3.3–Raymond Carver, “Cathedral”
In this chapter:
Link to Full Text
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/files/sept_1981_-_carver_-_cathedral.pdf
Reading Guide
Story Overview
First published by Knopf in 1983, “Cathedral” is one of Carver’s most acclaimed works. Showcasing his minimalist style and keen observation of ordinary lives, Carver’s story revolves around a narrator who experiences a significant personal transformation through his interactions with a blind man named Robert. Below is a concise summary of the plot:
“Cathedral” is the story of an unnamed narrator having dinner with his wife and her friend Robert, a blind man who has been his wife’s friend for many years. In early parts of the story, that unnamed narrator expresses his discomfort with the evening plans, especially regarding how he will interact with “the blind man.” The group does have dinner, which seems marked mainly be how very much food they ate (“We finished everything, including a half strawberry pie. […] Sweat beaded on our faces”) and then follow the meal with smoking marijuana. At this point, the narrator begins to loosen up. As they watch tv, the narrator expresses his interest in seeing a cathedral, which leads Robert to ask the narrator to draw a cathedral with him. The two work on the drawing together, with Robert guiding the narrator’s hand as he draws. It is these final moments that lead scholars, when analyzing the text, to wonder about transformative moments or, as one of the below-mentioned academic essays puts is, an epiphanic moment. Among the useful questions to think about when considering the story’s end: has there been any revelation? Why do you say so and what prompted it? Is the guiding of the hand about connection (metaphorical and literal)? About seeing differently? In sum, is there evidence of new “in-sight” as this story concludes?
Pause and Reflect
Author Bio:
Raymond Carver (1938–1988) was a seminal American short story writer and poet, renowned for his stark, minimalist style (sometimes referred to as “radical minimalism”) and profound exploration of the human condition. Born in Clatskanie, Oregon, Carver’s early life was marked by economic hardship and personal struggles, including issues with alcohol. His journey towards sobriety began in the late 1970s, which had a transformative impact on both his life and his writing. His recovery not only revitalized his career but also infused his work with a deeper sense of clarity and emotional resonance.
Carver’s work, characterized by its spare prose and focus on ordinary characters grappling with life’s difficulties, includes notable collections such as “Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” ALSO, often present are events/issues associated with drugs and alcohol. Sometimes the substances serve as symbols of personal struggle and disillusionment. Other times, when characters grapple with addiction, they grapple also with self-worth, relationships, and community.
Later in his life, Carver battled health issues. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1987, which eventually led to his death on August 2, 1988, at the age of 50. Despite that early death, Carver’s legacy endures through his contributions to contemporary literature and his role in the revitalization of the American short story.
Major Themes
Narrator’s Isolation and Prejudice: The narrator, who remains unnamed, is initially portrayed as a man with limited emotional insight and a narrow worldview. He is somewhat resentful and disconnected from his wife and his life. Whether or not the narrator changes/grows, and thus becomes something other than the limited character we meet in the beginning, is one of the central questions of this text. As you read, keep asking yourself whether you feel there has been any change in the narrator, and by extension what either precipitated (or squelched) that change.
The Visit from the Blind Man: The story revolves around the visit of Robert, a blind man who is an old friend of the narrator’s wife. The narrator is uncomfortable and prejudiced towards Robert due to his blindness, reflecting his limited understanding of different ways of experiencing life. Be sure, as you consider the blind man (Robert), to think about ideas raised in our assigned reading: “He’s Blind for a Reason” (excerpted from the exceptionally useful book titled How to Read Literature Like a Professor” and written by Thomas C. Foster.
Building a Connection: Despite his initial discomfort and lack of empathy, the narrator starts to engage with Robert in a more meaningful way. The pivotal moment occurs when Robert asks the narrator to describe a cathedral to him, which challenges the narrator’s preconceptions.
The Epiphany: As the narrator and Robert draw a cathedral together on a piece of paper, the narrator experiences a profound moment of realization (what, in both literary and Biblical studies, is called an “epiphany”—for lots more see articles on James Joyce and what he called the “epiphany” in literature). The narrator’s act of drawing and sharing an experience with Robert helps the narrator transcend his previous limitations and opens him up to a deeper sense of connection and understanding.
Minimalist Writing: Carver writes in a “minimalist” style used by other prominent authors including Ernest Hemingway and Bobbie Ann Mason, among others. Famously aligned with what Hemingway called “The Iceberg Principle,” writers who use minimalism advise that, just as with an iceberg, the surface of a text shows only the smallest part of the work’s construction. By extension, then, it is underneath the surface that the real strength and weight lies. In Hemingway’s words, If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them.” Reading Carver’s story with minimalism in mind, we can usefully ask about the purposeful lack of detailed description: do such deliberate omissions contribute in any way to the trajectoy of the story? Also worth considering: minimalism and character development–are all characters equally minimalist (i.e., without detailed description, lacking in information provided to the reader)? Do any of the characters communicate in a manner that is outside of language? What is that and what might be the effect?
Masculinity: The presentation of masculinity is a huge theme in this piece. It seems that the narrator and Robert differ significantly in their willingness to embrace and display emotion (defensive and eager for a fight vs. seemingly gentle). Additionally, the two differ in their communication strategies and is their attitude toward women. Scenes that might prove useful in this analysis: the narrator’s initially dismissive attitude toward cathedrals (and, by extension, that whcih extends beyond the brick-and mortar provable parts of life), the meal (giving food to others usually means hospitality and concern for an other–how does the narrator fit into this dynamic), and the after-meal marijuana they all share (is this a moment of real connection? does it matter for gendered presentations that the choice is for weed–often associated with a younger generation–than alcohol??). Just a thought …
Transformation and Insight: By the end of the story, the narrator undergoes a personal transformation (again, that epiphany). Arguably, he begins to appreciate the value of empathy and connection, moving beyond his earlier narrow perspective. If that is indeed how we interpret the end of the narrator’s story, then we could make the claim that the act of drawing the cathedral becomes a metaphor for seeing beyond the surface and connecting on a more meaningful level.
Critical Context
Clark, Robert C. “Keeping the Reader in the House: American Minimalism, Literary Impression, and Raymond Carver’s ‘Cathedral.’ ” Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 104-118.
Article Abstract:
Even though a number, of scholars have attempted to describe the mode, it remains poorly
defined. Part of the problem is that the roots of the tradition have not been thoroughly
explored. The aim of this essay is to examine how Literary Impressionism, a style practiced by authors such as Anton Chekhov and Stephen Crane near the turn of the century, shaped the aesthetic of one of the most prominent practitioners of American Minimalism, Raymond Carver. “Cathedral,” perhaps Carver’s most important short story, illustrates the nexus between the modes. The unnamed narrator objectively reports past sensory experiences, an action common in Impressionistic works, but like many Minimalist
protagonists is ultimately unable to articulate the significance of the events he describes.
If the first section of “Cathedral” develops a portrayal of the isolating tendency of the masculine ego and its attempt at a power that is really more an imprisonment, the remainder of the story signals a shift in direction. The narrator, apparently reassured by [Robert]’s failure to fit his stereotypes of the blind (Bullock, 1993), admits that he is “… glad for the company” (p. 219) of the man. Late at night, the only entertainment the television offers is a program on cathedrals, and when the narrator tries to explain what a cathedral looks like, Robert suggests the narrator draw a cathedral and he will follow the narrator’s hand with his own. The narrator is reluctant at first but eventually draws with an energy leading him to acknowledge that “I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything” (p. 228). Our earlier discussion of the narrator’s house and living room as metaphors for the masculine ego makes it clear that here, at the end of the story, the narrator is acknowledging a moment of release from living according to the dictates of the isolating ego. Drawing a cathedral, then, becomes a metaphor for building, or at least designing, a kind of masculinity different from the masculinity of the castle or the Panopticon. As we follow the unfolding of the third section of the story, we can see each element required in the design of this piece of Utopian architecture.
