Susdorf Page 1 Brittany Susdorf Jason Meier English 1118-74 26 September 2017 “Cathedral” Literary Analysis The short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver was one that was included in the Best American Short Stories in 1982. It is one of his most well-known writings and has a lot of deep meaning to it. The story introduces us to the narrator, the narrator’s wife, and a blind man. The blind man is a close friend of the seemingly pessimistic narrator’s wife and comes to visit. Through this visit the narrator learns something very valuable from the blind man and takes away a great lesson from him. It is a transformative story and heartwarming at conclusion. The narrator’s wife worked for a blind man named Robert many years ago, and they became very close friends. She was to be married to a Navy man and before her job was over with the Robert he had asked if he could touch her face. She kindly agreed to this and then wrote a poem about it. Her marriage to the Navy man included a lot of moving around and her and Robert stayed in touch by recording tapes and sending them back and forth to each other. Eventually her marriage ended, and she remarried the narrator. Robert reaches out to the narrator’s wife after the passing of his wife, Beluah. They arrange for Robert to come and stay with the narrator and his wife. The narrator is not exactly excited about the visit, and his wife tells him if he loves her he will welcome Robert into their home. The narrator comments on how it must have been for Robert’s wife to have never been seen by the man she loves.
