The Open Window Story Summary And Question Answer

The Open Window

by Saki

1. What did Mrs. Sappleton say about her husband and brothers to Mr. Nuttel ?

Answer.  Mrs. Sappeleton said that her husband and brothers would come home directly from shooting, and they always came in through the open window. They had been out for snipe in the marshes that day. She talked merrily about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for duck in winter.

2. How did Mr. Nuttle react to her?

Answer. A man of nervous disposition as he was, Framton felt ill at ease to listen only to Mrs. Sappleton’s strange story of her husband and brothers. Vera had already told her the story of open the window. He knew that Mrs. Sappleton took little notice of him and her eyes were constantly directed towards the open window. As a result, Mrs. Sappleton’s story of her husband and brothers was purely horrible to him. He made a vain effort to switch over to other topic. It was an unfortunate coincidence that he had paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.

3. Why did Mr. Nuttel leave Mrs. Sappleton’s house in a hurry?

Answer. The haunting party that comprised Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and her brothers and their spaniel really returned in the dim light of the afternoon. They were walking across the lawn towards the window. They all carried guns under their arms. One of them had a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tried brown spaniel closely followed the three figures. They neared the house saliently. As soon as Nuttel saw them, he was horrified at the thought that they were ghosts of the dead. Therefore, he left Mrs. Sappleton’s house in hurry.

4. How did Vera explain the cause of the Nuttel’s sudden disappearance?

Answer. When the hunting party and their spaniel really returned in the dim light of the afternoon, poor Nuttel was horrified at the thought that they were the ghosts of the dead and suddenly left the place. Vera calmly invented another story to explain Mrs. Nuttel’s sudden departure. She explained that the poor fellow was terrible afraid of dogs for he had once been chased by a group of stray dogs on the banks of the Ganges and he was forced to spend one whole night in gravel.

5. How does Vera create romance at short notice in the story?

Answer. Vera is capable of inventing stories from her own mind on any person or situation within a few seconds. When she knows that Mr. Nuttel is a stranger to the family, she invents a story on the poem window of the house and narrates it to Mr. Framton  Nuttel. That story makes Nuttel terrified. When the Nuttel runs away from the house at the moment of return of Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and her two brothers considering them ghosts, Vera, justifies it by telling another story to Mrs. Sappleton this proves that ‘ romance at short notice’ is Vera’s speciality.

6. What light does the extract throw on the character of Vera?

Answer. The story, the open window’ is built around Vera. She is young. She is fifteen. She is cool, confident and composed. She is a fascinating entertainer. She treats Framton Nuttel well. She is a picture of confidence. She handles a nervous person like Framton quite amicably. She has a flair for inventing plausible stories. She sees the open window and quickly decides to tell him a story.

7. What do you know about Mrs. Sappleton as outlined in the extract ?

Answer. Mrs. Sappleton is Vera’s aunt. She is known to Nuttel’s sister. At the suggestion of his sister, he had called on Mrs. Sappleton is in the married state or the widowed state. According to Vera’s description, Mrs. Sappleton never sees the dark side of life. She is exceedingly optimistic. She is convinced that her husband and two brothers will come back one day. They had gone for shooting through the window three years ago and never came back. But still she has not given up hope. She has not lost her heart.