story which caused him to run, Vera simply launches another, equally fantastic story about Nuttel having once been hunted by wild dogs. This reveals that Vera is perhaps a bit unhinged, and that Mr. Sappleton is very much alive.

The reader discovers that Vera is a convincing liar (and probably with a lot of experience!), since she tells one lie right after another without flinching. If neuvrotic Mr Nuttel was indeed an ideal candidate to fall for one of her yarns, Vera seems to be able to pull the wool over the eyes of family members as well. Telling whoppers and then getting away with it seems to be her natural talent, since she cooks up a story of why Mr Nuttel ran off "on the spot" to tell her aunt.

It seems possible to argue that Framton Nuttel is the protagonist in "The Open Window"; it also seems possible to argue that Vera is the antagonist or the protagonist, especially given the satirical nature of author Saki.

While some readers may perceive Framton Nuttel as the protagonist because he appears to be the character who has forces working against him (his nerve condition and Vera's fabrications), an argument can also be made for Vera's being the protagonist in Saki's story because she seems to be more the central character as more development is given to her characterization in the narrative.

The protagonist is defined in Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, as the "central character." This definition is further expanded as follows:

The protagonist is simply the central character; the term "hero" or "heroine" implies that the central character has heroic qualities, which is often not the case.

Saki's narrative does, indeed, revolve more around Vera than it does Framton Nuttel. For, he is depicted as a rather flat character and one who is overshadowed by Vera.

The antagonist is defined as follows:

Any force arranged against the protagonist--whether persons, things, conventions of society, or the protagonist's own character traits--is the antagonist.

According to this definition, Vera can be perceived as the antagonist who works against Nuttel, trying to aggravate his nervous condition.
However, with this same definition, a stronger argument may be that the antagonist is Vera's character trait of having a propensity for exaggeration of the truth. "Romance at short notice" is also part of this force that works against Vera herself as it leads her to further fabrications around the hunting expedition when she responds to her aunt with another exaggeration about Nuttel's fleeing their house in order to exonerate herself of any misdoing:

"I expect it was the spaniel," said the niece calmly; "he told me he had a horror of dogs." 

It is this definition of antagonist--character traits that work against the protagonist--that can lead a reader to perceive Vera as the protagonist because she is at odds with her own character: She does not behave as a young lady should and is therefore at odds with the conventions of her society.

So there seem to be arguments for either Nuttel or Vera being the protagonist of "The Open Window." Perhaps, then, the decision on Nuttel's and Vera's roles in Saki's story depend upon the reader's interpretation of these characters rather than a definitive assignment of roles by the satirical author Saki.

Saki himself concludes, "Romance at short notice was her specialty." Vera is, indeed, glib and clever, disingenuous,"romantically" and cleverly capable of blurring the lines between the imaginative and the real.

Certainly, Vera must be practiced in her skill at telling a tall tale that seems real as she weaves fact with fiction, creating a verisimilitude [hence, the name Vera- as the Latin root for truth (veritas)] that deceives the vulnerable listener, Framton Nuttel. This is the touch of "romance" to which the author alludes. Vera uses the actual details of the Stappleton men's departure through the large window as the husband carries his "white waterproof coat" and they walk with the "little brown spaniel" to whom Ronnie always sings, "Bertie, why do you bound?" in order to cement Nuttel's credulity when the men do return. 

Further, Vera fabricates the explanation that the window is kept open because her delusional aunt is convinced that the men are not dead and will return. Just to embellish the horror for the moment when the men return, Vera adds,

"Do you know, sometimes on a still, quiet evening like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will walk in through that window--"

Then, when the men do, in fact, return, Vera, acting in accord with her talent for "short notice," pretends to stare out through this window "with dazed horror in her eyes" and the terrified Framton Nuttel flees. Clearly, spontaneous "[R]omance" is her "specialty."

Like any other character in any work of fiction, Vera is the kind of person she is because her creator, Saki, made her that way. He wanted to write a story in which an extremely nervous man is persuaded that three live humans are ghosts. He could have chosen any kind of character to tell about the three men who were sucked into a bog.

Saki may have considered using an eccentric old butler or a senile relative, but he hit on the perfect character with Vera. She has to be old enough to be taken seriously, but not too old for such mischief. In Saki's day a girl like Vera would lead a life of boredom. Being a girl, she couldn't go out hunting. She probably spent most of her time reading books and indulging in fantasies. One of her fantasies might have been that the three hunters would get sucked into a bog on one of their stupid hunting excursions.

Vera is not only bored but resentful. She hates being stuck in this house with her brain-dead aunt and the three men who have nothing to talk about but killing birds. Then when forced into playing hostess to another totally uninteresting man, she takes some of her feelings out on him. She doesn't like him. She wouldn't mind frightening him so badly that he would leave. She draws on her fantasies and her reading of lurid novels by writers like H. Ryder Haggard to make up a story.

Vera is exceptionally intelligent--which also explains why she is so bored with the life she is forced to lead as a housebound girl in the Victorian era. She is so familiar with the daily routine that she knows when the men will be returning and what her aunt will be talking about while she awaits their arrival. Vera has seen the same things and heard the same words over and over until she can predict precisely what will be seen and heard in a short while. The fact that it is tea time in an English country manor determines the timing. The spirit of the story is something like the excellent movie Groundhog Day (1993), starring Bill Murray. Exactly the same things keep happening every day at exactly the same time. Like the character played by Bill Murray, Vera tries to shake things up a little.

Vera is not a much better actress than many other teenage girls. She is described as a very self-possessed young lady. This is not an act but her real self. The acting is reserved for the time when the three hunters appear.

In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn towards the window; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: "I said, Bertie, why do you bound?"

All of this description is intended to assure the reader, as well as Framton Nuttel, that these must be the three men who are supposed to be dead. But Framton is frightened by Vera's act of terror before he turns and sees these figures approaching. When Mrs. Sappleton says, "Here they are at last!",

Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with dazed horror in her eyes.

It is the contrast between Vera's "self-possession" and her change to a "child" with dazed horror in her eyes that unnerves poor Framton Nuttel and prepares him to see the worst when he turns towards the open window.

At the beginning of the short story, Vera asks Mr. Nuttel several questions concerning whether he is familiar with her aunt or the area. After discovering that Framton Nuttel is an absolutely clueless hypochondriac, Vera begins to concoct a false story about her aunt's "tragedy."

Vera takes note of the large French window and is aware that her aunt's husband and two younger brothers left earlier that day to shoot their guns in the country. She proceeds to tell Framton a made-up tale about their tragic deaths, all while knowing that they will return from their trip any minute. Vera convinces Mr. Nuttel that the story is true by acting disturbed and feigning sympathy for her aunt. Vera also remembers to include an exact description of her uncles' attire in her story to set the scene for the perfect reveal. When Vera's uncles arrive, she stares out the open window with "dazed horror in her eyes." Framton then sees the three figures walking towards the window and bolts out of the home without saying goodbye.

Overall, Vera recollects the details of her uncles' appearances, takes note of the open window where they typically enter the home, and is aware that they will return while Mr. Nuttel is visiting. Vera then behaves like a concerned niece and tells Framton the false story regarding her uncles' tragic deaths. When they arrive, Vera acts horrified, which convinces Framton Nuttel that he is actually watching ghosts enter the residence.

In "The Open Window," Framton Nuttel is paying a social call on Mrs. Sappleton, a lady whom he has never met but who knows his sister. Mrs. Sappleton is busy when he arrives and sends her niece, Vera, to entertain Framton until she can come to meet him herself. Vera is described as a "very self-possessed young lady of fifteen," and the degree of her self-possession quickly becomes evident. The nervous Framton provides a foil for Vera's self-confidence, and it is clear that she quickly decides that he would make a good audience for one of the sensational stories she likes to tell. Vera shows her intelligence by first establishing that Framton knows nothing about Mrs. Sappleton except her name and address, leaving her free to invent whatever details she wants when telling her story.

Vera does not appear to be malicious in her intent. She has no regard for truth (which is ironic, given that her name means "true" in Latin) and is not particularly sympathetic to Nuttel's nerves, later using his sudden disappearance as an occasion to invent another story. However, the motive behind her stories appears to be sheer artistic pleasure in making things up, with which the author can clearly identify.

Always looking for some kind of adventure, the mischievous Vera devises a plan to amuse herself at the cost of Mr. Nuttel’s gullibility.

Finding the window open, she improvises a fake story about the tragedy of her aunt, Mrs. Sappleton. She relates the impromptu story of how Mr. Sappleton along with his two brothers met their tragic death three years ago.With her confident way of speaking, her convincing gestures and serious tone, she is able to convince Mr. Nuttel that the tragedy caused Mrs. Sappleton to lose her mental equilibrium.

How confident Vera sounds when she enquires about Mr. Nuttel's knowledge about Mrs. Sappleton:

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

Vera is extremely clever and possesses the ability to think on her feet. As soon as Mr. Nuttel tells her about the letters of introduction to the neighbors which were given to him by her sister some four years ago, Vera quite smartly locates the “tragedy” a year after his sister had left their neighborhood:

"Her great tragedy happened just three years ago," said the child; "that would be since your sister's time."

This will leave no room for any suspicion in Mr. Nuttel’s mind over her claim.

While relating the cooked-up story, Vera tries her best to sound serious and grieved. Having said it all in a somber and persuasive tone, she reacts like a seasoned actor.

Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human. "Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening…”

When Mr. Nuttel hears Mrs. Sappleton say that her husband along with his brothers has arrived just on time, he is shocked. To exchange a sympathetic look with Vera when he turns towards her, Vera’s reaction leaves him completely horrified.

The child was staring out through the open window with a dazed horror in her eyes.

But Vera is only pretending to be utterly shocked seeing the dead men walk before her. Her reaction is so convincing that Mr. Nuttel immediately dashes off"without a word of goodby or apology,” believing he has “seen a ghost.”

But still, Vera hasn't lost her composure. When Mrs. Sappleton is surprised by Mr. Nuttel’s unexpected behavior, Vera, quite assuringly, says, 

"I expect it was the spaniel," said the niece calmly; "he told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs…”

Mrs. Sappleton appears to be a thoroughly domesticated, uneducated housewife whose life is devoted to her husband and brothers. It would appear that she is trying to train and condition young Vera to become a housewife and hostess just like herself, and that Vera despises her aunt for being such a slave and a doormat. Mrs. Sappleton spends her time waiting on, and waiting for, the menfolk. Even when she is talking to Framton Nuttel, her attention is focused on the open window as she waits for the first glimpse of the returning hunters. Framton naturally thinks this is a sign of her insanity, since the hunters have been dead for three years.

...he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond. 

Vera knows the whole scenario by heart. They are sure to get mud all over the floor and carpets, but Vera's aunt accepts that as a normal part of her daily life. Since the menfolk think about and talk about nothing but shooting birds, Mrs. Sappleton doesn't hear anything of what might be going on in the outside world. She has become conditioned to talk about birds herself, and she has apparently become somewhat knowledgeable on the subject from listening to these boring men. She naturally assumes that Framton, being a male, must be interested in shooting birds.

She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for duck in the winter. 

It would seem that Vera makes up her horror story as a sign of rebellion against the prospect of becoming another empty-headed country homemaker like her aunt. Poor Framton is the innocent victim.

At first, Vera's presented as a rather sweet, demure young lady. This is important because it helps to lull Framton Nuttel into a false sense of security, making Vera's subsequent prank all the more effective. Yet there are subtle hints as to what kind of person Vera really is right from the very first lines of the story:

"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."

We see that Vera is self-possessed, very sure of herself. Yet at the same time she acts in a self-deprecating manner, which makes it easier for her to play her cruel trick on Framton. It's all an act, but then Vera needs to be a good actress if she's going to make her horror story sound plausible. And so it goes on. After Vera has finished relating her story to an increasingly agitated Framton, she breaks off with a shudder. One gets the impression she's done this before, and is getting rather good at putting on the appropriate gestures. That shudder seems almost second nature to her.

When the three men return home from their day of hunting, Vera affects a look of sheer horror. It's not enough that she has to know how to tell a good yarn; she needs to keep up the pretence for the prank to have the maximum effect. And it does.

After a terrified Framton suddenly takes off, Vera effortlessly slips back into her role as a sweet young lady, seemingly perplexed by all the hullabaloo:

"I expect it was the spaniel," said the niece calmly; "he told me he had a horror of dogs..."

Though she may have fooled Framton and her aunt, we now know what kind of person she is:

"Romance at short notice was her speciality."

So she hasindeed done this kind of thing before. Just as we suspected. That explains why she's so incredibly good at it. But the last line in the story is fascinating because it makes us wonder just how far Vera's prepared to take her penchant for telling tall stories. Is it just a harmless phase of young adulthood or does it express something more sinister about Vera's personality? We must make up our own minds.

To my mind, this would be a difficult task because to tell the story from Vera's point of view would mean to reveal her perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and motives. This would be unfortunate because revealing these would eradicate the satire, the suspense and some important thematic issues, particularly the thematic issue of the enfant terrible: children in Saki's stories who act intentionally to harm adults from undisclosed motives.

To retell this from Vera's point of view, you first have to ascertain her motives, something which no critics can yet agree upon. Does Vera beguile Framton out of playful boredom or out of a malicious desire to do harm to an unknown, yet disdained, inferior adult? Why does Vera tell another lie to her relatives, though it is especially aimed at Aunt Sappleton? And how often does she tell her relatives (and others) contrived fantasies? Does she do this as an innocent entertainment, as an innocent expansion of her creative powers, or does she do it as a subtle power manipulation that puts her in the dominant position?

After you decide what Vera is really like--the text offers little or no help in determining what Vera really is like (part of Saki's skillful ambiguity)--you will narrate and speak for Vera as though everything that happens is experienced, seen and discussed through Vera's perceptions. An illustration of how this might start out follows; you can see from it that you will need to find a way to incorporate relevant third-person narrator information into what Vera knows and narrates. This means Frampton will have to have said the information out loud to Vera.

ILLUSTRATION VERA'S POINT OF VIEW

"My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel," I said; "in the meantime you must try and put up with me."

Framton Nuttel, who endeavoured to say the correct something which should duly flatter me without unduly discounting my aunt seemed to doubt whether his visit to strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he said he was supposed to be undergoing. Of course it came out later in our first conversation that his sister had insisted he come to where she knew people to whom she could write letters of introduction. I suppose she suspected he would sit solitary as he could be without speaking to a soul, making his nerves worse than ever.

Saki's "The Open Window" is a framed story.  As such, Vera is in control of the tall-tale that is within the story of Framton Nuttel's visit to the countryside.  This tale, which controls most of the narrative, is in response to the weak, neurotic adult that the precocious child finds tedious.  She preys upon his susceptibility as well as his ignorance of the Stappleton family and the area by fabricating a tragedy that has not happened.  Thus, Vera completely dominates the adult in her presence.  Even when the husband and brothers of Mrs. Stappleton return, the undaunted Vera feigns horror in order to terrify the weak Framton Nuttel.  To the very end, the powerful, clever child completely dominates the adult world, as with swiftness she responds to her aunt's wonderment at Framton's frantic fleeing from their house with yet another fabrication.

Especially in short stories, the way that characters are developed and introduced is key in the way that their attributes and personality are presented. In this short story, we can see in retrospect that the way in which the character of Vera is introduced in the first sentence clearly foreshadows her deception of poor Framton Nuttel. Let us consider how the story opens:

"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."

The key words to focus on here are of course the description of Vera as a "very self-possessed young lady of fifteen." This of course points to Vera's tremendous confidence and the way that, even though she is only 15, she is so sure of herself and her abilities. She demonstrates this confidence through quickly assessing how much Framton Nuttel knows about her aunt's family and then quickly weaving a tale deliberately designed to trick him for her own amusement. As the end of the story tells us, "Romance at short notice was her speciality." The opening sentence therefore plays a key role in presenting us with the character of Vera and her astonishing quick intelligence and massive confidence.