Marriage as a Literary Theme in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
Amy Barnes
ENG125: Introduction to Literature
Instructor Victoria Schmidt
February 24, 2014

Marriage as a Literary Theme in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” portrays an average man leading a normal, mundane existence, who is married to a controlling, dominating woman who is in charge of her husband Walter’s every move. The literary elements of plot, tone and setting define the reasons why Walter must escape his daily life from his domineeringly aggressive wife, and find a place where he is happier and more content with himself.
“Theme [is] associated with an idea that lies behind a literary work. In a story, theme is a representation of the idea behind the story.” (Clugston, 2010) Another viewpoint of theme is derived from K. Griffith (1990) as he implies that theme is the central idea, commenting in some way about the human condition. A theme is what the work says about a topic and must apply not only to the characters in the story but to the "real" world as well. In the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber (1939), the image of marriage emerges. The author portrays the typical life of two married people, one being passive and the other being dominant. This is not to say that either one is good nor bad, but to show the reasons why Walter fades off into daydream. The characters of Walter and Mrs. Mitty, on the outside are in conflict with each other, but on the side of Walter’s daydreams, there is no conflict and he is a man of high regard and smooth self-control, but essentially, Walter redeems no control over his reality. In order to deal with this lack of control in his marriage, Walter escapes to become a commander of a Navy seaplane, or a highly regarded surgeon, or even on trial for murder.
The plot tells you what happens in a story, but the theme tells you what the story is about. (Clugston, 2010) But, as K. Griffith (1990) explains, “Plot is much more than what happens in a story; it is "a pattern of carefully selected, causally related events that contain conflict." Identify and discuss conflict involved in the plot. You are not supposed to summarize the plot--you are to identify the conflict and comment on that conflict.” For the plot within “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, the elements of exposition, conflict, climax, falling action and resolution must be defined within the short story. With “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” we are given the opening to the story as it delves right into one of Walters daydreams. This causes confusion in the beginning, but as soon as Walter is snapped out of his dream world by Mrs. Mitty’s yelling “Not so fast! You're driving too fast!” We realize that Walter Mitty is merely escaping the harsh realities of the married life. This is where we are introduced to Walter and Mrs. Mitty. We realize that Mrs. Mitty is loud, overbearing and controlling, while Mr. Mitty is passive, subordinate, and does whatever it is Mrs. Mitty tells him to do. The conflict of this story is not a typical conflict of man against woman, but with man against his surroundings and with himself. Instead of standing up for himself or protesting his wifes nagging behavior, he escapes to a daydream where he is respected, looked up to, and is a brave man. To point out a climax within this story would be to say that something extraordinary happens, when in reality, nothing really has. As he daydreams there is no true connection between daydreams. He plays a different role within each one. When he is not daydreaming he is going about his ordinary day as he always would. The question that lingers is more or less is what happens to Walter after standing in front of the firing squad?
The tone of a literary work reveals the author's attitude toward its theme, character, setting, or event. (Clugston, 2010) An author's tone may be serious, angry, humorous, sympathetic, satirical, ironic, instructive, persuasive, and so forth. By using subjective language, an author can evoke certain feelings in his or her readers. (Griffith, 1990) The tone that is set for this short story and to define the theme of Marriage between Walter and Mrs. Mitty, is one of humor and the ridicule. Humor takes place with the ridiculousness of Walter’s fantasies. This humor comes after Mrs. Mitty has ridiculed Mr. Mitty in some form or other. To give an example would be when Mrs. Mitty tells Walter to put his gloves on. After he has been scorned by his wife, “Why don't you wear your gloves? Have you lost your gloves?” he goes into his daydream of being a respected surgeon who, “It's the millionaire banker, Wellington McMillan,” said the pretty nurse. “Yes?”, said Walter Mitty, removing his gloves slowly.” This shows that underneath the scolding he receives from his wife, he is dying to be rebellious, to be his own person, and do just whatever it is he wants to do.
When the setting is defined, it gives us a better understanding of what the characters are going through. The reader is given insight as to their surroundings and their environment. As defined by Clugston (2010) “The time or place in which fictional events occur. It puts boundaries around the action and defines the environment in which conflicts can be witnessed and character development observed.”
“The time, place, general environment, occupations and manner of daily living of the characters in a book or story are the elements that make up its setting. To reveal what affect the setting may or may not have on a story, several questions should be considered: When and where does the action take place? What is the relationship between the setting and the plot? How does the time in which the story is set affect the situations with which the characters are faced? How does nature, weather or season contribute to the plot or theme? How does setting create the mood of the story? Does the writer draw on the setting to evoke a specific atmosphere? How does the setting affect the characters?” (Griffith, 1990)
In the short story of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, the place where everything happens is at a rather normal place. The setting takes place at the hairdresser, a parking lot, a hotel lobby, a drugstore. These are all fairly mundane and everyday places where we would typically find ourselves in an average daily life. The setting of this story reflects the mundane of Walter’s life, and it gives us contrast as to why Walter fanaticizes about being the commander of a Navy seaplane, or a highly recognized surgeon, or under pressure in a courtroom testifying for murder, and then in front of a firing squad. This is in sharp contrast to his real life and it gives us a secondary setting that Walter has created in order to escape the ordinary dealings with his wife and his mundane existence.
In conclusion, the literary elements of plot, tone, and setting give way to the overall theme of Marriage in this short story. The plot shows us why and when Walter chooses to escape into his dream world. Mrs. Mitty’s unrelenting nagging is what seems to be the trigger for Walter. The tone is then set as the hilarity of the situation is revealed in Walter’s defiance of his wife’s demands. He displays rebellious tendencies that poke fun at how Mrs. Mitty views him, more or less in an “I’ll show you” demeanor. The setting reveals that the reader is just taking part in Walter’s every day existence. It gives the reader insight as to why his daydreams are so dramatic and extraordinary, because his life is everything but extraordinary.

References
Clugston, R.W. (2010) Journey into Literature. (Ashford University ed.) San Diego California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Griffith, K. (1990). Writing Essays about Literature: A Guide and Style Sheet. 3rd ed. New York: Harcourt, 1990.