Literary analysis of Raymond Carver's work in historical and social context

Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral" explores a number of different social and psychological issues including stereotyping and prejudice. When the blind male friend of the narrator's wife enters their home, issues related to self-esteem, sexuality, and racism also arise. The blind man, Robert, helps the narrator to "see," serving a symbolic function of enlightenment. Cannabis provides the means by which the two men bond on an emotional and intellectual level, as they draw the cathedral together. Moreover, the difference between traditional organized religion and secular spirituality is explored. "Cathedral" reveals the historical and social context of Raymond Carver's writing.

The most apparent theme in "Cathedral," because it weaves its way throughout the short story, is the changing nature of gender roles. When the blind man comes to "spend the night" with the narrator and his wife, it is immediately apparent that the narrator feels threatened by a man who happens to be a friend of his wife. Friendships between men and women have not always been socially sanctioned, but by the time carver writes "Cathedral," men and women were redesigning their gender roles to suit modern norms. The narrator therefore notes, "she and the blind man had kept in touch. They made tapes and mailed them back and forth. I wasn't enthusiastic about his visit," yet blames his lack of enthusiasm on the man's being blind (section 1). In fact, the narrator is more bothered by the fact that the wife and the blind man "made tapes and mailed them back and forth," thereby sharing an emotional bond that did not involve the narrator. The emotional bond between the wife and Robert does not constitute infidelity; but the narrator still feels threatened by the fact that his wife shares something with another man. His wife also had a full life before she met the narrator, showing that women in Carver's time did not define themselves by their roles as wives or mothers. Women had opportunities for self-determination and self-expression that went far beyond their heterosexual relationships or the patriarchal social structure.

In addition to shifting gender norms and the theme of women's liberation, "Cathedral" also shows how by the time Carver wrote his short story, smoking cannabis had become normative. Cannabis is presented as the means by which a person can step outside of his or her rigid self-concept and surrender a restrictive worldview for one that is greater than the self. The central motif of the cathedral is apt for exploring the theme of recreational cannabis smoking, because a cathedral symbolizes the rigidity of church doctrine. Cannabis, on the other hand, represents ties with the 1960s hippie culture, in which self-awareness and self-liberation became more important than going to church. Belief in religion might have been worthwhile for those who could not or would not think for themselves, but for both the blind man and for the narrator, their own yearning for understanding leads to spiritual awareness.

Therefore, a core theme of Carver's short story "Cathedral" is the theme of being liberated from religion. Neither of the men, neither Robert nor the narrator, goes to church. This is evident in the ways the narrator describes the cathedrals on television purely in terms of their architectural forms and functions, and also in the way the blind man unapologetically states that he does not know what the difference is between a Catholic cathedral and a protestant church. The narrator tries to explain, and states, "n those olden days, when they built cathedrals, men wanted to be close to God. In those olden days, God was an important part of everyone's life. You could tell this from their cathedral- building," (section 101). Thus, the narrator categorically distances himself from those "olden days" when God was "important." The blind man also agrees tacitly that God and religion are no longer necessary for an individual to develop spiritual awareness or live a good life.

Finally, prejudice and the release from its mental stranglehold, is one of the most important themes in Carver's "Cathedral." The narrator is prejudiced overtly against the blind man, not only because the blind man threatens the narrator's sexuality but also because his sightlessness makes the narrator uneasy. However, the narrator is aware that his prejudices are irrational. "And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed," (section 1). Throughout the story, the narrator admits his ridiculous notions of what a blind man can and cannot do. For example, the narrator states, "I remembered having read somewhere that the blind didn't smoke because, as speculation had it, they couldn't see the smoke they exhaled," (section 43).

Moreover, the narrator reveals his racial prejudices and lack of sensitivity for race issues. Whereas the blind man is literally blind to color, the narrator asks, "Was his wife a Negro?" (Section 12). By the time Carver wrote "Cathedral," in the 1980s, the word Negro had fallen out of use and this term can therefore be considered a racial slur (Kiviat). Palmer points out that the word Negro was "was totally uncouth by the mid-1980s," which is why the wife asks her husband if he is drunk. Yet the narrator emerges as someone who is willing and able to change.