and take advantage of thenervous little man across from her. Cleverly, she proceeds to weave a tale that has some veracity mixed in with fictitious tragic events.

Knowing that Mr. Stappleton and his wife's brothers will soon return from their outing, Vera tells Nuttel that he has arrived, coincidentally, on the "tragic anniversary" of the disappearance of Mr. Stappleton and Mrs. Stappleton's two young brothers, who went hunting but never returned. She weaves a horrific tale of their apparent deaths that Mrs. Stappleton is unable to accept. Instead, Vera claims Mrs. Stappleton continues to hope they will return. Using this backstory, Vera devises an explanation for why the window is open: "each evening the window is kept open until dusk" in the hope that the men will return through it.

As she expresses her pity for her "poor, dear aunt," Vera tells Nuttel that her aunt often relates how Ronnie, her youngest brother would sing, "Bertie, why do you bound?" She adds,

I almost get a creepy feeling that they will walk in through that window—

and then stops abruptly as Mrs. Stappleton finally enters the room. As Nuttel explains why he has come, Vera's aunt stifles a yawn. Then, she abruptly interrupts, "Here, they are at last!" adding that "they" are just in time for tea. When a voice chants, "I said Bertie, why do bound?" Vera feigns a "dazed horror" and a terrified Framton Nuttel rushes out of the house.

Saki's "The Open Window" has a variety of great examples of foreshadowing.

Framton Nuttel in himself is an example of foreshadowing. His name--NUT-tel--gives us an indication that he may be nuts or crazy, which is proves is true by discussing his nervous condition for a good part of the opening of the story.

The open window is also an example of foreshadowing.  The title of the book is almost always an indication of something important that will appear in the book.  The open window obviously plays a central room in story.

Another example of foreshadowing is when Vera asked Framton if he had ever been in the area or met her aunt before.  While it may seem like an innocent question to the reader, Vera is really checking to make sure that she can tell her story to Frampton without his knowing she was lying. 

Lastly, Vera telling her story to Framton foreshadows that she may--and does--tell another story, and that she does it on a regular basis. 

Twice, before she tells Framton the story about Mr. Sappleton and his two brothers-in-law, the narrator describes Vera as "self-possessed." This means that she is confident and able to control her feelings even in difficult situations. Framton, on the other hand, is described as having a problem with his nerves. So, before Vera starts to manipulate Framton, we have some indications about who has the upper hand and/or who might control the situation. Framton is nervous and shaky while Vera is confident and self-assured. The stage is set for the confident Vera to manipulate Framton. 

Framton's last name "Nuttel" does suggest a nutty, crazy, or even illogical frame of mind. His problem seems to be based on nervousness and anxiety, but the "nutty" reference suggests he is also mentally unstable or, at the very least, easily manipulated. 

The reader does get a clue from Framton that Mr. Sappleton is, in fact, alive and simply out of the house at the moment. As Vera begins her story, it occurs to Framton that "An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation." Despite this intuition, Framton is easily tricked by Vera. But, with Mr. Sappleton's return, this subtle hint could be regarded as an example of foreshadowing. 

Vera tells Framton that sometimes "I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window." Here, Vera gives a veiled truth, a clear attempt to foreshadow what is to come. She is toying with Framton here, telling him what is going to happen, while knowing that he will be shocked when it does happen. 

Saki's short story "The Open Window" employs the technique of a frame story that has another within it.  Added to this structure, the narrative is written as a tall tale with irony and connotation.

CONNOTATION

Vera's name is misleading for Framton Nuttel since the name Vera is a derivative of the Latin word veritas, or truth.  The tall-tale that she weaves revolves around the open window, which of itself connotes candor and honesty.  The connotation of the name and the window contribute to the effect of Vera's tall-tale as Nuttel gullibly becomes horrified when he views Vera's frightened appearance as she sees the men.  

IRONY

Vera's tale is replete with verbal irony as she makes use of the open window for her devious story as well as the Stappleton men away on a hunt to twist the meaning of their day's adventure.  After Framton Nuttel panicks and runs off, Mrs. Stappleton herself is faced with the irony of her guest's departure.  But, she remarks superciliously in an example of situational irony,

"A most extraordinary man...could only talk about his illnesses, and dashed off without a word of goodbye or apology...one would think he had seen a ghost."

Additionally, most of the narrative, the framed story, is in the form of a tall-tale.  That is, it is a fabricated narrative that describes people and events in an exaggerated form.  Vera uses the husband of Mrs. Stappleton and her brothers, who are real, but creates a fantastical story around them.  She exaggerates the importance of the open window by making it the passage to a tale of tragic loss.

Another literary device employed is connotation.  The use of the open window with which to frame the tall-tale deludes the listener, Framton Nuttel, into believing the story because the openness of the window itself connotes lack of deception and candor.  Of course, Vera's name also connotes honesty and candor as it is a derivative of the Latin word for truth, veritas.

One literary device used in the story is symbolism. The open window symbolizes, we think at first, the disappearance of the men and their longed-for return.

Another device is called the frame narrative, or story within a story. The framing story is Mr. Nuttel's visit to the Sappletons. The story set within that frame is the sad tale of the missing hunters told to him by the niece.

Irony is another literary device that is well used in this story. Mr. Nuttel feels sorry for Mrs. Sappleton and thinks she is in denial of her husband's death. However, it is Nuttel who becomes the object of pity at the end of the story when he runs away in fear.

The author employs a great deal of foreshadowing in the story. Vera, Mrs. Sappleton's niece, asks Framton Nuttel about his knowledge of the environs and its people, and he explains that he knows little.

"Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?" pursued the self-possessed young lady.

Vera then proceeds to say that her aunt experienced a "'great tragedy'" just three years ago, a year after Framton's sister would have known her (which means his sister would have no knowledge of these events). Further, when she directs his attention to the big, open window, Framton seems to find nothing unusual in its being open since "It is quite warm for the time of the year." These are clues that the story he's about to be told may not be entirely truthful. It seems strange that the niece would ask such exacting questions regarding the timing of Framton's sister's residence there, and it seems very coincidental that a great tragedy occurred just after that time; further, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for the window's being left open—it would be far more strange if it were open when it is actually cold outside. Moreover, Framton himself is aware of the coincidental nature of his visit, as he says,

It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.

Out of all the days of the year, this just happens to be the one on which he comes.

"MY aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel," said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen; "in the meantime you must try and put up with me."

Here, with this quotation, starts the suspense. With Saki's simple opening come two important questions to the reader's mind. The first is how self-possessed can a young lady of fifteen actually be? The second is why does she say "must try and put up with me"? Our interest is piqued and our attention is fine-tuned to see what peculiarities to come will answer the questions and explain her words.

The very next sentence introduces irony.

Framton Nuttel endeavoured to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come.

In addition to situational irony, the narrator's ironic tone is manifest. Ironic humor is evident in the narrator's choice of using repetition to describe Nuttel's conversational predicament: "duly flatter the niece ... unduly discounting the aunt."

Both suspense and irony center around what is soon introduced to the reader's attention. First, the narrator tells that Nuttel notices that an "undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation." Next, the self-possessed niece mentions her aunt's "great tragedy" that "happened just three years ago."

For the duration of the short story, the young lady weaves a tale of her own that builds upon the masculinity of the room and the "great tragedy" and centers around the open window of the title:

"You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon," said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.

Just a note about the sort of window taking center stage in the story. French windows come in two types and both extend from near the ceiling to the casement at the floor. In either kind, entering or exiting requires a small step up and over the casement that holds the window when closed. One type, the type I imagine in this story, is a single wide pane of glass (perhaps secured in lattice working) that is raised up or lowered down; it can be seen in manor houses in some British movies filmed on location. The second type, with which most are more familiar, has two less wide panes of glass that open and close by swinging apart and together at the middle; these are commonly called "French doors" in America.

The suspense of the story for Nuttel--and for the reader--is whether two men long lost to human knowledge will walk through that open window. For the niece, the suspense is anticipating Nuttel's reaction and the depth of it. For the aunt, there isn't much suspense as she isn't in on the story woven by her self-possessed niece; her experience is more one of bemusement and wonder at Nutell's behavior.

The irony of the story is that the men will walk through the window precisely as predicted as the niece has devised her story to precisely coincide with their routine habit. A second irony is that the niece, who is self-possessed, uses her self-possession to such great disadvantage for other people! The ultimate irony, of course though--and this irony adds the overarching sad tone of the otherwise amusing short story--is that while Nuttel has come on holiday for the health and restoration of his nerves, the young lady is completely shattering his nerves with a devious tale contrived solely for her own amusement.

Suspense is heightened by the introduction in Vera's story of the supernatural theme. Vera introduces the idea of the supernatural when she says of the three hunters that "their bodies were never recovered" and when she suggests that Mrs. Sappleton expects to see the three hunters return through the open "window just as they used to do" any day. Vera heightens both the theme and the suspense further when she describes just how they went out and, thus, just how they will return and the "creepy feeling" she has that they "will all walk in" through the open window:

her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing 'Bertie, why do you bound?'

Two motifs that recur are the open window and Framton Nuttel's "rest cure" for his nervous complaint. The titular (i.e., in the title) open window motifheightens suspense partly because the window is the dominant thing in the room, extending as it does from ceiling to floor and being wide open as it is on an October day, and partly because of the way Vera looks at it and the subdued, awed tone in which she speaks of it:

"You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon," said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.

The other, and central, motif the recurs is Framton's rest cure for his nerves. The second paragraph introduces the reader to his rest cure and to the dubiousness he feels about visiting strangers to help his cure. Then we learn from his sister that his rest cure focuses on his nerves, which "will be worse than ever" if his rest cure is not conducted correctly. It comes up again after Framton listens to Mrs. Sappleton "rattle on cheerily" about birds and shooting in a "purely horrible" manner while ever on the look-out for returning hunters, hunters Framton knows as dead corpses. This heightens suspense because we worry with Framton about what will become of him if the ghosts do come through the open French window.

"The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise," announced Framton,....

Saki's "The Open Window" is the story of Vera ("a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen") and Frampton Nuttel (a man visiting strangers as part of his "nerve cure"). Saki, a master of the short story, provides readers with numerous unanswered questions which leave the reader curious about the story and the characters. Here are some suggested questions one may have after reading the story. These questions add to the suspense the reader may feel when finishing the text. 

1) What caused Frampton's nervous condition? (Adds to the curiosity regarding his condition.)

2) Why does going to an unknown person's home a cure for a nervous condition? (Adds confusions.)

3) What is "sufficient silent communion?" (Forces reader to question.) 

4) Why does Saki repeat the fact that Vera is "self-possessed?" (Has reader questioning Vera.) 

5) Why does Vera bring up the window? (May not seem important to the reader.) 

6) Why does Vera act like she does? (Is she bored or a bad person?) 

Situational irony is a literary device whereby something occurs that is the exact opposite of what we'd normally expect to happen. In "The Open Window," the reader, along with Framton Nuttel, expected that his stay in the country would go some way towards restoring his damaged nerves. A highly neurotic individual, Framton has been sent to the country on doctor's orders for a rest cure. As part of his recuperation, he's planning to pay a visit to some local families in the area, recommended to him by his sister.

One such family is the Sappletons, who live in a large, respectable house—not the kind of place you'd ever expect anything bad to happen. But unfortunately for Framton, something bad does occur. In a classic example of situational irony, he ends up being scared out of his wits by Vera's ghost story, so that when he sees the Sappleton men returning from their hunt through the open window, he assumes that they're the spirits of the dead.

Framton went out into the country to restore his health. And yet look what's happened: his nerves are in an even worse state than they were before. And that's not what he or anyone else could reasonably have expected to happen.

Of course, the power of this excellent short story lies in the "sting in the tail" at the end, which perhaps surprises us, and yet, when we read the story, there are a series of key indicators that foreshadow Vera's tricking of Mr. Framton Nuttel.

One of the first examples of foreshadowing is when we are told about Framton's health issues and that he is undergoing a "nerve cure" for an unspecified nervous condition. This shows that Mr. Framton Nuttel is going to be the kind of person who would be easily taken in by Vera's elaborate story, and with great effect.

Secondly, on second reading, Vera's questioning at the beginning can be seen as an indicator of what she is planning. Note how she specifies quickly what level of familiarity Mr. Framton Nuttel has with her aunt:

"Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?" pursued the self-possessed young lady.

It is only when the truth of this question is established that Vera begins her yarn which has such a devastating effect on Mr. Nuttel. Thus foreshadowing occurs in the way Framton Nuttel is presented as a character who would be very susceptible to the lie Vera is going to tell him and also in the manner that Vera ascertains that he is a worthy victim for her deception.

In a work of literature, foreshadowing is the presentation - usually near the beginning - of hints of what comes to light later. Foreshadowed events are often seen clearly in hindsight. In the short story by Saki (nom de plume: H.H. Munro), the success of the foreshadowing rests squarely on the character of Framton Nuttel, a man we learn in the story would be readily unnerved by the sight of ghosts. For example, we learn that Nuttel has come to the Sappleton's country home for a "nerve cure", suggesting that his psychological state is a fragile one. Moreover, the quick-witted and perceptive Vera ascertains soon after Nuttel's arrival that he has little familiarity with her aunt. Consequently, she is able to tell her convincing tall tale to a gullible man predisposed to her cunning deception. In this story, therefore, foreshadowing doubly serves to delineate character and delight the reader with the surprise ending.