The Role of the Church in Raymond Carver's' Short Story "Cathedral"

Raymond Carvers short story “Cathedral” is a transformation from shallowness and disbelief to diversity through vision. The husband cannot think of a precise description since he never understood the meaning or symbolism of a cathedral. As he is not a religious man and he is watching the show since nothing else is on TV. 'Don't ask me why this is,' he says.

Driven to think why these building was built for such a purpose; the narrator realizes that it symbolizes a struggle people endured while building such structures. Believing in something and religion give people direction and meaning to their lives. The effort it takes to build a cathedral merges into a passion of creativity coming to life. The impotence from the husband refusing to understand the purpose behind these structures shows his lack with creativity.

Encouraging the husband draw with his eyes closed and together with him, the blind man teaches the loss appreciation of believing in something. The husband experiences diversity in this moment, something that he has never thought of, and it makes him cognizant that he has taken his gift of vision for granted. Before Roberts arrival, the husband had no friends to call his own, and his wife says that he didn't have any. 'Never thought anything like this could happen in your lifetime, did you, bub?' asks Robert.

There is no answer. Loneliness brought on by urban life has settled into a style of living, and when he must communicate with others that are not his wife, he gets rather anxious. The objectiveness makes him negative and closed-minded.

As the story progresses the narrator's anxiety disappears as he starts to draw with Roberts hands over his - he is more relaxed and in a creative mood. The first memory that comes to mind is his home: 'I drew a box that looked like my house'. The revision of his old house into a cathedral is a very strong image. His home and self-gain the symbolism of a cathedral. And 'What's a cathedral without people?'. Indicates this as a social place that people meet at, the cathedral becomes a symbol of the husband's ability to prevail out of his loneliness and strengthen his inability to communicate.

In addition to this, the symbolism of the cathedral is also directed towards the blind man. His questioning about the religious beliefs of the husband is rhetorical because he senses that he isn't. The man’s blindness has made other senses much stronger and more resilient than ours. He sees things from a lessened perspective and adapts to becoming a person who sees opportunities of a different angle toward wisdom, and knowledge. To the husband, Robert comes as a nobody, a stranger, but he turns into a friend. He is somewhat like a preacher in church who is reading a scripture that strikes your heart and gives a wakeup call to the mind.

The image of a cathedral is exceedingly strong, stable, and beautiful, yet artistic. The narrator uses imagery to create a mental pitcure of the physical backdrop of the story, but also to breathe life into the symbolism of the images created in the mind. The small amount of imagery used shows strong and clear pictures of meaning and thought. The symbolism is in this story is enormous. It can be found everywhere. It is used in contrast with imagery to give considerable meaning to the tale, otherwise it wouldn't have been clear.