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"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, [1] it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1942). [2]
- James Thurber
- 1939
Walter Jackson Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurber's first short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," first published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World—and Welcome to It in 1942. Thurber loosely based the character, a daydreamer, on himself. [1]
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. By James Thurber. March 11, 1939. Illustration by Rebekka Dunlap. “We’re going through!”. The Commander’s voice was like thin ice breaking. He wore his ...
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty About James Thurber. James Thurber was born in Columbus, Ohio, on December 8, 1894, to Charles and Mary Agnes “Mame” Thurber. His father was a civil clerk with dreams of being a lawyer or actor. Mame had a grand personality and humor that inspired James.
- Events in History at The Time of The Short Story
- The Short Story in Focus
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The birth of radio entertainment
Before television had captured audiences, entertainment seekers turned to their radios for music, drama, and the news. American radio came into being on November 2, 1920, in a small shack outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On this experimental broadcast, radio announcers relayed to listeners the results of the presidential election between Warren G. Harding and James M. Cox. Despite this humble beginning, the owners of station KDKA, Westinghouse Electric Company, held fast to their belief i...
Real-life heroes of the 1930s
Most of Thurber’s short story takes place in the imagination of Walter Mitty. While the character conjures up several invented roles for himself, the personalities he imagines actually resemble historical figures of the day. James Thurber never acknowledged specific allusions to real-life people in his story. In fact, he felt that “no writer can ever put his finger on the exact inspiration of any character in fiction that is worthwhile” (Thurber in Bernstein, p. 311). Nonetheless, Mitty-like...
Medical hero
One of Mitty’s first adventures finds him in the shoes of a world-renowned surgeon. Not only is the imaginary Dr. Mitty adept at the operating table, but he also leads his field in research. A colleague remarks, “I’ve read your book on streptothricosis.... A brilliant performance, sir” (Thurber, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” pp. 273-74). Within five minutes Dr. Mitty saves a prestigious patient from death’s door, and fixes the hospital’s anaesthetizer with a common fountain pen. Thurber...
The plot
Walter Mitty leads the sedate life of any middle-class American. A henpecked husband, the most imposing challenge that Mitty faces during his day involves deciding which brand of puppy biscuit to purchase. This is the reality of Walter Mitty’s existence. In his mind, however, Mitty assumes the role of various, vivacious characters. From a navy hydroplane commander to an accused murderer, the imaginary Walter Mitty appears to be nothing like his realistic counterpart. While Thurber’s story doe...
Relationships between men and women
Although she does not have a large speaking role, the character responsible for driving Mitty into the confines of his mind is his wife. The finalscene of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” in fact, releases the title character from his wife’s constant nagging by way of an imaginary firing squad. Thurber writes, “Then, with that faint, fleeting smile playing about his lips, he faced the firing squad; erect and motionless, proud and disdainful, Walter Mitty, the Undefeated, inscrutable to the...
Sources
Although Thurber created Walter Mitty at the age of forty-five, he drew his character from a lifetime of accumulated inspiration. When graduating from junior high school in 1909, Thurber was selected to write the “Class Prophecy” for the eighth grade. The shy, sensitive boy constructed the following tale: Even as a young boy, Thurber imagined fantastic and captivating roles for himself in his writing. Although the Mitty character bears no true autobiographical resemblance to Thurber, the auth...
Bergreen, Laurence. Capone: the Man and the Era.New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Bernstein, Burton. Thurber.New York: Dodd, Mead, 1975. Lindbergh, Charles. The Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh.New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970. MacDonald, Fred. Don’t Touch That Dial! Radio Programming in American Life, 1920-1960.Chicago: Nelson-Hal...
First published January 1, 1939. Book details & editions. About the author. James Thurber. 340 books587 followers. Follow. Thurber was born in Columbus, Ohio to Charles L. Thurber and Mary Agnes (Mame) Fisher Thurber. Both of his parents greatly influenced his work.
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James Thurber is one of America’s best known humorists, and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is his best known story. The story was first published in 1939 in the New Yorker magazine to great acclaim. It was reprinted in Thurber’s 1942 collection, My World — And Welcome To It and in Reader’s Digest in 1943.
