In "The Open Window," what character trait best describes Frampton?

The
character trait that best describes Framton Nuttel is neurotic. In the second paragraph the
author writes:

Privately he doubted more than ever whether
these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve
cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.

intentionally contrasts him with the girl playing hostess by describing her as

. . . a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen

Her self-possession makes Framton seem all the more nervous, while
his nervousness makes her seem all the more self-possessed.

Then when Mrs.
Sappleton appears, Framton explains in one paragraph what his problem is. This is all the
information the reader will get about his condition and virtually all that the reader will get
about his character.

"The doctors agree in ordering
me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of
violent physical exercise," announced Framton, who laboured under the tolerably wide-spread
delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's
ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure. "On the matter of diet they are not so much
in agreement," he continued.

Framton seems to have
enough money to be able to consult several doctors on a regular basis and to take time off from
whatever work he does, if any, in order to spend time vegetating in the country. Saki created
this character to be the perfect victim for the mischievous young Vera. Framton is going to
experience just the opposite of what the doctors have advised him to do. He will probably not
have "complete rest" for a long time after his encounter with the supernatural. He
will get plenty of "mental excitement" when the three "ghosts" appear
heading towards the open window carrying guns. He will also get a great deal of "violent
physical exercise" when he flees.

Framton grabbed
wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive, and the front gate were
dimly-noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the
hedge to avoid an imminent collision.

The sentence about
the cyclist coming down the road creates an impression of Framton running for his life for
several miles back along the country road. He would have no means of transportation except his
own legs, especially with night coming on. Perhaps the frightening experience and the violent
exercise would be good for him. For one thing, he might realize after running for several miles
that he actually felt better than he had in years, and he might begin to suspect that the
doctors were all wrong.

In that case, Vera might have been doing him a favor
by concocting her ghost story. Franton might very likely make some inquiries about the
Sappletons and find out that he had been the victim of an elaborate practical joke. In that
case, he might be able to laugh at himself, which would be a good way to cure his
neurosis.

Saki himself seems to have been a vigorous, self-reliant person. He
fought in the trenches during World War I, even though he was in his early forties and not
subject to conscription. He probably had little sympathy for neurotic, dependent men like
Framton Nuttle or for the doctors who all had different theories about how to diagnose and
prescribe for them.