Disability Criticism In Iyanla Vanzant's Cathedral

“I have learned the hard way to mind my business, without judging who people are and what they do. I am more troubled by the lack of space being provided for the truth to unfold. Humans cannot seem to wait for or honor the truth. Instead, we make it up based on who we believe people should or should not be,”Iyanla Vanzant. When reading “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver the blind Robert was constantly judged by the husband. This story is about a blind man visited his old friend the wife. The husband did not want to be around the man because he was blind. The husband put a channel on the tv and it starting talking about cathedrals. Robert the blind man asked the husband to describe a Cathedral he didn’t know how to describe the beauty of a Cathedral.

So Robert asked the husband to draw it out. Robert followed with his hand the husband drawing a Cathedral and started to understand what a Cathedral looked like. After this interaction, the husband got a better understanding of what it is like to be a blind person. The best way to analyze this story is using disability criticism. Disability criticism is the social model, a theory that distinguishes between impairment and disability. Impairment refers to a physical limitation, while disability refers to social exclusion. In this story, there are many ways to analyze disability criticism. The four significant ways this story relates to disability criticism is the social aspect, hidden judgment of the wife, physical limitations, and being disabled does not make you less intelligent.
The first significant way this story relates to disability criticism is the social aspect.

People who have disabilities have trouble fitting in socially. Many people tend to judge those who are disabled before getting to know them. In the story, the husband judged the blind man Robert multiple times. For example when the husband did not go with his wife to pick up Robert from the train station. He had never met a blind person before and does not know how he should react. Many readers may say he should just be himself. In the story, an example is ““But if you had a friend, any friend, and the friend came to visit, I’d make him feel comfortable.” She wiped her hands with the dish towel. “I don’t have any blind friends,” I said. “You don’t have any friends,” she said. “Period. Besides,” she said, “goddamn it, his wife’s just died! Don’t you understand that? The man’s lost his wife!” I didn’t answer. She’d told me a little about the blind man’s wife. Her name was Beulah. Beulah! That’s a name for a colored woman. “Was his wife a Negro?” I asked.” (Carver 105) In this quote, the husband judging Robert because he is blind and black. The husband in this story is similar to a lot of people in society. People are constantly criticized badly on their appearance. Due to society and people judging other the husband already had an idea of how Robert might be. Throughout history, people tend to think the disabled are not capable of everyday things. Like Robert people who have any kind of

disability is treated or looked at differently based on how they are disabled. He did not take in consideration that Robert is a man just like him, but the husband let Roberts disability define who he was as a person. The wife in this story took in some consideration that the disabled do have the feeling. She treated Robert the utmost respect that he deserved. Meanwhile, the husband was very judgemental. In this story, disability criticism is throughout this entire story based on this husbands actions. Throughout the story, the husband refers to Robert as the blind man. It is as if that is all the husband see him as is a blind man. The husband did not see Robert for the man he was. The husband just lets Robert’s disability define who he was as a person. Some may say that people have to be prepared to deal with the disabled socially in a better way. People can prepare by understanding that just because someone has limitations it does not mean they should be treated unable to fit in with them socially.
Furthermore, an arguably significant part of disability criticism presented in the story is the hidden judgment of the wife. Throughout the story when the wife is mention she seems like a person who does not judge the disabled, which is slightly true. After reading this story multiple times in detail the wife is judgemental of Robert. It is not obvious judgment like her husband, but in certain parts of the story, it is noticeable. Readers may say the wife judges Robert without even knowing purposely. For example in the story when the wife said “My wife covered her mouth, and then she yawned. Then she stretched. She said, “I think I’ll go upstairs and put on my robe. I think I’ll change into something else. Robert, you make yourself comfortable,” she said. “I'm comfortable,” the blind man said. “I want to feel comfortable in this house,” she said. “I am comfortable,” the blind man said.” In this quote to some readers, this may seem like the wife wants to make sure her guest is comfortable. Some reader may say this is true, but she is still treating him different then if she had a guest who did not have a disability. She is constantly through the story making sure Robert is okay and giving him all of her attention, and her husband barely any. Many readers may have the opinion that the wife just was being a good hostess for a friend who was visiting the house. Others may say it because Robert is blind the wife paid him extra attention that she perhaps would not do for other house guests who are not disabled. The wife is a caring person in the story be she still treats Robert like he is disabled, and this is how she reflect disability criticism in the story.
Another significant disability criticism is presented in the story is physical limitations. Some may indicate that when thinking of someone “disabled”, you think of someone who cannot do the majority of the things the non disable could do. This is not completely true. Being disabled means you are limited to only a few things, but depending on the person. In the story being completely blind Robert was able to lots of physical things, people would think a blind man could not do alone. For example, Robert took the train alone to come visit the wife, and he was able to take care of himself alone after his wife had died. In the story, it does not mention Robert getting in other help after his wife died. A detailed example in the story is when it says “How going to New York, you should sit on the right-hand side of the train, and coming from New York, the left-handed side. “Did you have a good train ride?” I said. “What side of the train did you sit on, by the way?” “What a question, which side!” my wife said. “What’s it matter which side?” she said. “I just asked,” I said. “Right side,” the blind man said.” (Carver 107) In this quote when it explains how Robert knew exactly what to do even without seeing the train. He had not ridden a train since he a kid. This shows how he is physically able to do things on his on and has a very good memory. Also, an example of Robert disabilities not getting in the way of him physically is “I’ve never met, or personally known, anyone who was blind. This blind man was late forties, a heavy-set, balding man with stooped shoulders, as if he carried a great weight there. He wore brown slacks, brown shoes, a light-brown shirt, a tie, a sports coat. Spiffy. He also had thus full beard. But he didn’t use a cane he didn't wear dark glasses. I’d always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind. The fact was, I wished he had a pair. At first glance, his eyes looked like anyone else’s eyes.” In this quote explains how well put together Robert really was in the story. The husband thought Robert was very well-dressed. Even though Robert is blind he was able to get himself together without seeing, and made it look good. Robert’s disability does not affect him very much in the story. In the story, the disability criticism was not limited as much as the reader may have thought since he is blind. When reading it was clearly noticeable that Even though Robert is disabled, he is a very intelligent man.
The last significant reason for connecting disability criticism to this story is being disabled does not make you less intelligent. When the majority of people think of someone with a disability they think it means they are not very intelligent people. Being disabled does not necessarily mean a person is mentally disabled. It just means they are not able to do everything other can do. Within the story, Robert was a very intelligent person. For example, when sitting at the table for dinner “The blind man had right away located his foods, he knew just where everything was on his plate. I watched in admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat.” (Carver 108) In this quote, Robert knew eating what to do, and where everything was while eating. Also in the story when the husband asks Robert do he has a tv, Robert said he had two. Readers can tell that Robert is very smart. He was able to tell that the wife and husband had a colored tv instead of a black and white one, just from listening. In addition to that when Robert and the husband started to watch tv the cathedrals popped up, Robert was not sure how they looked but he knew what they were. The husband could not explain to Robert how it looked so he drew the cathedral out while Robert traced it. Robert was able to get a visual understanding of the cathedrals after. It takes a very bright person to understand how something looks visually just by tracing it out with your finger. Being blind is a big disadvantage, but Robert being an intellectual person helps him understand things better. Robert in this story may remind readers of a disabled man named Stephen Hawking. Similar to Robert in the story Hawking had a disability, his was Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Even though he was very disabled he did not let it stop what he wanted to do just like Robert. He was a very smart person who did not let his disability define him.
After a detailed analyzation of this story readers may conclude that disability criticism is throughout.

Robert was judged throughout the story because he was blind. The husband was the main character who discriminated the blind man before even getting to know him as a person. In this story, there are many ways to analyze disability criticism. The four significant ways this story relates to disability criticism is the social aspect, hidden judgment of the wife, physical limitations, and being disabled does not make you less intelligent. At the end of the story after Robert traced the husband drawing of what a cathedral looked liked. In the story when it said ““It’s all right,” he said to her. “Close your eyes now,” the blind man said to me. I did it. I closed them just like he said. “Are they closed?” he said. “Don’t fudge.” “They’re closed,” I said. “Keep them that way,” he said. He said, “Don’t stop now. Draw.” So we kept on with it. His fingers rode my fingers as my hand went over the paper. It was like nothing else in my life up to now. Then he said, “I think that’s it. I think you got it,” he said. “Take a look. What do you think?” But I had my eyes closed. I thought I’d keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it was something I ought to do. “Well?” he said. “Are you looking?” My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. “It’s really something,” I said.” (Carver 113) In this quote is a great example

of how the husband changed by the end of the story. He realizes what it is like to be blind, and not to judge someone just because they are listed as “disabled.” “Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you're needed by someone,” Martina Navratilova.