The short story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is about the relationship between a woman's husband and her blind friend who comes to visit her. The woman's husband, who perceives himself as having normal vision in the beginning of this story, eventually realizes that he is the one who has been blind. Through the husband's words and actions when he is dealing with Robert, the blind man, initially we can see that the husband does not "see" or understand what Robert's blindness means or how it changes or does not change himself as a human being. At first Robert makes the husband very uncomfortable, for the husband does not know what to say or do around the blind visitor. As the story progresses, we can see a change in the husband; he seems to be able to see Robert as a person and not just as a blind man. The husband also comes to the realization that he is able to see himself more clearly and also the mechanisms within himself that had prevented him from "seeing" in the first place.
When we are first introduced to the husband, he is not a very likeable guy. When his wife informs him that Robert will be coming to stay with him, the husband "wasn't enthusiastic about his visit." (75), already showing his negativity towards their guest. This is further illustrated when he mentions that "his being blind bothered me" (75). The husband shows that he has a prejudice against someone with a disability. His wife had written a poem about the last day she had seen Robert and showed it to her husband. The husband "didn't think much of the poem" (75), giving us the impression that he is narrow-minded and superficial. Once Robert arrives at their home, the husband is stunned that "this blind man, feature this, he was wearing a full beard! A beard on a blind man! Too much, I say." (78). Later the husband comments about Robert's eyes and calls them "creepy" (78). These examples show the husband to be a man that is judgmental and ignorant.
