How Is Walter Mitty A Hero

In James Thurber’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty the main character, a man named Walter Mitty who dreams up elaborate fantasies in order to escape his normal, everyday life, much to the dismay of his wife who thinks there is something wrong with Mitty because he is always distracted by them. Mitty's fantasies portray him as the "almighty hero" of the story, who is the bravest, manliest, and toughest character and who always saves the day. He is always the one in control and is praised by the other characters for his extensive display of masculinity and bravery; however, in reality, his wife is the one who, essentially, wears the pants in the relationship and takes control, often telling Mitty what to do and nagging him about not forgetting

Mrs. Mitty is a very controlling woman, who often nags her husband for just about anything and everything. While they are driving in the car on the way to the hairdresser, his wife gets on to him for not wearing his gloves. “Why don’t you wear your gloves? Have you lost your gloves?’ Walter Mitty reached in a pocket and brought out the gloves. He put them on, but after she had turned and gone into the building and he had driven on to a red light, he took them off again” (1). Walter listens to his wife whenever she nags him about things, but, as is shown, when she is not looking, he does the opposite. This type of behavior could be equated to something a child would do when their mother tells them what to do, and that is very much what I feel like Walter and his wife’s relationship is similar to. She is like the mother and he is the child and, perhaps, that is why Mitty’s fantasies do not once include his wife. This is significant because it shows that Mitty does not want to be treated like a child, in his fantasies and in real life. Mrs. Mitty’s constant nagging does not allow Walter to feel like a “man,” but in his fantasies, he is the “manliest” man of them