Raymond Carver grew up in Oregon in the
1940s and 1950s. He married his high school girlfriend and took classes at a
local college, which lea him to his passion for writing. Then, he began
writing, as well as working odd jobs in order to support his family. In 1968, he published his first poetry
collect and other successes followed short after. All while, he was dealing
with alcoholism. This alcoholism led him to become non-productive and
eventually the hospital. After that, he stopped drinking and divorced his wife.
He started writing again, these short stories, though similar in writing style
from the previous collection, had a more positive feel and ending to them. His
post alcoholism writings include “Cathedral.”
In the short story “The Cathedral” the
narrator begins with a very pessimistic attitude with the knowledge that a
blind man is coming to visit his wife. Throughout the story, it becomes clear that
the narrator feels threatened by the blind man. Though he may not want to admit
it, the blind man, Robert, has a much better relationship with the narrator’s
wife than the narrator seems to have. Because of Robert’s past with his wife
along with the fact that Robert was blind, the narrator did not feel
comfortable having him in his house. However, that all changed when the
narrator and Robert began smoking pot and watching a television show about
cathedrals together. Then, so that Robert could have a better understanding of
what a cathedral looks like, they draw a cathedral together.
Mark Facknitz wrote an article entitled,
“The Calm,” “A Small, Good Thing,” and “Cathedral”: Raymond Carver and the
Rediscovery of Human Worth.” In this article, Facknitz states that through
drawing the cathedral with Robert,
the narrator’s sense of enclosure- of
being confined by his house and circumstances- vanishes
as if by an act of grace, or a very spiritual reward for a virtually
insignificant gesture.
Following the metaphor of the story, the narrator learns to see with eyes other
than
that insufficient set that keeps a friendless drunk and a meager husband. (295)
Through
drawing with Robert, the narrator becomes more open minded and experiences new
things. In the end, the narrator seems to be changed for the better, realizing
things that he is doing wrong in his life, which could be considered a
rediscovery of human worth. This all happened through one small act.
Aside
from the idea of rediscovery of human worth in Carver’s later writings, another
thing that has become a signature of Carver’s is the masculinity that he
conveyed through his writings. Vanessa Hall states, “Carver’s stories both
participate in and critique narratives of wounded white masculinity” (176). The
narrator in “Cathedral” is no exception. The narrator seemed to feel threatened
by Robert, especially in the beginning of the story, although from the outside
there seemed to be no reason why. Robert was handicapped and the narrator was
not, so why would the narrator feel so uncomfortable and almost, threatened, by
Robert? The reason lies within the narrator is an insecure, white male. The
narrator feels, though he will not admit it, jealous of Robert. Robert has a
better relationship with the narrator’s wife than the narrator ever had. Along
with that, Robert seems happy and at peace unlike the narrator. Until, the
narrator and Robert draw the cathedral together, which is when Carver’s masculinity
in his writing and discovering of human worth seem to collide.
When
reading the story did you notice the rediscovery of human worth as Facknitz
talks about or the masculinity Hall discusses or not?
Works Cited
Hall, Vanessa. “It All
Fell in on Him”: Masculinities in Raymond Carver’s Short Stories and American
Culture during the 1970s and 1980s.” The
Journal of Men’s Studies. 17.2 (2009):
173-188. Print.
Facknitz,
Mark A. R. “The Calm,” “A Small, Good Thing,” and “Cathedral”: Raymond Carver and
the Rediscovery of Human Worth.” Studies
in Short Fiction. 23.3 (1986): 287-296. Print.
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