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The Secret Life of

Walter Mitty

Quotes & reflections

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Quotes of Reality

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"WE'RE going through!" The Commander's voice was like

thin ice breaking. (p. 210)

The story begins in Walter's mind. This

is good evidence for the argument that

dreams and not reality dominate the

plotline.

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The pounding of the cylinders increased: ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa. (p.

210)

Notice how elements of reality are

incorporated into Mitty's dreams. In this

case, he reinterprets the sound of the

car as the sound of the hydroplane.

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"You're tensed up again," said Mrs. Mitty. "It's one of your

days. I wish you'd let Dr. Renshaw look you over." (p.

211)

After this line, readers might suspect

that Walter Mitty is mentally unstable.

Or, it could just be that his wife is

overreacting.

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"Obstreosis of the ductal tract. Tertiary. Wish you'd take a look at him." "Glad to," said Mitty.

(p. 211)

Mitty even makes up words and terms

in his imaginings – his dreams always

have the tinge of kid-like fantasy.

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Walter Mitty took the gun and examined it expertly. "This is my Webley-Vickers 50.80," he

said calmly. (p. 212)

This is an absurdly large gun, of course

– again we see that Walter's fantasies

are absurd; he doesn't know much

about the lifestyles he pretends to live.

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Dissatisfaction Quotes

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Walter resents the way those around him see him; his

dissatisfaction with reality has a lot to do with his image.

Since then Mrs. Mitty always made him drive to

a garage to have the chains taken off. The next time,

he thought, I'll wear my right arm in a sling; they won't

grin at me then. I'll have my right arm in a sling and

they'll see I couldn't possibly take the chains off myself.

He kicked at the slush on the sidewalk. (p. 212)

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This is what so bothers Mitty about the real world; others don't understand

him and misconstrue his actions.

"Puppy biscuit," said Walter Mitty. He stopped

walking and the buildings of Waterbury rose up

out of the misty courtroom and surrounded him

again. A woman who was passing laughed. "He

said 'Puppy biscuit,'" she said to her

companion. "That man said 'Puppy biscuit' to

himself." Walter Mitty hurried on. (p.

213)

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In Mitty's mind, even the doors are making fun of him!

They went out through the revolving

doors that made a faintly derisive

whistling sound when you pushed them.

(p. 214)

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The narration again seems to be under Walter's influence – it is

Walter who emphasizes the difference between what Mrs. Mitty

says and what she does.

"Wait here for me. I forgot something. I

won't be a minute." She was more than

a minute. (p.214)

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Does Walter end the story on a note of victory, or of defeat?

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 last.

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Men and Masculinity Quotes

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Mitty always makes a point of including beautiful women in his

fantasies.

. . . "It's the millionaire banker,

Wellington McMillan," said the

pretty nurse. (p. 211)

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Mitty glamorizes men who are close to important people.

"We're having the devil's own

time with McMillan, the

millionaire banker and close

personal friend of Roosevelt."

(p. 211)

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Mitty imagines himself as a decisive man who can take charge. In his mind, these

are ideal male qualities.

"Quiet, man!" said Mitty, in a low, cool voice. He sprang

to the machine, which was now going pocketa-pocketa-

queep-pocketa-queep . He began fingering delicately a

row of glistening dials. "Give me a fountain pen!" he

snapped. Someone handed him a fountain pen. He

pulled a faulty piston out of the machine and inserted

the pen in its place. "That will hold for ten minutes," he

said. "Get on with the operation. (p.211)

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In real life, people don't allow Mitty to do things for himself, but in fantasies people

treat him differently.

"If you would take over, Mitty?"

Mitty looked at him and at the

craven figure of Benbow, who drank,

and at the grave, uncertain faces

of the two great specialists. "If you

wish," he said. (p.212)

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Mitty fantasizes that he is both skilled and unapologetic. His alter-ego can stand

up to others instead of submitting to them.

"With any known make of gun," he said evenly,

"I could have killed Gregory Fitzhurst at three

hundred feet with my left hand." Pandemonium

broke loose in the courtroom. A woman's scream

rose above the bedlam and suddenly a lovely, dark-

haired girl was in Walter Mitty's arms. The District

Attorney struck at her savagely. Without rising from

his chair, Mitty let the man have it on the point of

the chin. . (p.212)

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Marriage Quotes

Notice the contrast between Mitty's

fantasy and his reality. His dreams

compensate for what bothers him about

his marriage.

"The Old Man ain't afraid of hell!" . . .

"Not so fast! You're driving too fast!" said Mrs. Mitty. "What are you driving so fast for?" (p.211)

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Walter and his wife don’t understand

each other. They have reach to the point

where they seem like strangers.

He looked at his wife, in the seat

beside him, with shocked

astonishment. She seemed grossly

unfamiliar, like a strange woman who

had yelled at him in a crowd.

(p.211)

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Mrs. Mitty sees Walter as an incompetent and clumsy man. She makes others view

him the same way.

Once he had tried to take his chains off,

outside New Milford, and he had got them

wound around the axles. A man had had to

come out in a wrecking car and unwind

them, a young, grinning garage man. Since

then Mrs. Mitty always made him drive to a

garage to have the chains taken off.(p. 212)

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This story is a part of Mitty's typical life.

Walter Mitty began to wonder what the

other thing was his wife had told him to

get. She had told him, twice before they

set out from their house for Waterbury. In

a way he hated these weekly trips to

town--he was always getting something

wrong. (p. 212)

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This is the first time that Walter actually tries to stand up to his wife

– and to no avail.

'I was thinking," said Walter Mitty. "Does

it ever occur to you that I am sometimes

thinking?" She looked at him. "I'm going

to take your temperature when I get you

home," she said. (p. 214)

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Identity Quotes

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"We've been all through that," she said, getting out

of the car. "You're not a young man any longer."

(p.211)

Mitty's true age plays a role in establishing his character.

The characters he embodies in his fantasies don't show the same

signs of aging (memory loss, loss of coordination) that Walter does.

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Oh," said Mitty, handing the man the ignition key. The attendant vaulted into the

car, backed it up with insolent skill, and put it where it belonged. (p.212)

The narration slips under Mitty's influence – the word "insolent“ reflects Walter's state of mind.

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"Any special brand, sir?" The greatest pistol shot in

the world thought a moment. "It says

'Puppies Bark for It' on the box," said Walter Mitty. .

(p.213)

Walter's imaginary character is strongly contrasted with his real

character.

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'I was thinking," said Walter Mitty. "Does it ever occur to

you that I am sometimes thinking?" She looked at

him. "I'm going to take your temperature when I get you home," she said. (p.214)

Walter's potential is limited because of his wife.