Raymond Carver's Short Story Cathedral

Raymond Carver's short story, "Cathedral," portrays a story in which many in today's society can relate. We are introduced from the first sentence of the story to a man that seems to be annoyed and agitated. The man shows his ignorance by stereotyping a blind man by the name of Robert, who has come to stay with he and his wife. From the very beginning, Carver shows his detest for Robert but over the course of the story eases into comfort with him and in the end is taught a lesson from Robert.

The story begins with a description of the relation's between he, his wife and Robert. We are told that Robert employed Carver's wife ten years ago by having her read reports and case studies to him in his office. She hadn't seen him since those days but "she and the blind man kept in touch. They mailed tapes and sent them back and forth."

The blind man is invited to stay with the Carver's by Raymond's wife because his own wife has just died. Even this being the case, Carver's dislike for Robert is clear from the first paragraph. "I wasn't enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me." Carver's dislike for Robert is obvious even before he arrives at there house. Carver's initial views of Robert are very clear he seems jealous and goes as far as to stereotype Robert due to his blindness. "He also had a full beard. But he didn't use a cane and he didn't wear dark glasses. I'd always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind." This statement shows Carver's ignorance and seems to be just another attempt to find an attribute not to like. Robert still, though probably senses Carver's dislike for him proceeds to be upbeat and try his best to comfort him with his presence. After a large dinner that night the story moves on to the living room where the three are relaxing before heading to bed. They make small talk, smoke, and watch television. By now, Carver seems to become a little more relaxed with Robert in his house. His wife falls asleep and they are alone together. Robert tries to ease the discomfort of Carver by making conversation, "I'll stay up until you're ready to turn in.", the blind man says. The two then return to watching TV when some middle age show about cathedrals comes on. It is this show from which the author gets the name of this short story, "Cathedral".