Cathedral by Raymond Carver: Analyzing the Story’s Depth and Impact

Describing a "Cathedral" Raymond Carver`s "Cathedral" is a story that illustrates what sight really is. In most cases, blindness means being physically unable to see. In the case of the narrator in "Cathedral" blindness is an affliction suffered from within. The narrator is possessed by prejudice against everyone and anyone he mentions within the story. The characters Bub and Robert make great counters to these two forms of blindness; each character sees and does not see different sides of the people in their lives. The conflict of imagery and understanding that Bub experiences with what he expects to see and what he actually sees beautifully render the true meaning of sight.

During the exposition, Bub had much to say about his wife`s history with Robert despite the fact that he has seen so little of his wife`s blind friend. The majority of what Bub had to say was very negative. He "...didn`t think much of [her poetry]..." (82), and the tone at the bottom of page 82 suggests that Bub was bothered by the tapes her wife and Robert send back and forth. There was a sense of definite hostility when Bub says that after listening to the few minutes of one of the tapes, he had "...heard all [he] wanted to" (83). He doesn`t want to know any more about Robert. Bub chooses to keep his view of the man short and narrow.

The hardness in Bub`s tone was just the first clue that he views the people in his life through a dark lens. When he recalled the story of his wife`s first husband, Bub snapped, "Her officer-- why should he have a name? he was the childhood sweetheart, and what more does he want?" (82) as if he was jealous about not being first in line to his wife`s heart. Bub jumped to the same hostile conclusion when he thought of Robert touching his wife`s face. He was appalled by the idea! "She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose-- even her neck!" (81) even though Bub didn`t seem to comprehend exactly what that touch meant to his wife or Robert. Beyond his predispositions against his wife`s ex husband and her blind friend Robert, Bub saw nothing. However in Bub`s mind, he saw everything. He`s seen all he wants to see.