Abstract
In this chapter, Kelly and Wise focus on performative feats of endurance carried out in ice-cold water, as well as their historical, geopolitical and cultural contexts. Immersion of the human body in ice-cold water has long been associated with transformation and connection with the sublime, while swimming in ice-cold water functions as an extreme risk-taking behaviour, challenging the limits of the individual both physically and psychologically. This chapter explores narratives associated with extreme swimming (including the origins of the practice), touching on Indigenous histories and the Classical origins of a Western literary tradition before moving on to consider twentieth-century and contemporary performances of endurance in ice-cold waters.
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Notes
- 1.
As Swinton notes, the notion of a goddess is contrary to the Judeo-Christian notion of a God who is omnipotent, kind, loving and understanding, and instead resembles the gods and spirits of classical mythology (1985, pp. 9–10). The sea goddess and other powerful spirits, such as the weather spirit, the sun spirit and the moon spirit, must be feared, as well as respected, at all times, in order to sustain a secure existence in the harsh environment of the Arctic (ibid., p. 10).
- 2.
After his swim, Byron wrote: “I plume myself on this achievement more than I could possibly do any kind of glory, political, poetical or rhetorical” (Sprawson 1993, p. 122).
- 3.
Jenny Landreth points out that while Edwyn Sandy was conducting a campaign to change what women wore in the water, it was Kellermann who caught the public imagination. Arriving in the United States in 1907, she asked, “How could these women swim with shoes—stockings—bloomers—skirts—overdresses with puffed sleeves—sailor collars—in some cases even lightly fitted corsets?” (2017, p. 164). Kellermann went on to design, manufacture and market the first truly modern bathing suit for women. This was not without setbacks: also in 1907, Kellermann was arrested in Massachusetts for public indecency, whilst wearing an example of her fitted one-piece swimming costumes. Around twenty years after Kellermann’s arrest, the female endurance swimmer Agnes Nicks swam from Tottenham Bridge to London Bridge on Boxing Day in water hovering around 2.2° C.
- 4.
Shackleton’s expedition ship, the Endurance, sank after becoming trapped in ice in 1915.
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Kelly, T., Wise, K. (2020). Immersion: The Aquatic Ice Body. In: Philpott, C., Leane, E., Delbridge, M. (eds) Performing Ice. Performing Landscapes. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47388-4_7
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