Carver's Cathedral

Raymond Carver's Cathedral really said a lot to me, and so far is my favorite reading we've done for class. Of course, at the beginning of the story the husband seems like, for lack of a better word, a complete jerk who can't really connect with other people, or himself for that matter. The husband doesn't name any other characters in his story except for Robert, the blind man, further distancing himself from the people around him; however, the husband doesn't actually reveal Robert's name until later in the story. The husband seems to have a certain ignorance about him and doesn't like anything he isn't fully informed about. Even when Robert comes to his home the husband does almost everything he can to avoid any conversations with the blind man--he goes as far as turning on the television so he wouldn't be forced to talk to Robert. However, as the night stretches on, the husband seems to break down a few of his boundaries. When Robert asks him to describe cathedrals, the husband does the best he can to do the buildings justice; when it is clear the husband can't describe them very effectively Robert suggests drawing a cathedral. The husband doesn't even question the action as he gathers the needed materials. Soon, his hand is guiding Robert's across the paper as they create their own cathedral. The husband then realizes what he was doing then wasn't like anything else in his life. Overall it's nice to see the character transformation of the husband throughout the story. I think everyone at one point in their life experiences something they aren't to thrilled about--the husband's was meeting Robert. However, most situations that originally make us uncomfortable a lot of times end up being the things that change us for the better most of all.