On The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in Light of Psychological Approach

陳圓 胡笑瑛

【Abstract】The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a masterpiece of James Thurber who is considered as the best American humorist since Mark Twain. This paper aims to analyze it from Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic theory.

【Key words】The Secret Life of Walter Mitty； Sigmund Freud； Psychoanalytic theory

1940s is a period when people were trying their best to catch up with the changing world. Since fierce competition was everywhere， they had to compete. Under such pressure， people in every class suffer so much that they feel they were losers. Therefore， such kind of people would try to escape from reality. Naturally， dreaming would be a nice choice since only in dreaming could they find themselves successful. Some of them would go back to reality and keep fighting to achieve their goals while others would indulge themselves in beautiful illusions and be losers forever in their real lives. This short story describes such a society in which the male protagonist Walter Mitty escapes his everyday existence in heroic fantasies.

Based on Freuds dream theory， Mr. Mittys daydreams are reflection of his deepest desires he wish to realize in the real life. His dreams are visionary fantasy in which he can express his hopes and ambitions that he cannot get in his real life. In reality， Mr. Mitty is someone being incapable， unconfident and scorned by everybody， even by his wife. He lacks the courage to defend himself when his wife blames him. Besides， when a garage man laughs at him for his incapability to unwind the chains of the car， he just curses the man secretly to unburden himself. In other peoples eyes， he is a man of nothing， whats more， he doesnt even have rights to express his own voice in his marriage. Since he is denied in real life， he has to find his existence in daydreams. The more inferior one is in his real life， the more superior he would be in his dreams. Therefore， in Mr. Mittys daydreams， he is everything he cannot be in reality. Within the world of daydreams， he is superior to everyone， both great and small. Freud proposes that the ultimate value of dream analysis may be in revealing the hidden workings of the unconscious mind. So， we can infer that deeply in Mr. Mittys heart， he wants to be capable of doing things well just like those heroic people in his dreams.

Based on Freuds three psychic zones， we might take the dream self and reality self of Mr. Mitty as his id and ego. As we can see， Mr. Mitty shuttles between his daydreams and the real world freely in the story. The causes of each dream are related to his daily life. Or we can say that the ego in daily life fails to satisfy his wishes， so he imagines someone in his dream as his id self who has some relations to his ego but is much more excellent than his ego self. Basically， each id self is inspired by some detail of ego's mundane surroundings， thus creating five contrasts between the ego and the id. In his daily life， his ego is someone who lacks the courage to defend himself even though he is being scolded by his wife； his ego is someone who has to follow his wife and the policemans orders to put on his gloves while driving even though he hates it； his ego is someone who will hold back his anger for being treated rudely by the attendant， but only grumble and curse the attendant in his deep heart； his ego is someone who is not only teased by passers-by for murmuring puppy biscuits but also afraid of being criticized by his wife for not buying the right brand biscuits. Whats more， his ego is someone who shows great obedience to his wife and bears all the denouncement in silence. However， in his dream， his id is a navy captain who leads all his crews to go through a hurricane； his id is a famous and skillful doctor who overcomes unexpected difficulties in the surgery and successfully save a millionaire； his id is a bold criminal who dares to challenge the judge in order to protect an innocent girl； besides， his id is a brave captain of air force whos willing to fly the bomber alone to protect the rest of others. At last， his id is a prisoner sentenced to death but willing to face the death fearlessly. In this story， Mr. Mitty wobbles between the ego and the id， trying to find a balance between reality and his dream.

By analyzing Walter Mittys life from Freuds theories， we can conclude that the secret life of Walter Mitty is actually his daydreams. We all know that Mr. Mittys life never goes well， which takes him by the throat， so his id disguises itself as a new Walter， a totally different but a successful Walter in his dreams. Only in his daydreams can Mr. Mitty find a place totally under his control and release his burdens from real life and express his repressed self.

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