Cathedral

I went into this story wondering if the wife or female would receive a name. As I began reading it was evident that no one had name in this story. The first name mentioned was Beulah, and she wasn’t even a main character. I think the significance of this name being mentioned was to reveal the color of the main characters. The second and last name mentioned was Robert, the name of the blind man. Even after he received a name the narrator still referred to him as the blind man, the first time he called him Robert was when he referred to "Robert’s trip." (p. 124) I think it also important to remark that the narrator was a drinker, this may have been a cover up of his insecurities, but by the end of this very short story he had a total of five drinks.

The narrator was indeed jealous of his wife and the blind man’s relationship. While they had a relationship where love was present it had become somewhat convenient, she talked to Robert, she told him everything, and I believe they connected on a different level. But I believe she and her husband had a good relationship, he was just not in touch with his feeling, expressing what he felt, and putting it into terms others could understand. He was very ignorant in the area of blindness. He only had preconceived notions and had learned these from the movies and TV. When he saw and met the blind man the notions had to fly out the window, because he was nothing like what the narrator imagined. By the end of the story the blind man became the teacher and helped him see that there was more to life than what the naked eye see, it what one feels.