Raymond Carver Cathedral

The protagonist and narrator of the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver is not written to be definitively static or dynamic. Carver seems to leave his character’s intentions and true emotions to the interpretation of the reader, especially in relation to Robert. His actions and syntax indicate to the reader early on that one of his defining characteristics is an overwhelming sense of self-centeredness. However, what is less obvious is the narrator’s underlying insecurity that accompanies this quality. Like many other first person narrators, Carver’s protagonist is not entirely reliable and the reader must question his honesty, both with himself and with the reader. When taking a closer look at the narrator and what he chooses to reveal …show more content…
Additionally, this highlights his personal insecurity because he will only listen to get someone else’s opinion of him. He seems to try to cover this up when he and his wife are interrupted by someone knocking at the door and he writes “I’d heard all I wanted to” (735), when in reality he is hiding his anxiety about what Robert could have said. After this, when the wife has him sit down to listen to her story, one that did not include him, and he writes that she shared with him “more detail than he cared to know” (736) admitting quite plainly and honestly that he cares only about matters directly connected to him. This is again evident with the way he refers to his wife as only “my wife” through the whole story. By not giving her a name, he takes possession of her in a way, to prove that she is only significant in relation to him. The protagonist again exhibits insecurity in regard to his wife when she looks at him in the middle of a conversation with Robert and he deduces that “she didn’t like what she saw” (737). This is uncharacteristically in-tune for the narrator to say, as he usually does not seem to pick up on the feelings of others. However, because he assumes it is her judgment of him he is willing to read …show more content…
The narrator is experiencing how it feels to let go of his self-obsessed insecurity and see something different, through the help of Robert. This scene does not necessarily indicate that the narrator is on his way to becoming a changed man, but it does reveal the possibility of a deeper and more meaningful life for him. It shows the narrator starting to be honest with himself, even if only minimally. It is the first time in the story he seems to truly value anything when he says to Robert, “It’s really something” (743). In “Cathedral”, the reader does not see a hugely dynamic main character, but he or she does not see an entirely static one either. Carver creates a character that does not know himself well enough to show his core identity to the reader. The narrator is consistently self-centered and insecure, and throughout the story attempts to conceal it with “tough guy” apathy and sarcasm. However, in the end the reader gets a glimmer of hope for the narrator’s future in which he could free himself from his own false persona. Even so, it cannot be said for certain that he has changed for good. Depending on the narrator’s ability to break down the walls of his damaging insecurity, he could begin to understand his own complexity and foster the interpersonal