“The Swimmer” vs. The Swimmer

The short story “The Swimmer” and its film version, The Swimmer, differ in one very distinct and important way that makes the film clearer than the story. John Cheever, the author of “The Swimmer,” gives his audience a look at Lucinda Merrill, the wife of Ned Merrill. However, there is never even a glimpse of Lucinda in the film version. In fact, many of the other characters in the film have not seen or even heard from Lucinda in a long time. There are several points in the story in which Lucinda is an important piece of the puzzle, while throughout the movie Lucinda is really a mystery. Is she real; has she passed on; has she left Ned?
The first sign of Lucinda in the story is in the first paragraph of the story. The setting is at the Westerhazy’s home. It is a lazy Sunday afternoon. Everyone is saying that they drank too much, and then Lucinda voices her opinion by saying, “We all drank too much.”(279) The film version of the story never reveals Lucinda i...