Summary

Raymond Carver's short story "The Idea" opens with an unnamed narrator waiting in her kitchen. The narrator has turned off the lights and is waiting for someone to appear outside.

The narrator sees her neighbor exiting his house and stopping in front of his bedroom, looking in through the window.

The narrator calls out for Vern to come from the living room and look at their neighbor. Vern warns the narrator not to get too close to the window so that the neighbor will not be able to see them. Vern is embarrassed but excited about spying on his neighbor.

Vern and the narrator have been watching their neighbor for three months. At first, the narrator did not understand what he was doing and tried to call the sheriff, but Vern explained that their neighbor is a voyeur. Since they first noticed him doing this, the narra…