In the stories “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber (Clugston, sec. h1.1) and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (Clugston , sec. h2.1) Escape is a similar theme in these two stories, but there is a slight difference in how each of these authors places these characters in their escape from reality, relationships, and everyday chaos. . In each of these stories, the author shows the characters escaping the realities of the relationship, one through the daydreams of Walter Mitts, and the other through a brief hour where Louise Mallard imagines her new life of freedom. Through the use of characterization, imagery, point of view, and setting, these authors bring an element of escapism to each story. In the short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", James Thurber uses Walter's dream characters in a way to depict the effect that Mrs. Mitty's overbearing attitude has on his masculinity and self-esteem. The use of characterizations in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is important to understanding the story and understanding how Mrs. Mitty is the sole cause of Walter's daydreams; for, without it, the reader would have the impression that Walter simply has the imagination of a child and would leave him in confusion and perplexity. However, in "The Story of an Hour", Kate Chopin uses characterization to portray Mrs. Mallard as a grief-stricken widow; who, in the last hour of his life, began to have revelations of sadness, serenity and finally an anticipation of what the future had in store for him. In this story, Mrs. Mallard did not realize how much she wanted the freedom to be a carefree, charismatic woman until her husband's death occurred. So even though the stories differ a lot in how each character develops.... .. middle of paper ......ZlJames Thurber (1894 - 1961). (2000), In The Columbia Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Short Story. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/columamshstory/james_thurber_1894_1961Jamil, S. (2009). Emotions in the story of an hour. Explainer, 67(3), 215-220. Retrieved from EBSCOhost: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=14&sid=22784632-7344-4773-b893-cf8bf6fe7019%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGNwaWQmY3VzdGlkPXM4ODU2ODk3Jn Npd GU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=40121203Life Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber (1942), Rosemary A. Thurber (1968), published by Harcourt Brace (ND), taken from: http://www.drwrite.com/analyzing/stories/mitty.shtmlThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty, James Thurber (1942) Michael J. Cummings (2009) Study Guide Retrieved from: http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides6/Mitty.html