Seeing Versus Looking In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Seeing Versus Looking

In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” a major theme is the distinction between looking and seeing. Merriam-Webster defines looking as “directing your eyes in a particular direction” (m-w.com). It is passively taking in a sight without truly understanding it. In contrast, seeing is understanding and appreciating the value of something, whether or not we have the privilege to physically see the object. In “Cathedral,” the narrator struggles with seeing until an unlikely character helps him to find his sight and appreciate the gift of seeing in both a literal and figurative sense. This unlikely character, a blind man named Robert, demonstrates to the narrator that seeing is a multifaceted and active action. Carver uses the metaphor of sight in “Cathedral” to exemplify the importance of understanding other people, our lives, and the world around us by gaining a deeper appreciation through seeing.

The narrator is perfectly capable of looking at his wife on a daily basis, but never really sees who she is. For example, the narrator never really understood how

important Robert was to his wife and the extent of her relationship with Robert. The wife recorded tapes to send to Robert and shared “everything” with him. Robert seems to have a much deeper understanding of the wife because he actually listens to what she says through these recordings and therefore sees the wife. Conversely, all of the exchanges between the narrator and his wife are very brief and the narrator seems to do nothing more than annoy his wife. For instance, the narrator said, “Was his wife a negro?” and his wife responded by exclaiming, “Are you crazy?” and “Have you just flipped or something?” This conversation helps to highlight the fact that the narrator does not see his wife like Robert does, but merely looks at her without any attempt to understand her.
Furthermore, Carver shows readers the importance of more carefully examining our lives. Robert helps the narrator to see his life instead of simply looking at it as life passes by. A prime example of this would be when Robert begins to question the narrator about his life. Robert asks, “How long I [the narrator] had been in my current position,” and several other related questions. When the narrator pauses to respond to the inquiries he really examines his life and learns that he is not very satisfied with his current situation. For instance, when asked about his job the narrator says to himself that he does not like it. Carver uses these scenarios to emphasize the importance living life to the fullest extent possible and taking responsibility to ensure our own happiness by seeing our lives for what they are instead of just looking at them.
The concept of seeing our lives was especially important to Carver. In his personal life Carver struggled with alcoholism and was hospitalized numerous times due to this condition. Carver lost opportunities to make great memories in his life and spend time doing the things that he loved, such as writing, due to his battle with alcoholism. It was important for Carver to critically evaluate his life to become sober and see that his sobriety was key to a happier life. This understanding of Carver’s personal life challenges helps the reader to better understand the importance of seeing versus looking when it comes to seeing one’s own life.
In addition to seeing our lives and other people, “Cathedral” stresses the significance of seeing the world. The concept of seeing the world essentially means to attempt to understand our purpose in relationship to everything and everyone else. In order to do this, it is critical to have the ability to see. The narrator experiences a moment were he comes to this realization towards the end of the story. In the closing paragraphs of the story Robert asks the narrator to describe a cathedral to him. The narrator attempts to describe the cathedral, which he can see perfectly well–unlike Robert–, but finds himself incapable of describing it. Contrariwise, Robert, who has never looked upon a cathedral, manages to describe one with substantial effectiveness, such that the narrator is stunned. The narrator is perplexed at how a blind man can better explain a phenomenon than a person with vision, such as the narrator, should be capable of doing. This scene helps to illustrate the point that truly seeing something involves attempting to understand what we are looking at.
Ultimately, the narrator has an epiphany in this end scene where he and Robert draw a cathedral together.

Robert has the narrator draw a cathedral while they hold the pencil together. Through this experience the narrator finally realizes the difference between seeing and looking. As the narrator is drawing the cathedral Robert tells him to close his eyes. After he finishes the drawing Robert tells the narrator to look at his creation but the narrator is amazed at his new gift, his ability to see. Instead of opening his eyes the narrator says, “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.” At this point, the narrator understands the importance of understanding other people, our lives, and the world. The narrator now realizes that he has simply looked at things for too long and wants to begin to

see.
Overall, Carver uses “Cathedral” to convey the importance of paying attention to and understanding what one looks upon in order to see. Carver’s use of a blind man to teach the narrator the art of seeing helps to further emphasize its importance. Also, this demonstrates that seeing is multi-faceted and is not simply just looking upon something with our eyes. In order to see something, one must take time to critically evaluate the person, place or thing and contemplate its significance. The theme of seeing versus looking is exemplified in “Cathedral” through the narrator’s interactions with Robert. These interactions show readers the importance of seeking to understand what one looks at in order to more fully appreciate life and enjoy the world around us.