Did Neddy really love his wife in "The Swimmer"?

In The Swimmer, by John Cheever, the
plot attempts to disclose the shallowness and emptiness of human relations in everyday
upper-class, suburban, and business-minded America.

We are
aware that Neddy has a very hard time making true and in-depth connections with nearly
everyone. Regardless of naming his swim track after his wife, the fact remains that he
has had affairs (namely with Shirley) and even that affair he dubbed as merely for
sexual satisfaction.

This makes us wonder: How does his
wife feel? Why is she still with him? Does she even know what is going in? Is she as
shallow as he is in regards to their relationship? The answer may be that everyone in
the story suffers from the same "condition" of shallowness and selfishness that occurs
among those who prefer a comfortable life to a meaningful human
connection.

This being said, think about the end of the
story when he comes home, only to find it empty: This is a clear indication that, in
Neddy's heart, there is no lost love for his wife, but he has a HUGE need to return to
his lifestyle. He is not mourning her when he sees his house empty; he is simply
realizing that he has lost everything.

To answer your
question concisely, the answer is "No. Neddy did not really love his wife". Neddy is
somewhat incapable of loving anybody. He is way too business-minded, shallow, and
selfish to be able to produce anything near love in his heart. Even his insane swimming
thing is a way for him to escape everything and everybody. His naming his pool track
after his wife is nothing but an attempt to make a connection with her. As we know, it
fails as well.