Mr. Framton Nuttel visits the Sappletons with letters of introduction from his sister. He has a "nervous condition," but he is respectful even though he is also anxious and gullible. Mrs. Sappleton's fifteen-year-old niece Vera, on the other hand, is confident, social and clever. Vera also has no problem playing practical jokes on poor, defenseless strangers with nervous conditions. It would seem as if these two characters have absolutely nothing in common. The only thing that both Nuttel and Vera would have in common might be as follows:
"Framton, who labored under the tolerably widespread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities. . ."
In a way, Vera is also under the delusion that strangers or acquaintances would be interested in knowing about one's family tragedies, or interested in being the victims of a practical joke. Both Nuttel and Vera abruptly break social rules of protocol. Nuttel breaks the rule of not discussing one's personal illnesses in public, and Vera breaks a rule by playing a mean joke on a guest who is completely at the mercy of his hostess.
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