Cathedral Essay Introduction
Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” first published in the September 1981 issue of The
Atlantic Monthly and later included in his 1983 collection *Cathedral*, follows an unnamed
narrator whose uneasiness about his wife’s blind friend, Robert, gradually gives way to an
unexpected connection. The narrator initially views Robert through assumptions about
blindness and remains emotionally distant from both the visitor and his own wife. During
an evening together, however, Robert encourages the narrator to describe and then draw
a cathedral, turning a simple activity into an experience of shared understanding. Carver
uses this encounter to challenge the difference between physical sight and genuine
perception, showing how direct human connection can alter a person’s understanding of
others and of himself.
