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Walter Mitty’s Secret Escape In James Thurber’s short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” the character Walter Mitty uses his imagination as a need to escape and express his emotions of anger and self-pity. By daydreaming, one might be able to escape the petty details of life and obtain freedom from their reality. Through the literary elements of character, setting, and symbolism, James Thurber shows how Walter Mitty escapes his everyday life by daydreaming. Character traits throughout the story are one of the elements that helps reveal the theme to the reader. Walter Mitty is described as a meek and mild-mannered, hen-pecked husband who learns to escape reality through daydreams (Thurber 77). Most of Walter Mittys sluggish behavior is probably caused by his wife’s overpowering and demanding attitude. “She is a nag and an extremely overbearing woman, who is perhaps the ultimate cause of Walter’s secret life” (Mann). We begin to see that Mrs. Mitty is definitely the dominant one in the relationship, and as orders are given by her, Walter begins to wander into his fantasy world. Living with Mrs. Mitty clearly poses problems and frustrations from her husband, but Walter never seems to complain. Walter