The Swimmer is a short story by American author John Cheever, published in 1964 in the short story collection The Brigadier and the Golf Widow. Originally meant to be part of a novel and pared down from over 150 pages of notes, it is probably Cheever's most famous story and it is frequently anthologized. At one point Cheever wanted to parallel the tale of Narcissus, a character in Greek mythology who died while staring at his own reflection in a pool of water, which Cheever dismissed as too restrictive. As published, the story is highly praised for its blend of realism and surrealism, the thematic exploration of suburban America, especially the relationship between wealth and happiness, as well as his use of myth and symbolism.
Plot summary
The story takes place in the affluent suburbs of Westchester County, New York, and focuses on Neddy Merrill, who despite being middle-aged, wants to retain his youth and believes that he is a vibrant individual. He marvels at his trail-blazing idea of "swimming the county", as if he were something of a hero: at the beginning of the story, Neddy is at a cocktail party at the Westerhazys' and realizes that by following a imaginary chain of private and public pools in his affluent community he can literally swim home. Next we have a succession of similar scenes, as Neddy enters the backyard of his neighbors, sometimes busting into a party, sometimes engaging in conversation, and most of the time having a drink - but always swimming their pool. Soon the reader starts to perceive that there is something awry with the people - or with Neddy - and clues are provided to piece together what is really going on.
At first Neddy is well-received into their backyards and pools, but after finding two dried pools and waiting for a storm to pass in a gazebo, he starts to feel tired and somewhat disillusioned with his idea. Although he is still determined to go on, he can hardly remember the excitement he first had at the Westerhazys'. Neddy is terribly upset to find out that the Welchers' pool was dry, in fact their house was up for sale. He recognizes that his memory must be failing him or he is repressing unpleasant facts for not remembering what had happened to the Welchers. In a conversation with the Halloranns', we can infer that Neddy has suffered some sort of misfortune and had to sell his house, although he has no memory of this. At the Biswangers’ he is received as a gate-crasher and even their barman treats him with disrespect. He overhears someone saying that he showed up one day asking for money since he went bankrupt. Further on, Neddy's former mistress Shirley Adams tells him that she won't "give him another cent".
There are some tell-tale signs that time is passing more rapidly than Neddy thinks. He notices that some of the tree leaves are already yellow. Being midsummer, he tells himself, "they must be blighted". At one point he smells wood smoke in the wind, wondering who could be building a fire at that time of the year. At the Sachses', Neddy asks for a drink, but Helen Sachs tells him they don't have any alcohol in the house since her husband Eric had undergone a massive heart surgery three years before - something that Neddy has no memory of. Neddy had an affair with Shirley Adams but he cannot remember when. Additionally, at the very end, Neddy is unable to recognize the constellations of midsummer in the sky, and therefore it must be some other season.
The final piece of the puzzle comes together as he reaches his own place, which is completely deserted. He wonders if his daughters had gone somewhere, perhaps joined his wife at the Westerhazys'. He looks inside the house he sees that the place is empty. Neddy was probably repressing his decrease in financial and social status so deeply that he forgot he had moved somewhere else.
Media adaptations
The Swimmer was turned into a movie by director Frank Perry in 1968. The screenplay was written by his wife Eleanor Perry . Perry left the production due to creative differences, leaving a scene unfinished, the one Neddy meets his former mistress Shirley Adams, which was directed by Sydney Pollack. The film stars Burt Lancaster as Neddy Merrill.
External links
In print
