Cathedral 2
Cathedral 2When most people think of blind people, they tend to picture a person with dark sunglasses, a seeing eye dog, and a walking stick. These are stereotypes and obviously do not remain true in the case of all blind people. In Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral," the main character is jealous and judgmental of his wife’s friend who happens to be a blind man. It is the combination of these attitudes that leads to his own unique “blindness." It is through this initial blindness, that the character gains his greatest vision.
The short story “Cathedral” includes three characters. These characters include the narrator, his wife, and her blind friend Robert. Early into the story, the narrator expresses that he possesses many stereotypes, these stereotypes keep him “blind” from the true reality of blind people. The narrator says “My idea of blindness came from the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs.” This explains where the narrator originally gains his misconceptions of blind people. The narrator’s wife tells him that Robert will be visiting for the weekend. Once Robert arrives at their home, the narrator is shocked to find out that Robert doesn’t wear dark glasses, carry a cane, and is wearing a full beard. Throughout the story some of the narrator’s stereotypes are erased. However, the jealousy that the narrator possesses, still remains.
When the narrator’s wife informs him that her blind friend, Robert will be visiting for the weekend, the narrator becomes jealous. The narrator’s wife had worked for Robert as a summer job, many years back. The two had kept in contact with each other through audio tapes. The narrator’s wife shared a special moment with Robert, he rubbed her face and felt her features....
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