Class 8 ENGLISH The Open Window Summary and NCERT QUESTIONS

The Open Window

Framton Nuttel, an eccentric hypochondriac, has moved to the country on his doctor’s advice to effect a cure for a nervous condition from which he suffers. His sister has lived in the area he visits and has given him letters of introduction to his new neighbors. The story concerns his visit to the home of one of these neighbors, a Mrs. Sappleton.

Mr. Nuttel is first met by Mrs. Sappleton’s niece Vera, who entertains him until her aunt is available. Vera, apparently bored with her guest, is graced with an overactive imagination and a sense of mischief. Once she determines that Mr. Nuttel knows nothing about the family and is a very literal-minded fellow, Vera spins a gothic yarn involving her aunt, whom she characterizes as a mentally disturbed widow.

Three years ago, Mr. Sappleton and his two younger brothers-in-law went hunting, leaving the house through a French window, which was left open until their return. However, all three of them were lost in a bog that day, Vera asserts, and their bodies were never recovered. The aunt, driven to distraction by her grief and loss, left the window open thereafter, anticipating that “they will come back some day” with “the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in that window just as they used to do.”

When Mrs. Sappleton finally appears, she explains why the window is open, apparently confirming Vera’s story. Mr. Nuttel then tells Mrs. Sappleton about his nervous disorder and his need to avoid any “mental excitement.” Mrs. Sappleton is clearly bored, but at that very moment she sees her husband and brothers returning from their hunt. Vera appears to be horrified by the sight of them. The nervous Mr. Nuttel is therefore terrified and beats a hasty retreat from the house.

In the closing paragraphs, the issue is clarified. The men had only that day gone hunting, and Vera’s yarn was purely imaginary. Mr. Nuttel has obviously been duped by Vera’s story, but Vera, a habitual liar, does not explain his odd behavior to the others. Instead, Vera invents another story that suggests Mr. Nuttel had once been frightened by “a pack of pariah dogs” in a cemetery “on the banks of the Ganges” and apparently had bolted at the sight of the spaniel accompanying the hunters. Thus, Mr. Nuttel is perfectly victimized by the young girl’s imagination.

The Open Window

1. Why had Framton Nuttel come to the “rural retreat”?

Answer: Framton Nuttel was suffering from some neural disease. He had come to the rural retreat to recuperate from his disease.

2. Why had his sister given him letters of introduction to people living there?

Answer: Framton’s sister lived there about three years ago. She knew some people over there, so she gave letters of introduction. Letters of introduction were to help him establish some identity for himself.

3. What had happened in the Sappleton family as narrated by the niece?

Answer: Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and her two younger brothers went for shooting in summers about three years back. They got trapped in muddy ditch and died.

4. What did Mrs Sappleton say about the open window?

Answer: Mrs. Sappleton said that her husband and her younger brothers had been on a shooting spree and she was expecting them to come back through the window. They always came by that route only. She was waiting for them to come and spoil the décor of the house.

5. The horror on the girl’s face made Framton swing around in his seat. What did he see?

Answer: When Framton swung around he saw a silhouette of three men and dog in the evening light. Then a hoarse voice was heard shouting at the dog.

6. Why did Frampton rush out wildly?

Answer: On seeing three men approaching the house he must have thought of seeing the ghosts of three dead men. He was too afraid to stay there. So he fled from that place.

7. What was the girl’s explanation for his lightning exit?

Answer: The girl said that Frampton was afraid of the dog. Because he had bad experience, of being chased by dogs on the banks of the Ganges. There he ended up spending his night in a graveyard with ferocious animals scaring him throughout the night.