What is this "secret life" of Walter Mitty?

The "secret life" of Walter Mitty is the life he leads in his imagination. Nobody would suspect that such a quiet and often incompetent man would be experiencing so many adventures in his mind. The story has become a classic because it reveals a truth. Many of us have our own secret lives, although they may not be as colorful or so all-absorbing as Walter Mitty's. The story only chronicles parts of five of Mitty's...

The "secret life" of Walter Mitty is the life he leads in his imagination. Nobody would suspect that such a quiet and often incompetent man would be experiencing so many adventures in his mind. The story has become a classic because it reveals a truth. Many of us have our own secret lives, although they may not be as colorful or so all-absorbing as Walter Mitty's. The story only chronicles parts of five of Mitty's imaginary adventures. But the reader is left with the impression that these are only glimpses into an ongoing and inexhaustible series of such adventures which may continue in Walter Mitty's dreams. The reader also understands without being told that Mitty is using his imagination to escape from dreary suburban reality and a bossy wife. Each imaginary adventure is triggered in Mitty's mind by a slice of reality. For instance, he imagines himself as a world-famous surgeon performing a high-risk operation under emergency conditions because his wife has told him he needs to see the family doctor about his absent-mindedness. Mitty has no desire to lose his "secret life." He would be more likely to give up his real life. In fact, he seems to be toying with that idea at the end when he imagines himself standing in front of a firing squad.

He put his shoulders back and his heels together. “To hell with the handkerchief,” said Walter Mitty scornfully. He took one last drag on his cigarette and snapped it away. 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.