Raymond Carver lived between 1958 and 1988. In most cases, his contemporaries considered him as one of the forces that led to the revitalization of the American Short Story genre. He wrote the short story, Cathedral, which was published in 1993 (Peterson 167). Specifically, Cathedral examines and narrates the impact of a blind man in the lives of his friend and her husband. Superficially, Cathedral is a story about a disgruntled man whose meeting with his friend’s blind wife enables him to discover new ways of seeing. This paper examines and discusses the beliefs and values of the narrator as well as their impact on his behaviour.
The narrator had a nonchalant attitude towards his wife’s activities, which rendered him unable to participate in the activities she enjoyed (Peterson 168). Specifically, he was not interested in poetry, unlike his wife. He claims that poetry works are not his favourite and that he did not think much of his wife’s poems. In fact, he suggests that his failure to enjoy poetry may stem from the fact that he does not enjoy poetry at all. The narrator also speaks of his wife’s exchange of poetry with the blind man with thinly veiled disdain (Peterson 168). From the way the speaker describes the tapes that his wife and the blind man sent each other, it seems like an excessive and abnormal activity. It is not clear whether sending tapes at the time was a legitimate method of communication; however, the author seems to imply that he did not send nor receive as many tapes (Peterson 168). Lastly, the narrator does not provide the reader with the name of his wife’s first husband. He wonders why he should provide the name of his wife’s past love in the text, which implies that he is not bothered to learn and understand his wife’s past. For the blind man, he did not even learn his name until he met him. From the descriptions that the author provides, it seems that the only know crucial aspects about his wife, aspects that he cannot help knowing (Peterson 168).
The narrator is obviously biased against physically challenged people, particularly the blind ones. In the first sections of the story, the author suggests that he did not expect the blind man to visit and that he was openly bothered about his presence (Peterson 167). Furthermore, the author declares that his knowledge of visually handicapped people was from films and that blind people had a particular stereotype in motion pictures. In another setting, the narrator offers to take the blind man bowling, as a favour to his wife (Peterson 168). In spite of the fact that it is possible for blind people to participate in bowling in the U.S., some requirements have to be met for them to enjoy the game. Primarily, special equipment is required and, sometimes, at least four blind people are expected. Given the disdain that the narrator has for the blind man, it is possible that his suggestion to take the blind man for a bowling game was sarcastic (Peterson 168). Moreover, his wife’s reaction to the idea implies that they were not in good faith. The author also asks if the blind man’s wife was a Negro, which shows that he despised the people associated with the blind man. Concerning the man’s wedding, the narrator implies that very few people would be interested in attending such a wedding. The author also imagines that the wife of the blind man must have led a miserable life as a result of her husband’s disabilities, which is a subjective and objectionable opinion (Peterson 169).
The narrator has inherent beliefs concerning being a good host given the behaviour that he demonstrated towards their guest. Particularly, the author toyed with the idea of taking their host for bowling although his wife thought that it was a ridiculous idea. When Robert, the blind man, entered their house, the narrator offered him a drink, and during dinner, he buttered bread for the blind man (Peterson 169). Later, the narrator offered their guest marijuana in what appears as an attempt to make the blind man feel at home. Indeed, such gestures are an important sign of the kindness and gentleness of the narrator, especially in regards to his misgivings about the blindness of his guest (Peterson 169). Besides, the narrator did not openly express his attitudes, convictions, and thoughts about Robert’s blindness.
Cathedral is a popular short story that Raymond Carver wrote in 1993. It examines the impact of a blind man in the lives of his friend and her husband. Furthermore, it illustrates the story about a disgruntled man whose meeting with his friend’s blind wife enables him to discover new ways of seeing. This paper has evaluated the beliefs and values that the narrator has concerning the Cathedral. The three beliefs and values examined concern the narrator’s attitude towards his wife’s activities and towards her blind friend. His attitude and beliefs towards visitors, as well as their impact on his actions, have also been evaluated. The narrator of the story was clearly uninterested in his wife’s activities; therefore, he refrains from immersing himself in her hobbies. The narrator’s negative perspective about blind people led him to say unsavoury things about his wife’s blind friend. However, the narrator inherently believes in being a good host and values treating other people respectfully. Such beliefs and values are widely manifested in the fact that even though he had negative feelings about the blind man, he treated him well.
Works Cited
Peterson, Rose. "Psychological Distance in Raymond Carver's Cathedral." The Explicator 70.3 (2012): 167-169.
