The Swans of Fifth Avenue

Babe reads “La Côte Basque 1965” on the morning of October 17, 1975, in her New York apartment. It has a physical effect on her, leaving her off-balance and weighted down. She hadn’t believed the story of Ann’s death when she heard it, because Babe thinks of Truman as a serious writer, the author of In Cold Blood. Having read “La Côte Basque,” Babe suddenly understands. She knows what it’s like to be betrayed and humiliated, but she never expected Truman would cause her to feel that way. After recovering her composure, Babe calls Slim and tells her to read it. In the meantime, she goes over the story again, finding it more “gruesome” than the most graphic scenes in In Cold Blood. He has taken their private confidences and exposed them to the world, often word-for-word. Sidney Dillon is a clear stand-in for Bill Paley, and he even as the most beautiful wife in world, “Cleo.” The story from the piece that wounds her the most is the “slovenly mess” of the night that Sidney brought home a woman who was on her period and had to clean the sheets himself before Cleo got home.

When Slim calls back, she claims not to know who Sidney Dillon is supposed to be, sputtering in general indignation and a sudden feeling for Ann Woodward. Babe abruptly ends the conversation, desperate for the cigarettes that she is no longer allowed to smoke. She glances at a box of lethal pills, considering following Ann’s example, then remembers that Bill had taken them away. She leaves the magazine for Bill to read, then throws herself on her bed in despair. Truman’s betrayal leaves her feeling more empty and alone than ever before—and she had given him so much of herself.

That evening, Babe and Bill have a brief, general conversation about the story, and Bill says he’s sorry he ever set eyes on Truman. They never speak of him or the Esquire piece again.

Truman is sent home early from the movie set on October 18. He answers the phone with a “practiced smirk,” identifying himself as a “literary assassinator” and appearing to revel in his newfound infamy. But the calls he wants—from the swans—don’t come. In a last-ditch attempt to reach out to Babe, Truman asks to speak to Bill instead. Bill claims not to have even read the story—he fell asleep, and someone threw the magazine away—and hangs up on Truman. To anyone who will listen, Truman pleads ignorance as to why the swans are angry. He returns to New York like a “potentate,” more famous than ever. He publishes another Answered Prayers excerpt in Esquire and toys with the idea of throwing another ball, but only with the “fabulous people.” He throws himself into the club scene at Studio 54 and tries to convince himself that it’s a worthy substitute for socializing with the swans and Diana Vreeland. Occasionally, he bumps into one of them. Mostly, he dreams about Babe and drinks.

Truman sees Babe one more time, at Quo Vadis, though he almost doesn’t recognize her. She is there with her sister Betsey, and Truman approaches them. Truman tells him that he did it all for her. As she looks up at him, he realizes she is the only person he has ever loved. She speaks so quietly that Truman cannot be sure of what he hears, but he thinks she said thank you. Then she and Betsey move away. He passes out, sobbing, much to the disgust of the restaurant owner.

Babe looks back bitterly on her life, thinking of it as a wayward fairy tale. She remembers the stories she and Truman wove for themselves noting with some irony that Bill is the one who will be at her side when she dies. Part of her is still desperate for Truman. To Slim, Babe says that they “betrayed” Truman. The excerpts from Answered Prayers were a test, and they failed. Slim thinks Babe is being too kind to Truman. Babe—stoic to the end, Slim notices—changes the subject to the plans she’s made for her own funeral. She remains calm while Slim starts sobbing. As she leaves, Babe whispers to her that she’s a “survivor.” As Slim embraces Bill on her way out of the apartment, she wonders what Babe meant by the comment. She looks forward to a “dull, dismal” future without Babe and Truman.

Babe knows she will die the minute she wakes up that morning. She puts on her makeup, as though preparing herself for a battle. She invites her family to come into her room, yet hears herself ask, “Where’s Truman?” She regrets asking the question while surrounded by her family, worried that they won’t think that she found them good enough. Then, she dies.

Bill holds Babe’s hand for hours after she dies; she looks like an “Italian sculpture.” He knows that she died hating him, but is grateful that she allowed him to be there anyway.

Truman reads about Babe’s death in The New York Times, and thinks she would be pleased by the obituary’s attention to her style as a form of artistry. He is not invited to the funeral, nor did he expect to be. Still, he can’t stay away. On the morning of her funeral he takes a cab all the way to the Christ Episcopal Church in Manhasset, Long Island. He wraps himself in a cloak and conceals himself behind a tree while he watches the mourners and drinks vodka. He notes what they are wearing and speculates about what they might be talking about; after all, he was the one who created them and “fooled” them. He mourns their impossible love in literary and cinematic terms—Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, but also Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable at the end of Gone with the Wind. He asks the cab driver if he’s single, but the cab driver isn’t interested.

After the ceremony, the mourners gather at Kiluna Farm, where Babe’s presence is everywhere—this is the last party she planned. Pamela says she’s surprised Truman didn’t come, and Gloria claims Bill would have thrown him out. Their husbands sit protectively around Bill, shielding him from the too-enthusiastic consolations of the women at the gathering. Slim recounts what Babe had said about Truman in their last visit, just before she died. Nearly three years after the Esquire piece, the swans still have competing views about him. Gloria claims never to have loved him, and calls Babe a “softhearted idiot.” C.Z. remains circumspect—he had always been a lot of fun, if you knew how to keep it light with him. Gloria says Babe was lucky to die when she was still relatively young, and all the swans discuss Bill’s prospects for remarriage and Truman’s declining health, evident every time he appears on television. Slim says Truman will outlive them all. The chapter ends with the swans thinking back to images of Truman and Babe together, images of times they cannot get back.

Bill and Slim meet at La Côte Basque in 1984. They speculate about Gloria’s recent death, and Slim notes to herself that she died (by heart attack or by suicide) just two years after she had expressed her envy of Babe’s early departure. Even at age 83, Bill proposes having sex with Slim, just like they used to do when Babe was away; Slim can’t help but remind him of that now. They have both heard about Truman’s recent death at the home of Joanne Carson—Johnny Carson’s ex-wife—in Los Angeles. Joanne had told Slim that Truman’s last words were “Beautiful Babe,” but Bill doesn’t want to hear it. Bill wants to believe that he and Slim had a “great love,” but she doesn’t see it that way. She asks Bill if he ever told Truman the story of when they had sex and she was on her period. They both say they didn’t. Slim isn’t so sure that Babe didn’t know, remembering the “survivor” comment. If anyone had a great love, it was Truman and Babe, even if Truman decided to reveal the ugly truth of their circle. Slim proposes a toast to Babe, Truman, Hemingway, and all the other “glittering” ghosts of the past, but Bill only echoes the sentiments about Babe. 

The penultimate section of the Epilogue juxtaposes the dying words and sensations of Truman and Babe, as they each express their love for each other. Eventually, the images and memories merge with each other, and one word remains: Beauty. The final section returns to the fairy tale that had opened the novel: The swans swim away from the sprite, and even the lead swan vanishes. The world itself seems to disappear.