"This Beats Tapes, Doesn't It?" Women, Cathedrals, and Other Medialities in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral"
In this second case study, focused on Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral," attention is focused on the apparent contradiction between Carver and his critics' argument that his style is "hyperrealist," as opposed to the fact that at least this short story engages in complex representations and discussions of medialities. The blatant improbability of the final and crucial scene also testifies against the idea of Carver's "realism." This chapter also argues that the theme of blindness, which is well established in studies of the short story, actually covers other and more important dimensions, leading to, for instance, an interpretation stating that the idea of the mature Carver's writing as being more "humanist" and optimistic than the younger writer; however, this is definitely not the only possible interpretation. In order to show this, both a real woman and a cathedral as depicted in a TV show must be taken into consideration as possible mediating instances, in addition to the rather obvious role of the epiphany in the final part of the text. My main argument, however, is that "Cathedral" is first and foremost expressing anxiety toward mediation in itself.