"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

“Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality; they are also dress rehearsals, plans. All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination.” American author and publicist Barbara Grizzuti Harrison explains the true meaning of fantasies. Harrison’s statement also comes into play in James Thurber’s short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” The main character in the story, Walter Mitty, lives a life in which he is totally controlled by his wife. She tells him what to do and what not to do, and is constantly reprimanding him for the littlest things. It is for these reasons that Walter Mitty feels the need to escape from reality and his the overbearingness of his wife. Because of her tendency to treat him as an incompetent child, he lives vicariously through fantasies in which he is a brilliant and skilled hero.
Mrs. Mitty is constantly belittling her husband and treating him like a helpless child. She is constantly nit-picking and criticizin...