Loneliness And Escapism In Raymond Carver's Cathedral
The third reason why the main characters are lonely is because the narrator is escapist.
The narrator drinks too much, jealous of his wife, unable to adequately communicate with his wife, and unconnected to other human beings. In addition not only unconnected to others, but he also seems to resent his wife’s connections to other people as well. When “I” spoke of the impending visit by my wife’s friend: the blind man , he states that, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me” (Carver 32). “A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (Carver 32). Furthermore, when Robert arrived at “my” house, the narrator made no special effort to engage Robert in conversation. He preferred
to observe Robert and remain isolated. As the conversation lags, the narrator turned on the TV, which is not only rude but is an act that provided evidence of the narrator’s disengagement with his wife and her friend. This disengagement can be judged not only by “my” responses to “my” wife but also through the responses “I” reported “my” wife makes to “me”. For example, when “I” said to “my” wife that, “I don’t have any blind friends” (Carver 34), she answered him that, “You don’t have any friends” (Carver 34). Moreover, though the narrator is tired and jealous of Robert, he doesn’t want to make an effort to change it, he leaves his life as it is. He gets used to apartness and loneliness, he would rather have a lonely life than making changes in his life. At the end of the story, the narrator lost in his imagination,
The narrator drinks too much, jealous of his wife, unable to adequately communicate with his wife, and unconnected to other human beings. In addition not only unconnected to others, but he also seems to resent his wife’s connections to other people as well. When “I” spoke of the impending visit by my wife’s friend: the blind man , he states that, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me” (Carver 32). “A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (Carver 32). Furthermore, when Robert arrived at “my” house, the narrator made no special effort to engage Robert in conversation. He preferred
to observe Robert and remain isolated. As the conversation lags, the narrator turned on the TV, which is not only rude but is an act that provided evidence of the narrator’s disengagement with his wife and her friend. This disengagement can be judged not only by “my” responses to “my” wife but also through the responses “I” reported “my” wife makes to “me”. For example, when “I” said to “my” wife that, “I don’t have any blind friends” (Carver 34), she answered him that, “You don’t have any friends” (Carver 34). Moreover, though the narrator is tired and jealous of Robert, he doesn’t want to make an effort to change it, he leaves his life as it is. He gets used to apartness and loneliness, he would rather have a lonely life than making changes in his life. At the end of the story, the narrator lost in his imagination,