The document provides an in-depth analysis of Robert Munsch's short story "Cathedral" across 8 sections: 1) The story takes place entirely within the narrator's home as he and his wife host a blind guest. 2) Characters are round and dynamic, particularly the narrator who evolves in his understanding of blindness. 3) The first person narration shifts to third person briefly, and the narrator's subconscious thoughts are evident. 4) The narrative has a casual tone and switches between fast and slow pacing through the use of descriptive details.

2. 1. SETTING & ATMOSPHERE
• Not much emphasis on setting and atmosphere. The whole story takes place inside the house
of the narrator; i.e. domestic setting (though it does not really feel claustrophobic) - the reader
is led into the four walls of the house and the intimate relationship of a couple through the
arrival of a guest - much like Edward Albee’s play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1962) –
‘Cathedral’ was published in 1981.
- The concept of voyeurism as an aspect of literature – intrusive reader - the reader led into
the intimacy of a couple.
• The lack of detail about the setting and atmosphere may also be deliberate, so as to focus the
reader’s attention on the inner landscape of the narrator, i.e. the inner change that he
experiences.

3. 2. CHARACTERISATION
• Description of the narrator’s observations of the blind man, Robert: “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 this full beard. But
he didn‘t use a cane and he didn‘t wear dark glasses. I‘d always thought dark glasses were a must for the
blind. Fact was, I wish he had a pair. At first glance, his eyes looked like anyone else‘s eyes. But if you
looked close, there was something different about them. Too much white in the iris, for one thing, and the
pupils seemed to move around in the sockets without his knowing it or being able to stop it. Creepy. As I
stared at his face, I saw the left pupil turn in toward his nose while the other made an effort to keep in one
place. But it was only an effort, for that one eye was on the roam without his knowing it or wanting it to
be.” - The purpose is to show how far the narrator initially focused on Robert’s physical aspects
only, so that the inner change that occurs in Robert’s character later becomes more evident.
• Round, dynamic, 3 dimensional characters: the character of the narrator, evolve with the plot;
Robert’s character becomes more comprehensible.

4. 3. NARRATIVE VOICE/ TECHNIQUE & POINT OF VIEW
• First person narration, shifting to third person narration when the narrator gives an account of
his wife’s past in the beginning of the story.
• Even though the story is in the first person, the technique of stream-of-consciousness is not
used, i.e. there is no elaborate, subconscious thought process of the narrative persona -
nevertheless, the narrator’s subconscious thoughts and emotions can quite easily be deduced –
e.g. “She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose—even her neck!” –
use of exclamation mark suggests that the narrator was uneasy about the thought of the blind
man having touched his wife’s neck, most probably even feeling jealous about it, even though
he does not admit it. Consciously, the narrator admits his despise for blind people: “I wasn‘t
enthusiastic about his visit... And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from
the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed.” Subconsciously, he was
jealous and possessive about his wife, which is quite evident though he doesn’t express it.
• The narrative style/ technique is very similar to Alice Munro’s ‘Face’ – Just as in ‘Face’ the
narrator relies on his mother's accounts of the initial episodes of his life, the narrator in
‘Cathedral’ tells about his wife’s past based on her account only.

5. 3. NARRATIVE VOICE/ TECHNIQUE & POINT OF VIEW
• Zooming camera effect/ technique used in narration – zooming/ focus over details to show
narrator’s focus on the physical aspect in the beginning, and his curiosity as he observes his
guest, Robert: e.g. “Swear beaded on our faces.”; “He‘d cut two pieces of the meat, fork the
meat into his mouth, and then go all out for the scalloped potatoes, the beans next, and then
he‘d tear off a hunk of buttered bread and eat that.”; “Very disconcerting. Now and then his
eyelids drooped and then they snapped open again.”; “The whole upper part of his body
seemed to be moving back and forth.”
– Contrast between the camera effect used in the narration and the effects being used in the
documentary film being aired on TV: “the picture switched to the famous one in Paris, with its
flying buttresses and its spires reaching up to the clouds. The camera pulled away to show the
whole of the cathedral rising above the skyline… There were times when the Englishman who
was telling the thing would shut up, would simply let the camera move around over the
cathedrals. Or else the camera would tour the countryside, men in fields walking behind
oxen.”
• In the second half of the story, conversations (especially between Robert and the narrator) play
a crucial role in furthering the narration.

6. 4. NARRATIVE TONE, PACE & STYLE
• The narrative tone is casual, conversational and light-hearted, as in Munro’s ‘Face’.
• Pace of narration is initially fast, when the narrator sketches his wife’s past, but slows down
when Robert arrives – use of ‘etc.’ shows that the narrator is trying to rush through details,
hence fast pace of narration: “So okay. I‘m saying that at the end of the summer she let the
blind man run his hands over her face, said good-bye to him, married her childhood etc.”; “But
she was in love with the guy, and he was in love with her, etc.” – Tone emulates a story being
told rather than written, e.g. use of such conversation markers as “Anyway” and “So okay.” or
phrases like “that sort of thing” which one would normally use in a casual conversation but not
in a written text.
• Sarcastic humour: “But instead of dying, she got sick. She threw up. Her officer—why should he
have a name? he was the childhood sweetheart, and what more does he want?—came home
from somewhere, found her, and called the ambulance.”; “Over the years, she put all kinds of
stuff on tapes and sent the tapes off lickety-split.”; “Now let us pray, I said, and the blind man
lowered his head. My wife looked at me, her mouth agape. ―Pray the phone won‘t ring and
the food doesn‘t get cold, I said.”

7. 5. TYPE OF SHORT STORY
• Cryptic/Ludic: the meaning to be deciphered lies beneath
an apparently straightforward text.

8. 6. LANGUAGE
• Simple, mostly monosyllabic and disyllabic words used, as well as short and simple sentence
constructions – short forms such as ‘didn’t’ and one word sentences such as “Spiffy.”; “Creepy.”
used extensively. This creates the fast pace of narration - especially in the beginning of the story
when the narrator sketches his wife’s past - as well as the conversational tone.
• Use of colloquialism: e.g. “What the hell!”
• Sequence of short sentences every now and then to create fast pace of narration: e.g. “We dug
in. We ate everything there was to eat on the table. We ate like there was no tomorrow. We
didn‘t talk. We ate. We scarfed. We grazed the table. We were into serious eating.”
• Use of punctuation marks to create fast pace of narration as well as provide insight into
narrator’s thoughts and emotions: “They talked of things that had happened to them—to
them!—these past ten years. I waited in vain to hear my name on my wife‘s sweet lips: ―And
then my dear husband came into my life—something like that. But I heard nothing of the sort.
More talk of Robert.” – short phrases (not even complete sentences) often used.

9. 7. TYPE OF PLOT & TIME FRAME
• Linear narration, except for a brief account of the wife’s past (not a flashback, though – does not come
from the memory of the narrator but rather a story within a story.
• Follows short story convention about plot; i.e. story about a brief moment in the life of the character –
limited time frame; short time period. (same as ‘A Cup of Tea’).
• Rather static plot, not much in terms of action – same as ‘A Cup of Tea’.

10. 8. THEMES
• Theme of Otherness: The concept of Otherness is often explored as a theme in literature, providing a lens
through which individuals and societies may come to accept differences of all kinds and thus break down
constructive social ideals that alienate minorities – differences pertaining to socio-economic class, race,
gender (gender minorities = LGBT), ethnicity, colour, physical differences or disability – This theme is
explored in ‘Desiree’s Baby’ (the baby’s African genes), ‘Face’ (the narrator’s birthmark), ‘Cathedral’
(Robert’s blindness) and to some extent even ‘A Cup of Tea’ (given the probability that Philip might have
deliberately praised the girl’s beauty so that Rosemary gives up on the idea of having her around the
house) – the idea is that it is a natural human tendency, but also a form of social conditioning, for
humans to fear and despise all those who are ‘different’.
- In ‘Cathedral’, not only is the narrator prejudiced against blind people, but his wife seems to have a
colour bias as well:
―Was his wife a Negro? I asked.
―Are you crazy? my wife said. ―Have you just flipped or something? She picked up a potato. I
saw it hit the floor, then roll under the stove. ―What‘s wrong with you? she said. ―Are you drunk?
―I‘m just asking, I said.

11. 8. THEMES
• Theme of Physicality: intense focus on the physical body or environment, the physical features of oneself
or of someone else, or focus on the needs of the body - Recurrent theme in ‘Desiree’s Baby’ and ‘Face’.
• In ‘Cathedral’, the narrator not only focuses on Robert’s physical appearance (elaborate descriptions and
observations) and disability; he also seems fixated on his wife’s body, hence being possessive and jealous:
- “On her last day in the office, the blind man asked if he could touch her face. She agreed to this. She told me he
touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose—even her neck! She never forgot it. She even tried to write a
poem about it.”
- “In the poem, she talked about what she had felt at the time, about what went through her mind when the blind man
touched her nose and lips.”

12. 8. THEMES
• Theme of Physicality:
- To the narrator, being in love with someone seems to entail merely appreciating and being attracted to one’s physical
appearance/ looks:
“They‘d married, lived and worked together, slept together—had sex, sure—and then the blind man had to bury her.
All this without his having ever seen what the goddamned woman looked like. It was beyond my understanding.
Hearing this, I felt sorry for the blind man for a little bit. And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this
woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one.
A woman who could go on day after day and never receive the smallest compliment from her beloved. A woman
whose husband could never read the expression on her face, be it misery or something better. Someone who could
wear makeup or not—what difference to him? She could if she wanted, wear green eye-shadow around one eye, a
straight pin in her nostril, yellow slacks, and purple shoes, no matter. And then to slip off into death, the blind man‘s
hand on her hand, his blind eyes streaming tears— I‘m imagining now—her last thought maybe this: that he never
even knew what she looked like, and she on an express to the grave.”
“My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feeling she didn‘t like what she saw. I
shrugged.”

13. 8. THEMES
• Theme of Physicality:
- Though he never expresses it explicitly, the narrator seems to be uncomfortable and insecure about his wife’s
relationship with Robert, particularly about the tapes, because he feels that Robert and his wife share an intimate
relationship beyond the physical level, a level of intimacy that he could not reach with her.
- Learning to see with the mind’s eye, the third eye – learning to see beyond the physical aspect, to relate to emotional
and spiritual aspects: the narrator fails to effectively describe a Cathedral to Robert, not because Robert is blind but
because the narrator himself cannot relate to the spiritual concept, idea or symbolism of the Cathedral:
“I stared some more at the cathedral before the picture flipped off into the countryside. There was no use… I tried
to think what else to say. ―They‘re really big, I said. They‘re massive. They‘re built of stone. Marble, too, sometimes.
In those olden days, when they built cathedrals, men wanted to be close to God. In those olden days, God was an
important part of everyone‘s life. You could tell this from their cathedral-building. I‘m sorry, I said, ―but it looks like
that‘s the best I can do for you. I‘m just no good at it.
―That‘s all right, bub, the blind man said. ―Hey, listen. I hope you don‘t mind my asking you. Can I ask you
something? Let me ask you a simple question, yes or no. I‘m just curious and there‘s no offense. You‘re my host. But
let me ask if you are in any way religious? You don‘t mind my asking?
I shook my head. He couldn‘t see that, though. A wink is the same as a nod to a blind man. ―I guess I don‘t believe
in it. In anything. Sometimes it‘s hard. You know what I‘m saying?”

14. 8. THEMES
• Theme of Physicality:
- In the end, the narrator gets over his focus on physicality:
“Her head lay across the back of the sofa, her mouth open. She‘d turned so that he robe had slipped away from her
legs, exposing a juicy thigh. I reached to draw her robe back over her, and it was then that I glanced at the blind
man. What the hell! I flipped the robe open again.”
v/s
“My wife opened up her eyes and gazed at us. She sat up on the sofa, her robe hanging open. She said, ―What are
you doing? Tell me, I want to know.
I didn‘t answer her.”
While earlier he was concerned about his wife’s leg showing up, towards the end of the story, while he is drawing the
Cathedral, he is no longer bothered about her robe hanging open. The narrator has had a new experience: that of being
able to see with his eyes closed – difference between looking and seeing.
- Appearance v/s reality: even if he is blind, Robert can see much more than one would fathom. The idea is that one
should not judge by appearances. Disability is just a question of point of view. Though he is able to see, the narrator
could not describe the Cathedral to Robert. Yet, with Robert’s help, he is able to draw a Cathedral like he would never
have imagined he could.