Carver\'s \"Cathedral\" When the Narrator

Carver's "Cathedral"

When the narrator of Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral" asks Robert "Do you have any idea what a cathedral is?" he had no idea that the question would transform his perspective and undermine his prejudices and stereotypes. When the blind man first arrives at the narrator's home, he swells with anxiety and lingering jealousy because Robert was his wife's friend. The visit was "not something I looked forward to," the narrator notes. Having never before met a blind man, the narrator remains filled with erroneous stereotypes about the visually impaired until he forces himself into a situation in which he must literally reach out and touch the man. Ultimately the narrator shuts his eyes tightly to become as blind as his new friend. His blindness teaches Bub how to see more clearly the common ground connecting all human beings, in spite of their superficial differences. Carver also draws poignant parallels between stereotypes about the disabled with stereotypes about African-Americans in "Cathedral." Thus the tale delivers an overarching message about the fallibility of stereotypes, and the importance of humility and compassion.

Carver does not suggest that individual differences are meaningless or that human beings should become "blind" to religion, race, or disability. Rather, the author suggests respect for individual differences through genuine compassion and understanding. By closing his eyes, the narrator became consciously sightless for the first time in his life and only by entering Robert's reality was he able to understand and love his new friend. "I had my eyes closed," Bub notes, "I thought I'd keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it was something I ought to do." His sense of obligation stemmed from his budding affection for Robert since their moment of intimacy in drawing the cathedral together. Carver employs the image of a cathedral deliberately because cathedrals signify the human aspiration toward divinity. Compassion, the story, suggests, leads human beings toward their ultimate spiritual goals. Yet compassion cannot be taught through words or the intellect. As Bub found out, he cannot verbally convey the concept of cathedral to the blind man. He has to show him; he had no actually get down on his knees and speak the blind man's language. The narrator admits that he had to level with Robert: "my life depended on it."

Prior to his epiphany, Bub remained stubbornly prejudiced, believing such silly notions as "The blind didn't smoke because...they couldn't see the smoke they exhaled." The narrator's narrow world prevented him from viewing Robert as a person. Instead, all he saw was a stereotypical blind man. For example, Bub expected Robert to be wearing sunglasses and when he wasn't he was shocked. Similarly, the narrator seems to think that the blind man's beard is somehow out of place simply because Robert cannot see. The narrator's prejudices remain solidly in place until the conversation about the cathedral.