Thoughts on "Cathedral"

     I originally wrote this as one of my essays for quiz 5 but later decided it would go great here.

     In "Cathedral" the narrator experiences a dramatic shift in the way he views the world, much in thanks to the blind man named Robert. He later understands that blindness can help one achieve peace and sight is not needed for one to be happy. However, this occurs as the story progresses and the idea does not happen at the opening of the text.

     While learning about Robert's back-story, the narrator only concentrates on the negative aspects of being blind. Such is obvious on page 1559 "Hearing this, I felt sorry for the blind man a little bit," where the narrator ponders the thought that Robert never got to "see" his (Robert's) late wife. Later on, when the two men are watching television a story about cathedrals appears, prompting Robert to ask the narrator to describe the appearance of one. The narrator thinks "How could I begin to describe it?" (page 1565) which denotes a turning point in the story. After giving Robert a decent description of the Cathedral, Robert seems content. Eventually though, Robert states "The truth is, cathedrals don't mean anything special to me." (page 1566) This is extremely important in the story because it shows Robert was not asking questions for his benefit, but rather, to help the narrator. When Robert asks the narrator to help him draw a Cathedral (the narrator guiding Robert's hand) the narrator complies and soon actually becomes enthralled with the experience "It was like nothing else in my life up to now." (page 1567). He closes his eyes and continues to draw, fully engrosses with the task. Now, the narrator no longer sees the negative side of blindness, he appreciates it freedom, it laxity, the lack of judgement. He "sees" the Cathedral not with his eyes but entirely with his mind.

     Overall, the role of Robert is that of the helper, ironically, for the person who can see. Essentially, what Robert does is allow the narrator to experience how Robert views the world, without eyesight but with "mind sight." Colors, shapes, the organic, and the inorganic are worthless in meaning to Robert, he "sees" a deeper meaning: life is not about what is actually in front of you; it is what you make of it. He succeeds in conveying this to the narrator through the use of artistry, a simple pleasure.