The Gift of a Blind Man in the Cathedral In Raymond Carver's story, "Cathedral," a man's prejudices are overcome by gift of another man. The husband in the story receives the gift of seeing a cathedral through the eyes of a blind man. The true gift comes from the cathedral, which represents the prejudices of the husband and the open-mindedness of the blind man. This gift is the revelation that the husband experiences while he “looks” at the cathedral with his eyes still closed. According to Anatole Broyard “Cathedral” is “a beautiful play about a blind man who asks an acquaintance to guide his hand to draw a cathedral”. he has never seen. In the end, the two hands moving together, one guided by the other, come to resemble a gesture of brotherhood” (101). The cathedral represents a bond that is formed through the blind man's ability to break through her husband's prejudices. The husband learns a lot from Robert, the blind man, and he learns a lot from himself. The husband had a preconceived idea about Robert because he had no experience with the blind. He admits that his knowledge of blindness came from watching movies. The husband found it hard to believe that Robert had a beard, that he could tell the difference between a color TV and a black and white TV, and that he had eyes that looked (even though they couldn't see) those of everyone. The husband underestimates Robert because he made a judgment about him based not on his knowledge or experience, but solely on his ignorance. He fires Robert not only because his wife pays him a lot of attention, but also because Robert is different. As the story progresses, the husband's prejudices weaken and he becomes more and more impressed by the extent of this blind man's abilities...... middle of paper ...... d. The cathedral is the means by which the husband and Robert bond, and the husband receives his final revelation. In the end, the husband is really something when he sees with blind eyes. Works Cited Allen, Bruce. "MacArthur Award winners produce two of the season's best." Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 36. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1986. 103. Broyard, Anatole. “Diffuse regrets”. Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 36. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1986. 100. Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." The Harper anthology of fiction Ed. Sylvain Barnet. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. 1052-62. Johnson, Charles. “Writing this will take a while.” Contemporary literary criticism. Flight. 55. Ed. Roger Marowski. Detroit: Gale Research Inc.., 1989. 281.82.