University English: Cathedral Theme Analysis Essay, March 2020

This essay provides a thematic analysis of Raymond Carver's short story, 'Cathedral.' The analysis delves into the key themes presented in the story, including the contrast between seeing and looking, the role of art and insight, the pervasive theme of jealousy, and the complex interplay of isolation, connection, and detachment. The essay examines how Carver uses these themes to explore human relationships, perception, and the potential for connection. It also explores the symbolism of the cathedral itself as a place of potential connection and understanding. The analysis draws upon the text to support its claims, offering a comprehensive understanding of the story's central ideas and their impact on the characters and the reader. The essay also references the importance of the narrator's journey from detachment to a newfound connection with the blind man Robert and highlights the importance of the themes explored in the story and their relevance to human experience.

Running head: THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF CATHEDRAL
Thematic Analysis of Cathedral
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF CATHEDRAL
Introduction
The “Cathedral”, a short story written by Raymond Carter was published in September,
1983. The story has gained the honor of being Carver’s best anthologized story because it had
been drawn from an original real life story. This short story had been the third and the last of
Carver’s major publications. The story is all about an unnamed narrator who finds it hard to
interact with his surroundings, especially his new visitor. The main idea that the story depict sis
that human connections have various degrees and forms and that everyone have different
abilities to relate to one another. The conflict that Raymond has effectively etched in the story is
that of man versus his own self. This is the reason that the thematic analysis of the story is
extremely important.
Discussion:
The prime theme that Raymond Carver deals with in the story of Cathedral is that of
blindness or the difference between seeing and looking. Although the art of looking and seeing is
related to the physical vision in the story, the it is implied not only literally but also symbolically.
The narrator portrays his full capability of looking as he sees Robert when he arrives. Robert on
the other hand is blind, cannot see and this makes the narrator feel superior to him (Ning).
However, on a deeper sense, the narrator just sees things on the surface and has no ability to look
deeper. He is blinded by his own prejudice. On the other hand, Robert despite his blindness is
insightful and has the ability to see into things more deeply. Bruhn discusses that he is the one
who helps the narrator to overcome his blindness and opens his eyes to his surroundings. The

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narrator says, “I remember having read somewhere that the blind didn’t smoke because, as
speculation had it, they couldn’t see the smoke they exhaled. I thought I knew that much and that
much only about blind people.” (Carver)
Another theme that exists in Raymond Carver’s Cathedral is that of Art that appears as an
insight. The drawings, storytelling and the poetry gives the characters in the story insight and
they seem to find their meaning of life from their own experiences. The picture of the cathedral
gives the narrator insight that he can gain greater knowledge and deeper understanding of
himself by looking at the picture inwardly (Bruhn). Irrespective of the fact that Robert was blind
and he was unable to see, he was also gaining insight by looking at the picture of the cathedral.
Moreover, by telling the story of his epiphany, the narrator makes sense of his surroundings.
While being repetitive and harsh in his narration and often interrupting himself to make a
derogatory statement, he brings the story out, transmitting few of his insight to the readers of
the story. The narrator had said , “I stared hard at the shot of the cathedral on the TV. How could
I even begin to describe it? But say my life depended on it. Say my life was being threatened by
an insane guy who said I had to do it or else” (Carver). When he regained his composure and
drew the cathedral the narrator doesn't completely understand what had happened, but he realized
that it was an unusual experience.
The theme of jealousy prevails throughout the entire story. The narrator had been envious
of his wife’s association with Robert, the blind man. It is suggestive to the readers that he might
have been jealous of his wife’s first husband as well (Bernardo). This can be understood by the
fact that even though he had the occasion of telling the readers about her first husband, he never
does so. Thus a sense of insecurity overpowers the narrator as he is even insecure about Robert.
It is noticeable since he refuses to listen to the tapes of Robert’s. It seems as if the protagonist

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wants to be oblivious of what Robert would assume of him, instead of knowing something he
might hate. This could again indicate a distance from others. The narrator narrates, “For the most
part, I just listened. Now and then I joined in. I didn’t want him to think I’d left the room, and I
didn’t want her to think I was feeling left out. They talked of things that had happened to them—
to them!—these past ten years. I waited in vain to hear my name on my wife’s sweet lips: “And
then my dear husband came into my life”—something like that. But I heard nothing of the sort”
(Carver).
This brings to the topic of the next theme of isolation, connection and detachment. This
theme resonates from the very beginning since the narrator is an unnamed man and his identity is
hidden. The story is narrated in the first person narrative which explains how the narrator is
detached from the reader. The narrator on the other hand is also detached from his wife and he
longs to have a similar connection that his wife shares with Robert (Vatinyan). Robert in spite of
being blind can connect emotionally with the narrator’s wife and has the ability to empathize
with her. The narrator remains isolated in this context and also finds himself alienated amidst the
conversation that his wife had with Robert. There are also other instances in which the author
indicates to his readers that the narrator is in a state of detachment from his family. As the
narrator is expected from his wife and Robert, to offer a prayer, he cracks a joke. Also as Robert
questions the storyteller if he is religious, the narrator says, “I don't think I believe in him. In
Everything” (Carver). In this manner the author wants his readers to realize that the narrator had
not only been desolated from his surroundings, but also from the knowledge of the world and
God.
Last but not the least, the theme of symbolism is explored at the end of the story. In a
literal explanation, the cathedral is a place where people go to worship and build a collection

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with the supreme power or God. When the narrator drew the Cathedral, he might have been
trying to build a connection too (Gale). For the very first time, the readers find his ability to see
through things and they find a sense of likeness that builds between Robert and the narrator.
Vatinyan also discusses that in the final section, Robert, the blind man leads the narrator even
when he is able to see. This is the very irony of the story where Carver explains that the narrator
had found a connection within the blind man and he is no longer desolated.
Conclusion:
Thus from the above thematic analysis it can be said that the main theme that dominates
the story is of desolation, building a connection and of the ability to see through things. Raymon
Carver through his short story has been able to open the eyes of the readers to the most important
aspect of the story, that is the insight to the surroundings. The author’s final message to the
readers is that they can come out from the conflict between the surroundings and their own self
and connect to the outer world.

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Reference:
Bernardo Blanco, Elena. "Optimism and Pessimism in Raymond Carver’s Short Stories." (2015).
Bruhn, Jørgen. "This Beats Tapes, Doesn’t It?”: Women, Cathedrals, and Other Medialities in
Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral." The Intermediality of Narrative Literature. Palgrave
Macmillan, London, 2016. 61-82.
Carver, Raymond. Cathedral. Vintage, 2015.
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Raymond Carver's Cathedral. Gale, Cengage
Learning, 2015.
Ning, Y. A. N. "Fullness out of Minimalism—Interpretation on the Narrative Style of Raymond
Carver’s “Cathedral”." Sino-US English Teaching 12.10 (2015): 795-801.
Vatinyan, Inga. "THE REASONS FOR MISINTERPRETATION OF MINIMALISM AND THE
REPRESENTATIONS IT TAKES IN RAYMOND CARVER’S AND AMY
HEMPEL’S WORKS." (2017).