There's something significant about the fact that it's the voice of his wife that jolts Walter out of his first fantasy. Mrs. Mitty is so much more grounded than her husband; she has no time whatsoever for the imaginative dream world he enters into with such alarming frequency. One gets the impression that she's the one who wears the pants in this particular marriage, and that Walter retreats into his fantasies as a way of escaping from an overbearing wife.
At the time that the story was written, men were expected to be the dominant partner in a marriage. Yet in the Mitty marriage, that's clearly not the case, and so the only way that Walter can live out the traditional male role expected of him by society is by retreating into a dream-world, where he gets to be in control.
In Walter Mitty's first day dream, he is in the middle of a storm. He is an imposing figure, a naval commander wearing a rakishly angled cap, and he is piloting a hydroplane. The crew, fearful that the storm might be a hurricane, depend on his leadership. His technical expertise is obvious as he gives orders to the crew members. They work diligently and are confident that their commander will get them through.
"Not so fast!" someone interjects into the scene.
This is not an airplane crew member. It is Walter's wife telling him to slow down. Walter and his wife are in their car, and his fast driving has alarmed her. Walter is not taking bold risks on a daring mission, but instead driving his wife on errands in Connecticut.
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