and delusion. The tale becomes darker still when the aunt enters because
Saki continues to describe the setting as a cheerful one even amidst the aunt’s clear and tragic
misunderstanding. Using words like “bustled," “whirl," and “cheerfully," Saki subverts the
traditional setting of the Edwardian sitting room with the grotesque. This transformation is
necessary to liven up the boring and mundane life in Edwardian society.
 Speaking about stylistic devices, I can say that The title of the story (“The Open Window”)
is itself a metaphor for the power of storytelling as a means of entertaining through humor and
trickery. Reading the story is like looking out the window in Mrs. Sappleton’s parlor, the window
that Vera controls (and Saki in creating her) and through which the storyteller and trickster devises
her own creations.

The text presents a story about Mr. Nuttle, which came to visit his sister’s acquaintance Mrs.
Sappelton, who three years ago had a tragic anniversary, namely the death of her husband and her
brothers. He spent some time with the woman’s niece, Vera. Vera recounted a story about how her
aunt lost her husband and two brothers in a tragic hunting accident. She warned Framton that her
aunt never accepted their deaths and believes that someday the hunting party will return. In
anticipation, Mrs. Sappleton leaves the window in the front room open so that they may re-enter the
house. When Mrs. Sappleton entered the room and discussed the hunting party, Framton was deeply
disturbed by her delusion. However, his concern turned to pure horror when he saw three male
figures dressed in hunting gear approaching the house. Believing he has seen ghosts, Framton bolted
from the house. Spinning another tale, Vera explained to the newly arrived hunting party and her
aunt that Framton fled when he saw the hunting dog because of his severe fear of dogs

All parts of the story follow in their natural succession. The story begins with the exposition
where Nuttle comes to visit his sister and is greeted by her niece with whom he begins a serious
discussion. Inciting moment is when Vera talks about the tragic event in her aunt's life, about how
her uncles died, being swallowed by a swamp, about the fact that her aunt always kept the window
open in the hope that her husband and brothers would return one day. The development of the plot is
presented when Mrs. Sappenton comes to the room where the two were and is puzzled by Framton's
reaction to hearing his words about her husband and brothers, and about the fact that when they
come home they will dirty the carpets, which is typical of men. Falling action is presented when
Framton looked towards the window in the direction where the child aimed her eyes and saw that in
front of the window on the lawn came three men with hunting weapons under their arms, and one of
them was wearing a white coat, Framton was scared that they were ghosts and ran away. The
denouement appears when the lady's husband asked who was the gentleman who had just run away,
and Vera answered ironically that he was scared like their target, because he is afraid of the dog and
that's why he left so quickly.
 Having read the story, I came to the conclusion that the theme treated here about how the
ironic way works in people's lives and creates false ideas and illusions. I conclusion I should like to
say that the story impressed me deeply, because it treats an up-to-date problem and it describes a
true-to-life story.