"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," introduces Mr. Walter Mitty as the title character. He is an average, everyday sort of man, with one large exception: his incredibly rich fantasy life. This theme of escaping from a feeble actuality while retreating into a fulfilling dream world is the major issue that the story rides upon.

Nearly everything in Walter's life is bringing him down. He is getting older, not the young man he used to be, and is feeling the effects of that. His wife reminds him of this constantly, insisting that he needs to get overshoes because of his age, and also telling him to take the car to the garage every time he needs to remove the chains, because he is too old to do it any longer.

Mrs. Mitty is a major player in creating Walter's ineffective life. Partly because of his...