Scene 3 Facing and Escaping the Uncertainties of Existence
71 Not All Possibilities Are Possible
As described in “The Mystery of the Swim” (3), Barth’s “swimmers” have not the foggiest notion of what their swim is about, yet this in no way limits their capacity to create multiple meanings for it and stories to explain it, all of which (if you haven’t already figured this out) happen to be wrong. These stories are all possible responses to the present uncertainty, but the point is, none of these possibilities has merit. Barth is sending us a message not so much about these “swimmers” as about we humans and our capacity, in the face of the uncertainties in our lives, to create “possibilities” that explain them.
She: You can go too far with this ...
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