Learning to See

It is an immediate instinct to assume that, in a story in which the main characters consist of a blind, widowed man and a younger, inexperienced and somewhat know-it-all, a timeless lesson will be passed down from the first character to the second. Although this is what does end up happening, the lesson is rather subtle and the young man ends up teaching Robert something in return. Right from the start, the narrator's character is made out to be extremely flawed. Between commenting that Robert's deceased wife "... could, if she wanted, wear green eye-shadow around one eye" (15) because he could not see her anyway, and telling the reader that "A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to," (1) it is apparent that the narrator is not concerned with political correctness or, so it seems, the feelings of others. He does not take into consideration his wife's reaction or feelings when he makes this statement. The story goes on; however, to teach a lesson of the value of patience, open-mindedness, and willingness to learn.

The lessons that the husband learns in "The Cathedral" are easily apparent; yet it is not so obvious what he teaches Robert. Juxtaposed with his wife, a do-gooder, the narrator takes on a negative persona at first. There is even a sense of the wife's embarrassment at her husband's actions while Robert is visiting, as apparent by her many apologetic remarks made toward Robert and her many non-approving glances toward her husband. However, during the narrator's discussion with Robert about the cathedral, Carver portrays the husband in a different light. After his wife falls asleep, there is an understanding that he is learning from Robert what she had known about him all along. At the same time there is a sense that although she has spent so much more time with the blind man, her husband is getting more out of what Robert has to teach. The feeling that she does not understand as well as her husband does the true meaning of Robert's actions and words is portrayed as well. As if she is being left out of a really big joke or important conversation, after she wakes up and asks, "What's going on? Robert, what are you doing? What's going on?" Robert simply replies, "It's all right" before telling the narrator to "close your eyes now" (125). For the first time it seems as though Robert cares more about the narrator than about his wife. 

At the end of "The Cathedral" there is a moment of reflection and deep thought. The narrator finally realizes that what he takes for granted, the blind man treasures. There is a point of revelation for the narrator right after he is trying to describe the cathedral on the television to Robert, but keeps fumbling. "The truth is, cathedrals don't mean anything special to me. Nothing. Cathedrals. They're something to look at on late night TV" (106). Later into the conversation, Carver's conveys to the reader that the narrator finally understands that it is not sight that matters but truly "seeing" when he voluntarily closes his eyes while drawing the picture. The last lines of the story reveal a powerful image and show the transformation the narrator has undergone when they demonstrate that his interpretation of the meaning of true sight has evolved. The narrator's response, "It's really something" to Robert's question "Are you looking?" while his eyes are still closed conveys the message of the narrator's growth. 

The narrator's wife immediately assumes that her husband does not have anything of value to offer Robert, with his words or in actuality. It is apparent that she thinks he is actually providing him with the opposite, by saying and doing things she finds to be offensive. Although at first the narrator's attitude towards Robert's arrival only validates her point, as the story progresses he is able to give something back to the blind man. When the narrator's wife arrives in the living room to see that the two men are "smoking some dope," (60) she "gave [him] a savage look" before telling Robert she "didn't know you smoked" (65). Robert responds by saying "I do now, my dear. There's a first time for everything" (65). In this passage Carver demonstrates the narrator's wife's disapproval of her husband and shows Robert's carefree philosophy toward life. In addition, by describing the cathedral to Robert in detail, the narrator is giving him the gift of knowledge; a gift that he is able to return by teaching the narrator that first perceptions can be deceiving. Although is comes in different forms and serves different purposes, this story shows that the gift of knowledge is universal.