Published in Las Positas' HAVIK 2022:
"We Are Here"
Edition
As the famous scientist, writer, and actor – Stephen Hawkins – once said, “Quiet people have the loudest minds.” This went unnoticed by millions of people who were unwilling to take the time and hear what people with unique, individualized needs were saying. Some of them did not care. Others were not educated on the disability community and had a false idea of it. The fact is that each person, each disability, is uniquely different. When one can walk and talk, they may have a cognitive disability that may affect their ability to handle themselves appropriately. Or for others, such as Morrie Schwartz, they are highly sophisticated, yet they are unable to take care of themselves physically. In the short story called “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator is informed about a visit with his wife’s friend who is blind. The narrator has never experienced a person with a disability before, and that, unfortunately, interferes with him being accepting of disabilities. The story is in 1981, before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) got established in 1990. There was a lot of prejudice towards the disability community at that time, and it’s proven in the story by the narrator having an ableist mindset towards Robert in thoughts and comments he makes behind Robert’s back. How was ableism in the 1980’s for the disabled community? How has it transformed throughout the years? “Cathedral” exposes ableism and challenges the reader’s thinking on how to deal with the disabled community and how to handle ableism more appropriately.
First and foremost, the narrator in “Cathedral” came across as ableist in the beginning of the story. The narrator states that he was not looking forward to the visit of Robert’s, who is blind. He adds that: “… his [SIC] being blind bothered me” (Carver 1). This raised the question: how did people act in the 1980’s before the ADA law when a person was in the presence of an individual with a disability? To answer this, in the article called “Disability Studies, Disabled People and the Struggle for Inclusion” by Mike Olivera and Colin Barnes, the authors explain how the disabled community struggles to be accepted in the society. The authors state, “’Mainstream sociology has historically shown little interest in the issue of disability…’” (549). People who were able-bodied had a very little interest in the disabled community. The disabled community’s issues, such as accessibility, were not considered in a decision before 1990. They had no voice in the society. People who were disabled hoped that they met into more understanding able-bodied individuals versus those who were not. Thus, the narrator was not educated or properly exposed to people with disabilities. He didn’t know any better. He was following a misguided idea that the able-bodied community was suggesting. Due to this, he was being ableist by just following the stories that were being told and implying them on Robert before he could be proven wrong.
In addition to the narrator’s original comment about how blindness bothered him, he was still ableist. The narrator downgrades Robert and scrutinizes him as something that he was disgusted by: “… he didn’t use a cane and he didn’t wear dark glasses… Fact was, I wish he had a pair… the pupils seemed to move around in the sockets without his knowing it or being able to stop it. Creepy” (Carver 5). Since the story was written in 1981, the narrator was not exposed to people with unique, different needs. Therefore, some may fall curious about the impact in an able-bodied individual’s childhood for the disabled community. In the article called “‘They Never Pass Me the Ball’: Exposing Ableism Through the Leisure Experiences of Disabled Children, Young People and Their Families” by Nick Hodgea and Katherine Runswick-Cole, the article states that the disabled children have to constantly work on their skills to be “normal” (3). The leisure time for children with disabilities are often overlooked and overridden by having to practice to “fit in.” Thus, the narrator is not well versed in the disabled community because he never saw it as a kid. This has cost him many opportunities to get to know some amazing people with disabilities. Robert forced the narrator’s eyes opened in his adulthood; meanwhile, this has prevented him being more open minded and accepting of others in his childhood and part of his adulthood before he met Robert. Yes, it is important for kids with disabilities to practice their skills, yet not at the expense of acceptance from the “mainstream,” able-bodied community.
While “Cathedral” comes from a place of fiction, the story’s meaning is true. Ableism is in the daily life for so many people. In “Cathedral,” Robert is the victim of ableism by a man who is not willing to come into a situation with an open mind. This is a great reputation for millions of people around the world who get misjudged, unable to get a fair chance to prove themselves, and unable to participate and taken seriously in an educated, professional, or a leisure setting. The narrator has a difficult time with imagining Robert having a wife. When the narrator was explaining the scene where the wife was dying in the hospital, he couldn’t feel bad for Robert for losing his wife. Instead, he felt bad for the wife for marrying a man who could not appreciate her looks. The narrator was explaining the hospital scene where the wife, Beulah, was dying, and he described it as: “…his blind eyes streaming tears… [the narrator thought that Beulah had her last thought that] he never even knew what she looked like, and she on an express to the grave… Pathetic” (Carver 4). The idea of Robert being unable to judge his wife’s looks is ableist and narrow minded. According to “Outsider Privileges Can Lead to Insider Disadvantages: Some Psychosocial Aspects of Ableism” by Dana S. Dunn, it states that “…outsiders perceive disability as a negative outcome bourn by insiders, though in reality, the disability itself may not be experienced as a necessarily negative state” (Dunn 668). The narrator in “Cathedral” was not able to imagine Robert as a man. Instead, he felt sorry for Beulah for not receiving a compliment from her husband about how she might look. Since the disabled community was not common in the 1980’s and before, then it was not in the forefront in society. Therefore, the narrator never had to interact with an individual with a disability previously, and he didn’t know how to react to the news of Robert having a relationship with a woman.
While the narrator in “Cathedral” is ableist and the story is about ableism, it also offers a unique insight of an unusual connection between an able-bodied individual and an individual with a disability. The wife of the narrator is open minded and accepting of Robert and his life. From the very beginning and throughout the story, the reader sees an unusual – yet a real – connection and friendship between the wife and Robert. The reader is able to observe the differences between an individual who has an ableist mindset and an individual who is willing to accept Robert’s disability and his life. A good example of this is when she got Robert from the train station and brought him inside of the house. She was assisting Robert to get inside. The wife mapped the house out for Robert: “’To your left here, Robert. That’s right. Now watch it, there’s a chair. That’s it. Sit down right here. This is the sofa’” (Carver 4). If Robert was not able to get his position at the office for the county’s social department, then he would not have needed to post the advertisement in the newspaper to seek reading assistance. Before the 1980’s, job opportunities were not very common for the disabled community. In the article called “A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement” by Doris Zames Fleischer and Frieda Zames, it gives the reader the timeline of ableism. It states, “The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) provided equal opportunity for employment within the federal government and in federally funded programs, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of either physical or mental disability” (2). This is important for Robert because this law gave him the opportunity to work in a branch of the government. If this was not in place, then the wife of the narrator would not been hired as Robert’s assistant. Hence, if she was not hired then she wouldn’t have known how to guide Robert and the vocabulary that he needs to get his surroundings.
Although disabilities have been accepted in the 21st century, that hasn’t always been the case. “Cathedral” is a prime example of the acceptance process from individuals that can be casted to the US government. In the short story, the narrator had a change of heart and thought process when he was ending the story. The wife was not able to stay awake with Robert and her husband, so she fell asleep when she was sitting with them on the couch after they ate. The narrator was watching TV, and after a little while he started explaining the scenes that they were watching. He realized that Robert didn’t know what a cathedral looked like. Therefore, they decided to draw one together, so Robert could feel the shape of it. In the article called “Disabled Bodies and Ableist Acceptance” by Sarah Wanenchak, she states, “… [W]e are uncomfortable with disabled bodies that question or trouble our accepted, hierarchical categories of abled and disabled… We are far more comfortable with them when they perform in such a way that they reinforce the supremacy of those categories. They become acceptable to us.” Since Robert was able to break the ice with the narrator through conversations and actions, then the narrator was able to see Robert as a man. He didn’t see Robert’s disability as something that held him back in life. Therefore, he sees the world in a different light when the story ends.
Stephen Hawkins was right; the quietest people do have the loudest minds. They have an inner voice; banging to get out. The voice is screaming, sometimes too loud, yet it was not taken seriously for many years from the able-bodied community. “Cathedral” offers a unique insight of the disabled community and their challenges with ableism. Although the story takes place forty years ago, ableism is still happening today. It is an ongoing issue for thousands of people around the world. Yes, the government is better, and they have laws today protecting the citizens who have a disability. They also have organizations offering specialized services, such as Support Living Services, so a disabled individual could live independently in their own place with caregivers. However, Robert did not have all of these laws and regulations that the 21st century brings to people. He had to fight against the world to prove himself in an ableist society. Ableism has a long road ahead of itself for more change and inclusion with the mainstream community.
Robert is an outstanding example of how an individual can overcome an ableist world. It takes one person to influence change, and let’s hope that someone can influence change and acceptance more for ableism. Stephen Hawkins and Morrie Schwartz were living examples of how ableism is affected in the disabled community. They had to prove themselves in society because they had a disability to overcome, just such as how Robert does in “Cathedral”. Stephen Hawkins confirmed the Black Hole Theory. What if he was not taken seriously because of people’s unfair, ableist bias towards him because he used a chair and a communication device? Would the theory still need to be proven? What if Robert did not get his position at the Social Security County Office? Would applicants get misjudged if an able-bodied, white privileged individual was the one who was reviewing the applications instead of Robert? Ableism affects so many lives without knowing it from the mainstream community, so it needs a greater voice in the society. When one looks different, should they be treated differently? The society needs to rethink how to involve the disabled community more in the “mainstream” activities. So, will one reconsider how to involve someone with a disability more? “Cathedral” showed the reader a serious issue, and it is up to the society to act.
Works Cited
Dunn, Dana S. “Outsider Privileges Can Lead to Insider Disadvantages: Some Psychosocial Aspects of Ableism.” Journal of Social Issues, vol. 75, no. 3, 2019, pp. 665–682., doi:10.1111/josi.12331.
Fleischer, Doris Z, and Frieda Zames. “A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement.” Anti-Defamation League, 2001, www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/disability-rights-movement.
Hodge, Nick, and Katherine Runswick-Cole. “‘They Never Pass Me the Ball’: Exposing Ableism through the Leisure Experiences of Disabled Children, Young People and Their Families.” Children's Geographies, vol. 11, no. 3, 2013, pp. 311–325., doi:10.1080/14733285.2013.812275. Oliver, Mike, and Colin Barnes. “Disability Studies, Disabled People and the Struggle for Inclusion.” British Journal of Sociology of Education, vol. 31, no. 5, 2010, pp. 547–560., doi:10.1080/01425692.2010.500088.
Raymond. Cathedral. 1981, www.giuliotortello.it/ebook/cathedral.pdf.
Wanenchak, Sarah. “Disabled Bodies and ABLEIST Acceptance - Sociological Images.” Sociological Images Disabled Bodies and Ableist Acceptance Comments, 16 Jan. 2012, thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/01/16/disabled-bodies-and-ableist-acceptance/.