Cathedral by Raymond Carver is a short story that tells a narrative about a woman, her husband, and a blind man that is well acquainted with the wife. Throughout this story, there is quite a inexplicable aspect regarding the blind man. The blind man, Robert, and the woman had been friends for many years, and her husband is finally getting the opportunity to meet him. The husband, who is also the narrator for this story, does not know anything about this man. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Robert’s personality and disposition, and also mystery about his blindness. While the mystery at the beginning of the story is mainly about Robert himself, once the narrator gets to meet Robert and begin to familiarize himself with his character, the
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The only things that the narrator knows about him is that his wife used to help Robert with daily tasks, and that they have been sending audiotapes back and forth for years, discussing their lives and the things that pertain to them. At first, the narrator does not have a great impression of Robert. His wife seems to share everything with this man, which causes the narrator to begin to feel suspicious. He is not thrilled with the fact that his wife is sharing things about him and his life to a seemingly random blind man that he has never met. To the narrator and to the readers, Robert seems to be quite a mysterious …show more content…
One thing that is particularly mysterious or strange is the narrator’s view of the blind man. The narrator himself states that he has never had a blind friend before, and clearly does not know how to act around someone lacking the ability of sight. In the beginning, the narrator has a close-minded and straightforward viewpoint about his thoughts and opinions. He only sees what is on the surface of a person, not what lies beneath them in their character. By spending time with Robert, who is an open-minded and compassionate person himself, he learns to see from a new and different perspective. At the end of the story, when Robert and the narrator are drawing a cathedral together, the act of closing his eyes and drawing a cathedral allows him to not just to connect with Robert, but to be able to open his mind and really see into people’s characters. He has an epiphany that leaves him feeling empty and changed by his encounter with Robert. Robert changed the narrator and his viewpoints for the
The only things that the narrator knows about him is that his wife used to help Robert with daily tasks, and that they have been sending audiotapes back and forth for years, discussing their lives and the things that pertain to them. At first, the narrator does not have a great impression of Robert. His wife seems to share everything with this man, which causes the narrator to begin to feel suspicious. He is not thrilled with the fact that his wife is sharing things about him and his life to a seemingly random blind man that he has never met. To the narrator and to the readers, Robert seems to be quite a mysterious …show more content…
One thing that is particularly mysterious or strange is the narrator’s view of the blind man. The narrator himself states that he has never had a blind friend before, and clearly does not know how to act around someone lacking the ability of sight. In the beginning, the narrator has a close-minded and straightforward viewpoint about his thoughts and opinions. He only sees what is on the surface of a person, not what lies beneath them in their character. By spending time with Robert, who is an open-minded and compassionate person himself, he learns to see from a new and different perspective. At the end of the story, when Robert and the narrator are drawing a cathedral together, the act of closing his eyes and drawing a cathedral allows him to not just to connect with Robert, but to be able to open his mind and really see into people’s characters. He has an epiphany that leaves him feeling empty and changed by his encounter with Robert. Robert changed the narrator and his viewpoints for the