In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,”

In “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver

The narrator recounts the circumstances that led to Robert, a blind widower, visiting his wife. He had recently lost his wife, and the blind guy was a close friend of hers. After years of correspondence, the blind guy and the narrator’s wife were eager for the visit. Because of his negative stereotypes of blind people and the fact that Robert was a close friend to the wife, it appears that the narrator was not thrilled to welcome the blind man. The fact that the story is told from the point of view of one of the characters makes it biased in the presentation of the characters. For the better part of the story, the narrator’s point of view distorts the character of the blind man because the narrator assumes the blind man is after his wife.

Biased Perception of the Blind Man

It is quite clear from the beginning of the story that the narrator does not like the blind man. He uses the excuse of the man’s blindness to express his reservation while the truth is that he feared the blind man’s closeness to the wife. The narrator claims, “And his being blind bothered me,” to explicitly show disgust towards the blind man (Carver, 1981, p1). The narrator’s fears are expressed in the manner he describes the closeness between the wife and the blind man, Robert. He repeats the fact that the blind man touched the wife’s face to emphasize their emotional attachment. He goes ahead to describe how the wife ended up divorcing her childhood sweetheart and remained in touch with the blind man. Most likely, the narrator assumed the blind man had come to rekindle their emotional attachment to his wife after the blind man’s wife died.

A Shift in Perception

During the visit, the narrator’s biasedness and fears fade off as he gets to understand the character of Robert. The actions and physical description of the blind man indicate that the narrator was mistaken with his earlier perceptions of blind people. Robert was an outgoing man who laughed, ate, drunk, and smoked just like any other person. Nonetheless, the narrator was still not convinced that the blind man had no emotional attachment to his wife. For instance, when the wife dosed off and exposed her “juicy thighs” the narrator thought of covering them from the “blind eyes” of Robert but thought otherwise (Carver 1981, p9). Only after the object of conflict, the wife, slept that the two men connected while watching the television. Drawing the cathedral together was symbolic of the two men unifying their thoughts on a common object.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that the author used the point of view of the narrator to develop conflict between the characters. The blind man was very close to the narrator’s wife, and that seemed like a threat to the narrator’s marriage. For the better part of the story, the narrator exhibited his displeasure to host the blind man who seemed unusually close to the wife. The narrator wants the readers to believe the media stereotyping of blind people is what makes him disinterested with the blind man. However, a critical look at some of the issues pointed out by the narrator on the relationship between the blind man, and the wife shows the element of emotion. It is only during the visit the real character of Robert is revealed through his actions.

Reference

Carver, R. (1981). Cathedral. Vintage.