Cathedral by Raymond Carver

Cathedral Raymond Carver

In his short story, Cathedral, author Raymond Carver argues that community and connection are an important component of life. The narrator begins the story as an isolated man, with few friends and little connection to the outside world. His insularity is upset by the arrival of his wife's friend, a blind man. Initially highly resistant to the blind man's intrusion into his world, the narrator gradually warms to the man through a meal and describing a television program. However, the narrator is not fully moved out of his insulated world until he and the blind man begin to draw a cathedral together. It is this experience that reinforces the importance of connection and community within Carver's Cathedral.

At the beginning of the story, the narrator is clearly isolated from the rest of the world. He sees the world in a defined, stereotypical way, avoids connections with other people, and is unhappy at work. He notes that he spends most of his nights smoking cannabis in front of the TV, and that he and his wife seldom go to bed at the same time. The narrator's wife notes "You don't have ANY friends," and the narrator relies largely on movies for his assessments of the outside world. Even his relationship with his wife is strained, as the narrator notes that his wife seems disappointed with him. Writes Carver, "My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feeling she didn't like what she saw. I shrugged."

The narrator is largely unaware of how insulated he is from the rest of the world, and how his prejudices limit his life and choices. He is baffled by the idea of a blind man, and unable to comprehend how touching the blind man's face could have changed his wife's life. Further, the narrator is unable to understand the importance of poems to his wife.

Initially, the narrator is highly resistant to his the visit of his wife's friend, the blind man, and his insularity makes it difficult for him to connect with the blind man. He seems resentful of his wife's relationships with others, and makes no real attempt to connect with the blind man. The narrator is not sympathetic to the blind man's loss of his wife, and characterizes their relationship as pathetic. In attempting to talk with the blind man, the narrator is awkward, and struggles to find the right thing to say. He attempts to make small talk, but his wife criticizes his questions.

As the night moves on, the narrator becomes more open to the blind man. He is amazed by the man's ability to manipulate his food, and begins to engage the man in conversation about scotch. It is as the narrator and the blind man watch a television show about cathedrals that the blind man and the narrator begin to really connect. The narrator describes the film to the blind man, and is initially awkward, but begins to warm up to the connection.

However, it is only when the blind man and the narrator begin to communicate non-verbally, that the narrator breaks out of his insular world, and experiences a real connection with the blind man. "What's a cathedral without people?" The blind man asks, reinforcing the importance of community and connection.