Topic of Focus: Theme
“Cathedral” by
Raymond Carver


In the 1983 short story “Cathedral”, the author, Raymond depicts a paradoxical situation in which the narrator is an apparently bigoted man who exhibits prejudice towards those who are different from him when he learns that his wife had invited him to stay over and have some dinner with them. In addition, the result of this, the narrator experiences his own eye-opening revelation as the “blind man” is in his home. Raymond Carver would approach this through the plot by having the nameless protagonist and his wife partake in a dinner with the blind and how throughout this context, the plot develops to have the narrator experience a shift in his demeanor towards the blind man. The author creates the whole plot of a blind man who achieves a breakthrough with a “socially blind” man, the paradox “a blind man who helps an “able-eyed” finally see. The author suggests of the theme being a man who displays the example of a fallen man and how he has lost his “faith” by expressing disdain towards people who are unlike him, and how a wise “blind jack-of-all-trades” came to escort him into a new way of thinking. The author would then make clear the new purpose of the role of the blind man, to have the nameless protagonist redeem himself from the false intellect that he has grown over the years, a chance to change his life as well as discover a new way of thinking.

Carver uses the narrator’s view on a person with disability very early in the short story creates the rising action of his dislike towards the prospect of the “sightless” guest coming to dinner. The author then has integrity of the narrator antipathy towards the man tested when he is enlightened by his wife with the story of Robert, how his wife had met him, how she has kept in touch with him, and most importantly, Robert’s relationship with his wife, Beulah. One readers’ inference to this part of this novel would be important to the text as the narrator begins to grow sympathy as he would imagine the bond between Robert and Beulah: “They’d married, lived and worked together, slept together…and then the blind man would have to bury her. / Hearing this, I felt sorry for the blind man for a little bit. ”(p. 225) The narration of the how the couple lived would be the general functions of a marital relationship and how it is at that context of the narrative he then establishes compassion towards Robert. In addition, the narrator then looks to comprehend the life of Robert’s wife when he then contemplates on pg.226; “And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this woman must had led…And then to slip off into death, the blind man’s hand on her hand, his blind eyes streaming tears (p.226)” The narrator is apparently sympathizes with Robert as he goes through the process of placing himself in Robert’s point of view. To accomplish this, the author has the narrator go through a stream of consciousness as the protagonists’ wife explains the life of Robert and Beulah to him. What Carver accomplishes through this is having the narrator experience a partial loss of ignorance towards others.

In this stage, Carver would have the narrator halfway through his personal catharsis. Next, Carver then sets the context when the group gets ready to sit down to eat dinner. The narrators’ first person point of view is still present when he describes the scene of the hosts and guest eating first: “We dug in. We ate everything there was to eat on the table. We ate like there was no tomorrow”(p.228) One reader would note how he includes Robert when he describes the consumption of food, as well as the manner of consumption when he uses the pronoun “we” as to give the blind man a sense of inclusion, One might say a sense of “communion” towards the blind man. Through this, the narrator would finally accept the blind man, as is on p. 228 on the first paragraph, when he offers Robert two slices of bread before engaging into dinner, this action would symbolize the breakthrough that the narrator was in need of. The practice of goodwill to other would define the return of “faith” towards others. The dinner would supplement the theme of redemption when the man finally accepts Robert as a living, human being, who has needs and feelings as well as a common need for nourishment just as any human does.
Later in the story, the current background is that the protagonist is with Robert and they are somewhat left alone due to the wife sleeping in the room with them. As they are watching television with each other, they come upon a program about Cathedrals. The timid conversation then converts to the protagonist inquiring whether Robert knew about cathedrals and Robert had no idea, later the protagonist is requested to give the blind man insight on how the cathedral looks like, the narrative then shifts to the narrator stumbling on explaining the look of a cathedral, resulting in the protagonist is “unable” to summarize the outlook of the cathedral. One reader would see this as the character that would be perceived to be a normal person, only to display “his disability” towards Robert as he admits his “blindness” towards the image of a cathedral to Robert, then Robert would take the idea of giving the protagonist an opportunity to show him how a cathedral looks like. This last scene in the novel is significant for the reason that it shows the ironic twist of a blind man, instructing a visibly-able person to see something about himself.

In summary, Carver introduces a story of a man who exhibits an aura of a superior position towards others different then him. The author purposely has the character go through slow, meaningful phases of catharsis to identify with the guest, Robert to then acknowledge his own weaknesses as well. This is themed on the prejudices of man and how putting effort in trying to have empathy towards diversity can be the remedy of this prejudice.