Raymond Carver’s Cathedral has been referred to as “dirty fiction” and this is probably because of his engagement in profound theme. In his book, he tries to explore the rawness and baseness of the human condition (Amir 2010 p 27). The narrator who is a man of limited empathy and awareness breaks through such limitations and socializes with a blind man. The author brings to light the narrator’s actions and also his subsequent self-realization in the end.
Raymond can arouse psychological dilemmas within the readers because of his skillful treatment of various issues. For example, while reading “Cathedral” the readers might have a feeling of shock or embarrassment especially when trying to agree with the author’s initial observations about the blind man and blindness in general. One may even question the characters’ usage of drugs and alcohol as a means of connection and escape.
The paper establishes that perspective and empathy are some of the ways of experiencing a truly profound emotion hence the psychological aspect of the “Cathedral” will be analyzed. In his short story “Cathedral”, Raymond Carver effectively utilizes his character of the narrator, who also happens to be a husband. The negative personality of the narrator is clearly evident from the beginning of the story. The narrator is narrow minded, detaches himself emotionally from others, lacks compassion and most shocking is the fact that he is resentful of the friendship between Robert who is blind and his wife. The blind man and the narrator’s wife worked together at one point, and they have since maintained a strong friendship. So strong was the friendship that they both used to keep in touch with tapes.
The narrator is indeed not compassionate because rationality requires human beings to have a human face and treat fellow men with love and respect. It is important for people to place themselves in others shoes in order to determine what others truly feel. Unfortunately, the narrator treats the blind man with much contempt and disregard. This is seen at the point when, the blind man comes to his home to visit him and his wife. However, the narrator does not look forward to the blind man’s visit (Carver 2009 p 87).
The three of them spend the rest of the evening chatting, but the narrator's wife lives for a while. The narrator feels uncomfortable when he is left alone with the blind man. As a result, he inquires from Robert if he can smoke marijuana. Robert agrees, and they both smoke though it seems that Robert was experiencing a lot of difficulty in smoking the drug. It appeared as if he had never done so before and that this was his first time. This situation can stir up “psychological trauma” in the reader.
Courtesy demands that we assist the less privileged and disadvantaged people in the society. Robert is virtually impaired and hence the narrator is expected to be more considerate and understanding. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It is obvious that if the narrator had been comfortable with a blind man’s presence then he would not have engaged him in smoking. He, therefore, used the smoking exercise as a form of escapism. The narrator’s misgivings that emanated from the visit resulted from his lack of exposure with the blind. Nevertheless, the narrator’s wife demonstrates a more relaxed attitude and views Robert as a former colleague and most importantly, as a valued friend.
“Cathedral” presents a series of spiritual and psychological openings that arise because the narrator repeatedly gets thrown out of his comfort zone. The narrator can neither block information nor accept new information. It is evident when he fails to understand that the blind men can also have beards, and this is seen when Robert gets off the car, and he wonders “he has a beard”. His lack of understanding is also portrayed in the final scene when we he “did not feel like he was inside anything”. The narrator also insists on referring to Robert as “the blind man” and opts not to call him by his name (Carver 2009 p 125).
Additionally, while watching the television, Robert sought to inquire from the narrator what a Cathedral was, however the narrator chose to give a vague description. It then occurred to the narrator that Robert was oblivious of what a Cathedral and therefore chose to reply “They are very tall and that they reach way up” (Carver 2009 p 96). The description was indeed poor, and the narrator knew that for sure but restrained himself from elaborating further. Unknown to the narrator is that the blind man knows what a Cathedral means and he even asked the narrator to draw the Cathedral.
The “Cathedral” is indeed a significant irony because the narrator disregards blindness and is unaware of his limitations (Amir 2010 p 56). The narrator can see with his eyes but fails to realize the limitations that he has placed upon himself hence the limitations hinder him from seeing “clearly”. The narrator is therefore “blind” in spirit. Based on the foregoing facts it is indeed evident that Robert has great potential and also has tenderness for humanity. Robert possesses the kind of curiosity that is capable of making a person free and truly alive despite being limited by physical factors.
Works cited
Amir, Ayala. The Visual Poetics of Raymond Carver. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books, 2010. Print.
Carver, Raymond. Cathedral. London: Vintage, 2009. Print.
