The Open Window——Based on a story by Saki

Introduction

Part 1

The AuthorThe Author

Saki, whose real name was Hector

Hugh Munro, was born at the heig

ht of English Imperialism in Akya

b, Burma, on December 18, 1870, t

o British parents, Charles Augustu

s and Mary Frances Munro. His fa

ther was a colonel in the British mi

litary.

Saki

Following the death of his mother, he was sent bac

k to Devon, England, where he lived with his gran

dmother and aunts. This is why aunts were one of

his favorite subjects for satire. In 1887, his father

returned to England after retiring and subsequent

ly traveled throughout Europe with his children. S

aki returned briefly to Burma in 1893 as a police f

unctionary but returned to England due to his poo

r health.

He turned to writing and became a foreign correspondent, traveling in Eastern Europe and France, from 1902 to 1909, writing for The Morning Post. With illustrator Francis Carruthers Gould, Saki collaborated on a successful series of political cartoons. His unusual pseudonym comes from the name of a character in Edward Fitzgerald’s translation of The Rubaiyat, a long poem by twelfth-century Persian writer Omar Khayyam.

However, though he is primarily known for his s

hort fiction, including the volumes Reginald (190

4), Reginald in Russia (1910) and Beasts and Sup

er-Beasts (1914), he was also a novelist and play

wright and the author of two works of nonfictio

n, including the historical The Rise of the Russia

n Empire. “The Open Window” is saki’s most po

pular short story, in which he tells a story of a s

pontaneous practical joke played upon a visiting

stranger.

When World War I began, Saki joined the Bri

tish military as an enlisted man, though due t

o his high social rank and education, he could

have enlisted as an officer or worked for milit

ary intelligence. Indeed, he refused several off

ers of commission. He died in action in France

on November 14, 1916.

Part 2

The characters

Framton Nuttel’s sister once spent time in the same town to which Framton has come for relaxation. She has given him a number of letters of introduction with which he is to make himself known to a number of people in the town. Mrs. Sappleton is the recipient of such a letter, and it is this that brings Nuttel to her home.

Framton Nuttel’s Sister

Mr. Framton Nuttel

Mr. Framton Nuttel suffers from an undis

closed nervous ailment and comes to the cou

ntry in hope that its atmosphere will be cond

ucive to a cure. He brings a letter of introduc

tion to Mrs. Sappleton in order to make her

acquaintance for his stay in her village.

While he waits for Mrs. Sappleton to ap

pear, her niece keeps him company and tell

s him a story about why a window in the ro

om has been left open. He believes her stor

y, that the window remains open in hopes t

hat Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and

brother, whom the niece says are long dead,

will one day return. Later, when Nuttel looks

out the window and sees figures approaching

who match the descriptions of the long-dead

hunters in the niece’s story, he suffers a ment

al breakdown and flees the house.

Mr. Sappleton

Mr. Sappleton is Mrs. Sappleton’s hus

band. He has been away during most of t

he story on a hunting expedition with Mr

s. Sappleton’s brothers.

Mrs. Sappleton

Readers are first led to believe that Mrs.

Sappleton is a widow, keeping vigil for he

r departed husband and brother, who hav

e disappeared during a hunting trip. She li

ves with her young niece.

Vera

Vera is the niece of Mrs. Sappleton, the

woman to whom Framton Nuttel plans to g

ive a letter of introduction. She is a teller of

tales, a young woman whose forte is “roma

nce at short notice.”

She is an exquisite and intuitive actress,

equally skilled at deceit and its concealme

nt. While Nuttel waits with her for Mrs. Sa

ppleton to appear, Vera relates an elabora

te story surrounding a window in the room

that has been left open.

It is this story, of the death of some relatives

who went hunting long ago, that eventually ca

uses Framton Nuttel’s breakdown. She tells N

uttel that the window is left open as a sign of h

er aunt’s hope that the dead hunters will one d

ay come home and provides a detailed descript

ion of the men, their behavior and attire.

After Nuttel flees upon seeing these me

n return, just as Vera has described them,

Vera invents a story explaining his depart

ure as well. Saki refers to Vera as “self-po

ssessed,” which literally means that she h

as self-control and poise.

In the context of this story, it is clear th

at this is the quality that allows her to lie

so well —— Vera’s self-possession allows

her to maintain a cool head and calm beli

evability while relating that most outlandi

sh of tales.

Comprehension

Checking comprehension

1.Where was Framton Nuttel when

the young lady entered the room? He was sitting in a chair.

2.How old was the young lady?

She was fifteen years old.

3.Why had Framton come to the country?

He had come to the coutry to calm his nerves.

4.When did Fromton’s sister visit that

part of the country?His sister visited the part of the country four years ago.

5.What did Fromton know about the aunt?

He knew nothing except her name and address.

6.When did Mrs. Sappleton’s tragedy happen?

Her tragedy happened exactly three years ago today.

7.Why is the French window kept open every day until it gets dark? Because Mrs. Sappleton thought her husband and two brothers would walk in through the window. 8.What did the husband have over his shoulder when he went hunting? He had his white raincoat over his shoulder.

9.Why did Ronnie always sing, “London Bridge is falling down”? He always sang that to tease Mrs. Sappleton because she said it got on her nerves. 10.Who liked to come in through the open window? Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and brothers liked to come in through the open window.

11.What did Mrs. Sappleton talk about? She talked about hunting.

12.What was Mrs. Sapppleton looking at? She was looking at the open window and the lawn beyond it.

13.What did the doctors agree that

Framston should do?

The doctors agreed that Framton

should rest completely.

14.How many figures were walking across the lawn toward the window? Three.

15.What were the men carrying under

their arms? They were carrying guns under their arms.

16.What did Framton do when he heard someone singing? He grabbed his hat and ran wildly out of the house.

17.What did Mrs. Sappleton say about Fromton? She said:“ A very strange man, a Mr. Nuttle.”

18.What reason did Vera give to explain why Framton ran away? She gave the reason that Fromton had a terrible fear of dogs.

Putting events in order A

a. The girl pointed to a large

French window.

b. She said that Mrs. Sappleton’s

husband and two brothers

had drowned.

c. When he saw the girl, Fromton

felt nervous.

⑤

③

②

d. She said that their bodies had never been found.

e. Fromton was glad to see the aunt enter the room.

f. She said that her aunt believes they will come back some day.

g. The girl entered the room.

④

⑦

⑥

①

a. She said that her husband and brothers would be back soon.

b. Suddenly Mrs. Sappleton sat up straight in her chair.

c. Mrs. Sappleton came into the

room.

B

②

④

①

d. Vera said she knew why Framton ran away.

e. “Here they are at last !” she exclaimed.

f. Framton explained that he needed to rest.

g. Framton ran wildly out of the house.

⑦

⑤

③

⑥

Language study

Part 1

Words

nerves

名词，神经质；神经紧张。

I never know what nerves are.

我神经从来都不紧张。recommen

d1. 动词，推荐，介绍。

My teacher recommended me a nice book.

我老师向我推荐了一本好书。

2. 动词，劝告，建议。

The doctor recommended the patient to do some light manual labour.

医生劝病人做一些轻微劳动。tragedy

名词，悲剧，惨事

It was a tragedy that she died so young.

这么年轻就死了真是不幸。

swamp名词，沼泽地，湿地。

His brother drowned in a swamp last summer.

他弟弟去年夏天在沼泽地里淹死了。dreadful形容词，可怕的，令人畏惧的。

What a dreadful scene!

多么可怕的一幕呀！

avoid动词，避免，回避。

Peter was very lucky to avoid an accident.

彼得很幸运，躲避了一场事故。shiver

动词，（因寒冷或害怕）战栗，发抖。

He shivered with cold.

他冷得直发抖。

chill

名词，寒冷，寒战。

There is a chill in the air this evening.

今晚有些冷。dim

形容词，不亮的，微暗的，模糊的。

There is a dim light in the distance.

远处有些微暗的光亮。

grab动词，急抓，抢夺，夺取。

He grabbed his coat and ran out of the room.

他抓起衣服，跑了出去。chase

动词，追赶，追逐。

The people chased a pig out of a wheat field.

人们把猪赶出了麦田。

Part 2

Idioms

Keep an eye on动词短语，看，注意看。

The old lady always kept an eye on the sea.

这个老人总是注视着这片海。

动词短语，放松精神，松弛神经。

She got on her nerves by listening to the music.

她通过听音乐放松精神。

get on sb’ nerves

Summary

Part 1

Plot

Framton Nuttel has presented himself at the Sappleton house to pay a visit. He is in the country undergoing a rest cure for his nerves and is calling on Mrs. Sappleton at the request of his sister. Though she does not know Mrs. Sappleton well, she worries that her brother will suffer if he keeps himself in total seclusion, as he is likely to do. Fifteen-year-old Vera keeps Nuttel company while they wait for her aunt. After a short silence, Vera asks if Nuttel knows many people in the area.

Nuttel replies in the negative, admitting that of Mrs. Sappleton he only knows her name and address. Vera then informs him that her aunt’s “great tragedy” happened after his sister was acquainted with her. Vera indicates the large window that op

ened on to the lawn.

Exactly three years ago, Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and two brothers walked through the window to go on a day’s hunt. They never came back.

They were drowned in a bog, and their bodi

es were never found. Mrs. Sappleton thinks the

y will come back some day, so she keeps the win

dow open. She still talks of them often to her nie

ce, repeating the words of one of her brother’s f

avorite songs. At that moment, Mrs. Sappleton

enters the room, apologizing for keeping him w

aiting and hoping that Vera has been amusing h

im.

Mrs. Sappleton excuses the open window, e

xplaining that her husband and brothers will

be home soon, and she continues to talk on qui

te cheerfully about hunting. Nuttel finds this c

onversation gruesome and attempts to change

the subject by talking about his rest cure, a to

pic which bores Mrs. Sappleton tremendously.

But she suddenly brightens up, crying ”Here t

hey are at last!”

Nuttel turns to Vera to extend his sympathy,

but Vera is staring out through the open wind

ow with a look of horror in her eyes. Nuttel tu

rns around to the window and sees Mrs. Sappl

eton’s husband and brothers walking across t

he lawn, a spaniel following them, and hears a

voice singing.

Nuttel grabs his hat and walking stick a

nd flees from the house. Mr. Sappleton co

mes through the window and greets his wif

e. Mrs. Sappleton muses over Nuttel’s depa

rture that was so sudden it was if he had se

en a ghost.

Vera says that she believes it was the spani

el that frightened him; she tells her aunt and

uncle that Nuttel is terrified of dogs ever sinc

e being hunted into a cemetery in India by wi

ld dogs and having to spend the night in a ne

wly dug grave.

As Saki remarks at story’s end, making u

p stories that add a bit of excitement to life,

“romance at short notice,” is Vera’s specialty.

Part 2

Character features

Framptom Nuttell’s trait The main character is Framptom Nuttell.

He suffers from nervous problems, and loves

talking about his illnesses. He is also very ti

mid, and easily deceived as we see from how

readily he believes Vera's story.

Vera’s trait

Vera is the other main character. She is

clever, quick-witted, very inventive and has a

cruel, ironical sense of humor. She enjoys

terrifying Frampton. She is also a good actress

— she manages to make Frampton believe that

she is also terrified of the "ghosts", for instance.

Mrs. Sappleton’s trait

Mrs. Sappleton is kind, polite but quite a

bsorbed in her own concerns. She isn't very

interested in her visitor, but tries to be kind

to him. We can guess that she is also fooled

by Vera.

How many storied do you

read? What are they? Write

down the name of them and

recall the ending of these

stories, does they have

surprising endings. Discuss

with your classmates.

Writing

Suppose you are Fromton Nuttle and you dec

ide to write a letter to your sister. In your letter,

tell what happened to you when you visited Mrs.

Sappleton. Tell your sister where you are now a

nd how you feel.