The Open Window

Irony exists in three forms in “The Open Window.” The name of the protagonist, Vera, is an example of verbal irony. Her name comes from the Latin word for truth, but Vera ironically does nothing but lie.

Framton’s visit to the countryside is meant to cure his nerves by providing a tranquil, slower way of life. Instead, in an example of situational irony, he finds himself in a circumstance that causes further stress and anxiety as he is forced to make visits to strangers. And he is thrown into a nervous fit when this unfamiliarity leads him to believe he sees ghosts. Rather than being tranquil, his visit to the country is stress-inducing.

Dramatic irony is also present. Inferences can be made based on Vera’s line of questioning toward Framton, Framton’s nervous state, and Mrs. Sappleton’s diction and demeanor that foreshadow for the reader that Vera’s story is false. Therefore, the reader knows something the protagonist does not—that the men returning through the window are not ghosts.