Cathedral by Raymond Carver

The story of Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, shows that you do not have to see someone or something in order to appreciate them for who or what they are. It is about a husband, the narrator, and his wife who live in a house. The wife, whose name they do not mention, has a very close friend who is blind. His name is Robert. Robert’s wife dies, and comes to their house to spend a couple of days with the narrator and his wife. The narrator, whose name they do not mention as well, is always on edge because he does not really know Robert very well and he does not like blind people, but he is being friendly for his wife’s sake. The story comes to an end when Robert and the narrator draw a cathedral together using the narrator’s hand and helped by Robert.

In the beginning of the story, the author gives you an idea of what type of characters you are working with. He then forms the rising action with conversation among the three characters. The climax is when the blind man, Robert, and the narrator begin to draw the cathedral, which leads up to the resolution of how the narrator becomes changed and learns a valuable lesson, which is the overall theme of the story.

There are many things that make you realize what the theme is in this story. The first thing that brings out the theme is the point of view from which the story is told. The narrator, who is the husband, talks from a first person point of view. Throughout the story, the narrator describes people by their outer appearances. For example, in the beginning of the story he says, “He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies.” Then when he first meets the blind man he says, “This blind man, feature this, he was wearing a full beard! A beard on a blind man! Too much, I say.” Both of these quotes show that the narrator bases his appreciation of people by their outer appearance. He only sees people for what they are on the outside, but is blind to appreciating the true beauty of a person’s inner self. You begin to understand this better when the narrator goes to say prayers, and this baffles the wife. The narrator says, “Now let us pray, I said, and the blind man lowered his head. My wife looked at me, her mouth agape. Pray the phone won’t ring and the food doesn’t get cold, I said.” Now normally prayers are said to show appreciation to all that God has blessed you with. The narrator prays in a cold type of way, because he cannot believe in a God if he does not appreciate the beauty of ones inner self. 



The second thing that makes the theme or message come out is the characterization in the story. In Cathedral, there are three main characters. The most important character in the story is Robert, the blind friend of the wife’s. Unlike the narrator, Robert cannot physically see, but has a clear vision of appreciating the person’s true inner self. For example, when the narrator cannot comprehend how Robert’s wife even loved Robert. He says,
“It was beyond my understanding. Hearing this, I felt sorry for the blind man for a little bit. And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one. A woman who could go on day after day and never receive the smallest compliment from her beloved. A woman whose husband could never read the expression on her face, be it misery or something better. Someone who could wear makeup or not- what difference to him? She could, if she wanted, wear green eye shadow around one eye, a straight pin in her nostril, yellow slacks and purple shoes, no matter.”
 This quote emphasizes how the characters of Robert and the narrator are complete opposites. Since the narrator does not understand and see the true inner beauty, he does not understand that Robert’s wife was probably extremely in love because Robert saw and complimented her inner beauty and loved her for the person that she was inside. Robert’s character is the most important role because he is the one who teaches the narrator the lifelong valuable lesson of seeing someone for who they truly are and that is one’s inner self.

The setting