Blindness In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Robert and the narrator are watching a television documentary on cathedrals, hence the title, and Robert asks “…maybe you could describe one to me?” (188), because he understands what the purpose of cathedrals is, but he has no idea what they look like. The narrator attempts to describe a cathedral, but he does not know how to “…even begin to describe it.” (188). The cathedral means nothing to him, and he admits to Robert that when it comes to religion: “’I guess I don’t believe in it. In anything. Sometimes it’s hard.’” (189). When Robert suggests that they draw a cathedral together, hand over hand, the narrator becomes nervous and cautious, he is unsure what do. After a little bit, the narrator became more comfortable and “…couldn’t stop” drawing (190). The narrator then closes his eyes to finish off the drawing, and at that moment with Robert, he metaphorically opens his eyes. He does not exactly know what happened, but he knows something positively changed, he felt like “it [was] really something.” (190). He has an out of body experience, “…I didn’t feel like I was inside anything” (190), an epiphany. Carver does not entirely explain the ending or what happens next, but one can be optimistic and assume that Robert changed the narrator for the better, by making him close his eyes to

Bub’s epiphany helps him realize how Robert mirrors his life. The first indication of this was the jealousy he felt when his wife told him about her last day working with Robert. “On her last day last day in the office, the blind man asked if he could touch her face. She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose--even her neck! She never forgot it”(pg. 3). The narrator’s jealousy was triggered because the thought of another male touching his wife bothered him. The mere fact that it was a she could never forget, it hit him hard. This emotional reaction shows that either the narrator doesn’t connect with his wife on an intimate level or he never cared for how his wife felt intimately until she spoke of another male and how his touch was unforgettable.

He makes this clear in the opening paragraph of the story where he says “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (Carver 1). The narrator dismisses Robert in the same manner a white racist may dismiss an African-American. His prejudice, or any prejudice, is preconceived based on superficial qualities rather than actual experience or reason. It is evident the narrator can’t see beyond Robert’s disability and is judging Robert because of a characteristic that makes him uncomfortable. This unconscious placement of Robert into an atypical category prevents him from seeing Robert as an individual. The narrator does not see Robert as a whole person, but solely as a blind man. Part of what makes the narrator emotionally blind is this

The narrator is pre-judgemental towards all people who are blind, whether or not he has met them. He believes all blind people are the same as those he has watched in movies. The narrator perception of the blind is that they “moved slowly and never laughed” and when they went out “they were led by seeing eye-dogs” (Carver 104). The movie industry creates a false image of the blind, which leads to the narrator’s assumptions. However, the blind are not all the same, just like how everyone else in the world are not the same. People are designed to be different in their personalities, thoughts, looks and much more. The narrator’s ideas of Robert are based off of false conceptions and this changes his attitude towards Robert. The narrator already has strong feelings towards Robert before meeting him

“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver is a story that shows the sense of sight in relation to vision, but it shows that the sense of sight requires a much deeper engagement. The narrator, who Robert calls “Bub,” is astonishingly shortsighted or “blind” while the blind man is insightful and perceptive. Bub is not blind, but Robert is. Therefore, he assumes that he is superior to Robert. His assumption correlates with his idea that Robert is unable to make a female happy, nor is he able to have a normal life. Bub is convinced his ability to see is everything. So, he fails to look deeper than the surface and is why he doesn’t know his wife adequately. However, Robert sees much deeper than the narrator, although he cannot look at the surface. Robert’s ability to look deeper helps him understand through his listing and sense of touch. Throughout Robert’s visit, the narrator reveals he is closed minded and exposes how he views life in general. Bub is clobbered and it brings him to the epiphany that his views about Robert are actually a mirror image of how he views his life. His epiphany is shown through the author's use of appearance vs reality, irony, and vernacular dialogue; which shows Bub’s preconceived notations, the connection formed between Bub and Robert, and how out of obliviousness Bub gained insight.

In the short story, Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, the author uses imagery, symbolism and narrates the story in first person point of view. The Cathedral’s main theme is being able to identify the difference between being able to look and/or see and it is portrayed through the main characters role in the story. Carver uses a unique style of writing which gives the short story a simple way for the reader to understand the story’s theme.

As soon as the story begins, we are told that the narrator is not happy about the upcoming visit from his wife’s blind friend, Robert. The narrator states “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit,” “[Robert] being blind bothered me”, and “a blind

In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” the narrator is seen to show ignorance and bias towards blindness throughout the story, however towards the end he realizes his flaws and the difference between looking and seeing. From the beginning of the story to the end you can see a change within the narrator after his encounter with the blind man. At the end of Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” the narrator hopes to accomplish a change in his understanding of himself, and his experience with Robert flickers this change towards the end of the story.

Robert as a blind man has better sight than he does. Also, he doesn’t have much of a connection or relationship with his wife the way that Robert does. In the article, “Insularity and Self-Enlargement in Raymond Carver’s Cathedral”, by Kirk Nesset, states that “In Cathedral, by and large, characters are more insulated than ever, cut off from their worlds and from themselves” (117). This means that’s the husband has isolated himself from the everything the world has to offer. He has set a routine in the confines of his home and although his wife is physically with him, he does not know her personally.

You can never seem to know what’s going on in another one’s life, until you put yourself in their shoes. Therefore, to judge, is simply ignorance. “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver is a story that depicts the process of transforming an individual from an unfamiliar, ignorant being into an educated soul. According to Joseph Campbell’s definition, the narrator in “Cathedral,” can be seen as an anti-hero. He is an inglorious character who is particularly jealous and close-minded toward a blind man. Despite showing negative characteristics, provoking insecurities, and living in a destructive way, he eventually overcomes his ego that separates him from the rest of the world.

“Cathedral”  is a short story by Raymond Carver. The narrator is the principal character. He has a negative personality. His wife is sincere, compassionate and a little controlling person. Robert is a secondary character.

The story opens with the narrator giving a background of his wife and Robert. Immediately, it is easy for the audience to form a negative opinion about the narrator. Within the first paragraph of the story he says, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me” (Carver 33). This exemplifies his pre-formed opinion about Robert even though he hardly knows anything about him. He clearly is uncomfortable with the fact that Robert is blind, mainly based on his lack of exposure to people with disabilities. The narrator is very narrow-minded for most of this story, making it easy to initially dislike him.

In the beginning, both characters are content with life, until changes take place. Bub is happy with his wife, but feels a hint of jealousy as Robert, her blind pen pal, visits. He does not like the way his wife and Robert communicate. It’s too perfect for his liking. Because of his own ignorance, he is oblivious towards Robert. Bub shows his lack of enthusiasm by saying, “A blind man in

Creepy.” Bub becomes keenly interested in gaining an understanding of Robert. Bub watches as Robert eats. “The blind man had right away located his foods. He knew just where everything was on his plate. I watched with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat.” Bub continues watching Robert intensely throughout the meal. Bub takes note of everything Robert does, even considering him as Robert enjoys conversation with Bub’s wife, “For the most part, I just listened. Now and then I joined in. I didn’t want him to think I had left the room, and I didn’t want her to think I was feeling left out.” Although our narrator Bub is still being brusque and dismissive with Robert outwardly, one might presume due to our insight into his thoughts that Bub is beginning to set aside his preconceived notions about Robert. We can see clearly the development of this character from someone with no interest in communication or understanding, to an inquisitive person. Without his knowing it or wanting it, Bub is slowly opening himself to Robert.

And the husband’s vulnerability is shown is shown in his hostility to the blind man, whom he rightly suspects of having a psychologically more intimate relationship with his wife than he, with all his emotional blindnesses, is able to have.