The Dynamic Protagonist In Raymond Carter's Cathedral

The dynamic protagonist in Raymond Carter’s, Cathedral, is scared of having a blind man, who is the antagonist in this story, come and stay in his home. I am of the view that the protagonists fear is due to his lack of exposure to someone who is blind and he does not know what to expect. In the following paragraphs I will lead you through the change of the husband’s attitude toward the blind man.

In the exposition the husband acts very put out and unhappy. Carter himself writes, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me” (81). Carter’s diction lets us know how the husbands feels about having the blind man come and stay at his home. In other words, the fact that the man was blind was an issue for him. This dramatic situation leads us to ask why is he unhappy with the man coming to stay? The main character also says, “I don’t have any blind friends…” (83). We can’t help but notice, Carter is showing us that the main character is desperate to find an excuse to not have the man stay.

Consider that the man's attitude is not due to jealousy but due the unknown.

Because by the end of the story, his attitude evolves into a more positive tone. For example, when Carter writes, “The TV showed this one cathedral. Then there was a long, slow look at another one… I waited as long as I could. Then I felt I had to say something” (89-90). You can see that he feels pity for the blind man, and by the conclusion of the story he truly wants to help the blind man see the cathedral. In addition Carter further proves his point that the man’s attitude is starting to change when he writes, “You’ll have to forgive me, “I said”. “But I can’t tell you what a cathedral looks like. It just isn’t in me to do it. I can’t do any more than I’ve done.” 91. The husband’s feeling like he needs to help the man visualize what is on TV. This is quite different than the attitude he had in the exposition of the

story.
In the final phase of the transformation of the husband’s feelings about the blind man staying with him, he really breaks down his walls by allowing the blind man to touch him. His guest suggests they draw a picture of the cathedral together, “He found my hand, the hand with the pen. “Draw. You’ll see. I’ll follow along with you. It’ll be okay. Just begin now like I’m telling you. You’ll see. Draw,” the blind man said” (92). Although it may not seem like it, this is a very personal act to let another man touch his hands as he draws. This further proves my point that it was the “unknown” that made him uncomfortable with the man coming to stay not jealousy. I concede that there may have been a hint of jealousy in the beginning due to the close relationship his wife had with the blind man. However, I maintain that the “unknown” was the driving force behind his poor attitude and as the night progressed he became more comfortable with the blind man and that is what caused his change in attitude.