One thing I don't understand is what Mr. Framton is doing. Is he visiting people in the area to introduce himself since he is new? Why is he talking only about his illness and what his doctors have advised him to do? It seems odd that both the girl and the Mr. Frampton go into so much detail about their lives (even though Vera's story is untrue) when they do not know each other at all.
It seemed to me that Vera was well practiced in the art of deception. When she told the story of why Mr. Frampton is afraid of dogs she was quick to come up with an explanation that was disturbing and scary. It seems strange to me that her imagination would lead her to tell such macabre stories. There seems to be something "off" about Vera. As my mother would say, "Her elevator doesn't go all the way to the top."
If I were Mr. Frampton in this situation I don't think I would have been so quick to bolt. I would have been interested to see how the young girl, caught in her lie, would react to the three men returning home. It seems that Mr. Frampton was too caught up in the possibility that the people he saw were indeed ghosts and not men. That would be a little unsettling I'm sure. If I were him I would be more creeped out about the little girl who made up the weird story about her own family members dying. Perhaps she is the one in need of a doctor's visit.
For some reason this story also reminded me of the book, "Wuthering Heights" and I can't get the images from the movie out of my head. The moors, open window, and the ghosts brought Heathcliff and both the Cathy's into my thoughts.
I have to admit that I was completely sucked into believing all of Vera's lies from the beginning as well. It is so interesting that such a young girl could make up such stories, but then I think back to a couple of my friends and I can imagine them doing something similar.
ReplyDeleteI agree it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Mr. Frampton would have stayed to talk to the three supposedly "dead" men that were walking up to the house. It could have made a more comical of a scene to see dialog between all of the characters and then for some reason Mr. Frampton being confused and scared running off from something strange that they said.
Open Window was probably one of my favorite stories. It tricked the reader so well! I, too, was tricked into believing the lies of Vera. She is a clever girl who is a little (or very) twisted. I like your point about Vera being practiced in the art of deception. I don’t know of anyone who could come up with a story that detailed on such short notice.
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