Reflections of "Cathedral"

“Cathedral” is a very intriguing story that deals with ignorance and preconceived notions. The main character has a strong adversity towards his wife’s friend coming for a visit, because he is blind. His remarks on the man are so surprising that they are humorous in their insensitive and ignorant nature. He remarks sarcastically to his wife at one point, “[m]aybe I could take him bowling” (6). He quips about blind people, whether they are to himself or to his wife, remain amusing yet frustrating since he has never met a blind person and therefore his comments have no basis on reality. However, upon meeting his wife’s blind friend Robert, he shockingly makes no rude remarks, which opens the doors to a friendship between them. Their relationship evolves over drinks and dinner. By the end of the night they are smoking some dope and watching a show about cathedrals on the color television, recognized by the blind man. I cannot help but question if their friendship would have evolved as much without the influence of both alcohol and pot, however. Nevertheless, I believe the point that Raymond Carver was trying to make was that with education, ignorance can be cast aside. The husband was so adverse to the blind man in the beginning of the story because he could have been scared, intimidated, or just stubborn about the whole situation. However, by the end the blind man and the husband are somewhat friends. This shows that ignorance is stupidity and preconceived notions are not reality.


When the husband and the blind man are watching a television show about cathedrals, the question of religion comes up. The blind man says, “Let me ask you a simple question, yes or no. I’m just curious and there’s no offense. You’re my host. But let me ask if you are in any way religious?” The husband replies with “I guess I don’t believe in it. In anything. Sometimes it’s hard. You know what I’m saying” (103). This passage seems like a comment on the husband’s life as a whole. He is a man that needs proof to believe in something. When I read this part of the story I thought of the saying “I’ll believe it when I see it” applied to the husband. That seems like it is his motto, while the blind man sees nothing. But in the end, the husband is moved by drawing the cathedral with the blind man. He says, “It was like nothing in my life up to now” (108).


On a different note, I could not help but think of Earnest Hemingway when reading Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral.” The repeated consumption of alcohol and the short, staccato sentences are Hemingway’s trademark style. Also, their histories are not so different in that they both struggled with alcoholism.