This short story contains an absolutely fascinating
character who is the mastermind behind the story of "The Open Window." Vera, of course,
is the storyteller without equal, who is quickly able to seize on details and weave
convincing tales to horrific effect. Note how she dominates the story - it begins with
her words and ends with them. We are told in the first sentence that she is "a very
self-possessed young lady of fifteen". It is clear that she sees in Framton Nuttel an
object for one of her stories, as she is quick to establish that he knows nobody from
the area and thus she is free to use her excellent wit and intelligence to create a
fable that will shock Framton Nuttel for her own amusement. She shows herself to be an
excellent actor as well as a storyteller. Consider how the author narrates her duping of
Framton Nuttel:
Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed
note and became falteringly human... She broke off with a
shudder.
She is not only
creative, but quick, intelligent and able to fool others into believing her words. This
is demonstrated yet again at the end of the tale when, nonchalantly, she creates another
tale to explain Framton Nuttel's swift escape from the house to trick her family,
telling the tale "calmly" with complete equanimity. Clearly this tale celebrates the
power that a good storyteller can have over a susceptible audience, with Vera presented
as the master storyteller, and everyone else her ignorant and naive
victims.
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