Hey Mads!
Remember when we read “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” junior year with Mrs. Mac? We were studying American Literature and read this short story by James Thurber with the promise of watching the film adaptation at the end of the unit.
I found the short story to be rather sad, Walter was presented as this pathetic husband who cannot keep his head out of the clouds long enough to run a simple errand. In the short story, there is a Mrs. Mitty, she is this nagging character that keeps ruining Walter’s daydreams and was really annoying to me but when I read it again I realized that she might not be the bad guy, and simply be a woman trying to get her shopping done while her lousy husband is dreaming his life away.
The movie, however, was a complete contrast from the short story. The Ben Stiller adaptation resonated with me in a way I had never experienced through a movie. The small-town life I lived paired with these big dreams of travel and adventure were painted throughout the movie in such a way that set my mind on fire for many months following. The Walter I fell in love with in the film has a good job, a loving mom and sister, he’s completely ordinary though he has a habit of excessive daydreaming. In the movie we learn that he had plans of backpacking Europe when he was young but then his father died and he canceled the trip in order to support his mom and sister. This sacrifice that Walter makes, putting his family before his own dreams happens over and over again in the story.
In the times of COVID-19, I am feeling like Walter Mitty like never before. Not being able to visit friends or new places has kicked my brain into daydream overload planning all the adventures I want to go on someday, and thinking about all the people I can’t wait to hug when this is over. We’ve talked over the phone about planning a road trip or some other amazing summer adventure but now with the encouragement to stay home and stay away from others we are forced to sit with our plans, a wistful smile, and a daydream of someday to keep us going. I think the motto of Life Magazine in the movie spells out so perfectly this ache in our souls from the lack of moving, traveling, hanging out, and just living out normal life we are feeling from these times:
“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life”
A lesson I have learned from both versions of this story is that it is okay to be Short Story Walter, daydreaming to make the days more interesting or to put up with that annoying family member or coworker, especially in quarantine, but it is not okay to stay there. Movie Walter develops from being similar to Short Story Walter at the beginning of the movie, but as the story progresses and opportunities arise, Movie Walter takes that step out of his imagination and into a reality that is far more than he could have dreamed up.
My hope for both of us is to find ways to see behind our walls, to find each other, and to feel until the day comes where we can see the world (even dangerous things to come to) and each other and to find that we have drawn closer
... and maybe that we have traveled vicariously through the movie by watching it ten times
-hp
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