The Blind Heart in the Cathedral by Raymond Carver A person's ability to see is often taken for granted, as in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral". Although the title suggests that the story is about a cathedral, it is actually about two blind men, one physically, the other psychologically. One of the men is Robert, the narrator's wife's blind friend; the other is the husband-narrator himself. The husband is the psychologically blind man. Carver skillfully describes the way the husband looks at life: from a very narrow point of view. Two cases in particular illustrate this. The first is that the husband seems to believe that the most important thing for women is to receive compliments on their appearance; the second is that he is unable to imagine his wife's friend, Robert, as a person, but only as a blind man. Carver consistently characterizes her husband as the truly blind one because he is ignorant of so many simple things in life. One of the first clues to the husband's blindness is addressed early in the story when the husband thinks of the blind man's wife and says: Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her beloved. A woman who could go day after day without ever receiving the slightest compliment from her lover. A woman whose husband could never read the look on her face, whether it was misery or something better. (1055)The husband seems to be saying that women need to be seen, that this is the most important thing or the only important thing in their life. He forgets that Robert can hear his wife's voice, smell her perfume, appreciate her personality, and touch her skin. According to Dorothy Wickenden "Cathedral" is a story about ignorance and vulnerability: the depths... the center of the paper... is blind. He constantly neglects his eyesight which he takes for granted. The husband is so narrow-minded and content with his own world, that he neglects to "see" the rest of the world. Marc Chenetien said it best: "A spark of hope in 'Cathedral' tends to give a potentially new agenda to stories whose ultimate promise seems to remain that blindness inevitably undermines all awakenings" (30). Works Cited Allen, Bruce. "Carver." Contemporary literary criticism. Ed. Ruggero Matuz. New York: Gale Research, 1989. 55:103. Burgeja, Michael J. "Carver." Criticism of short stories. Ed. Shelia Fitzgerald. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1990. 8:23.Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral" The Harper Anthology of Fiction: Ed. Silvano Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 1052-1063. Chenetien, Marc. "Carver." Criticism of short stories. Ed. Sheila Fitzgerald. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1990. 8:44.