《大教堂》(Cathedral Raymond Carver 雷蒙德.卡佛)

每一个男人都在平静的绝望中度过一生丨刻小说的雷蒙德·卡佛大卫·福斯特·华莱士说：所谓小说，就是讲做人这件事到底是一种什么滋味儿。

作为读者的我们，阅读小说其实就像听一个人讲故事。

虽然钱钟书先生说：认识那只鸡下的蛋即可，何必非要认识那只鸡呢？这是钱钟书先生的幽默，但是在一种有腔调或者有气质的故事面前，读者多半有一颗想要认识那只“鸡”的热情。

著名书评人比目鱼先生《刻小说的人》就是这样一本书：让我们了解这些文学大家的生平、写作，以及你会从中看到一份受用终生的书单。

怎么评价这一本《刻小说的人》呢，或许，这是一本让不读小说的人，也能爱不释手的书。

比目鱼亲自绘制的藏书票，上面有一条比目鱼。

比目鱼，作家、书评人。

七〇后、理科男。

近年来先后在加州、北京、上海、香港等地居住。

小说、随笔、书评等散见于各种刊物。

曾创办读书网站“读写人”。

已出版随笔集《虚拟书评》。

这儿heyzher发现世界另一种可能∨年轻的海明威在咖啡馆里写小说是因为那里比住所更加舒适温暖；雷蒙德·卡佛只写短篇小说则因生活不允许他享受写长篇的奢侈；冯内古特会在二战题材的小说中加入科幻元素；大卫·米切尔则在同时使用古英语的小说中自创了未来语言；虔诚天主教徒奥康纳的小说让艾略特感到“毛骨悚然”；而因小说颇受热捧的波拉尼奥原本是位诗人……就是这么一群人，他们经历不同，风格迥异，但终其一生都热衷于雕刻那些属于自己和他人的故事。

他们穿梭其间，来到不同的发生地，遇到不同的主人公；他们刀法纯熟，自成一家，将故事暂停定格，以璀璨的文字打中你我的心脏，在小说史上刻下了自己的名字。

《刻小说的人》丨新星出版社∨比目鱼坦承自己喜欢不按常理出牌的作家，“怪异”反而增加了他对作者的兴趣和作品的魅力。

”他无法对作者的生平视而不见，还发现作者的经历往往是通向他们作品的一把钥匙。

书中的第一章《患者肖像》把冯内古特（抑郁）、奥康纳（残疾）、卡佛（酗酒）、陀思妥耶夫斯基（癫痫）、伍尔夫（躁狂抑郁症）、海明威（躁狂抑郁症）都还原为一个病人看待。

精神生态视域中的雷蒙德·卡佛小说杨春梅摘要:雷蒙德·卡佛是美国二十世纪下半叶的著名作家,在当代小说界极具影响力。

用短篇小说的形式,卡佛刻画了现代社会中底层小人物的痛苦人生,展现了这些小人物的精神生态。

在人类精神生态危机日益严重的今天,卡佛小说的生态文学价值得到了充分的体现。

从精神生态的视角解读雷蒙德·卡佛的小说,并揭示作品对于生态文明建设的现实指导意义,是本文写作的主旨。

二十一世纪是生态文明建设的时代。

随着地球生态危机的迅速蔓延和日益加剧,生态问题已成为现代人无法回避的话题。

几百年来工业文明的迅猛发展,一方面极大地丰富了人类的物质生活,另一方面却把他们赖以生存的地球生态系统推到了濒临崩溃的边缘。

在品尝自然生态失衡、生存环境恶化的苦果的同时,现代人惊恐地发现,生态灾难已经蔓延到了人类社会的精神领域。

与自然生态危机相比,人类的精神生态危机是一种内在的、深层的危机,其杀伤力并不亚于前者。

科技的进步和物质的丰富,给人类带来享乐的同时,也带来了生存环境的恶化和人类机体的退化;随之而来的,还有人类美好情感的消失以及精神家园的破碎。

在现代社会的虚浮表层下,许多人正饱受孤独与虚无的折磨。

在二十世纪下半叶的美国社会有这样的一个群体:他们是来自社会底层的“低级蓝领”;他们当中有推销员、修车工、清洁工、餐馆侍者、剃头匠等等;失业、破产、酗酒、家庭破裂、居无定所是他们中大多数人的共同经历,而痛苦、绝望、虚无则是他们共同的精神疾患。

雷蒙德·卡佛(Raymond Carver)就曾经是他们当中的一员———这位在奔波劳顿与精神困境中苦苦挣扎了大半辈子的蓝领作家,用最为真实的语言和独特的艺术手法,生动地再现了他所熟谙的那些小人物的故事。

用卡佛自己的话,“写这类被生活淹没了的人”———这就是卡佛小说的主要内容。

一、精神生态批评与卡佛小说雷蒙德·卡佛(1938-1988)是美国二十世纪下半叶著名的作家,在当代小说界极具影响力,曾被誉为“美国的契柯夫”、“海明威之后美国最伟大的短篇小说家”以及“美国八十年代后短篇小说复兴的最大功臣”等。

被遗忘的大教堂——浅析卡佛《大教堂》中的精神救赎
丘金雨
【期刊名称】《美与时代:美学(下)》
【年(卷),期】2022()3
【摘要】短篇小说《大教堂》是美国当代著名的短篇小说家雷蒙德·卡佛的杰出作品,他通过描写主人公与盲人罗伯特的初次交往,展现了现代人从自我封闭走向相互
理解和沟通,为人的生存世界照亮了一种可能。

昆德拉曾在《小说的艺术》中提到
人们变得盲目以至于无法看清世界的整体和自身,掉入到海德格尔对存在遗忘的状
态之中。

小说《大教堂》展现的正是现代人所遭遇的精神困境,我们只能通过自己
获取的信息来判断这个世界的真假、虚实。

视觉理性占据了绝对的地位,人们相信
眼见为实,以至于被眼前的东西所蒙蔽而不自知。

而卡佛通过主人公与盲人罗伯特
对于大教堂的视觉、触觉感知,借此隐喻,窥见了在科学理性之下,人的自我精神救赎。

【总页数】4页(P91-94)
【作者】丘金雨
【作者单位】广西民族大学文学院
【正文语种】中文
【中图分类】I20
【相关文献】
1.浅析雷蒙德·卡佛《大教堂》中的不可靠叙述
2.卡佛笔下的美国--解读卡佛的
《大教堂》3.雷蒙德·卡佛的文学语言观——以《大教堂》为例4.盲目与洞见——
浅析雷蒙德·卡佛《大教堂》的极简主义风格5.浅析雷蒙德·卡佛《大教堂》给人的心灵启迪
因版权原因，仅展示原文概要，查看原文内容请购买。

cathedral 读后感English Response:"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is a deeply moving and thought-provoking short story that explores the complexities of human connection and the transformative power of art. The story revolves around the encounter between two men, one of whom is blind and the other is sighted. Through their interactions and shared experience of appreciating a painting, they are both able to transcend their limitations and gain a deeper understanding of the world and themselves.The blind man, Robert, initially comes across as isolated and disconnected from his surroundings. However, his encounter with the narrator, a sighted man who is initially skeptical of Robert's abilities, challenges these assumptions. As they sit together in a cathedral, Robert asks the narrator to describe a painting that has been placed there. The narrator's initial resistance gives wayto a growing sense of awe and wonder as he realizes the depth of Robert's imagination and his ability to visualize the painting through his own unique perspective.Through the act of describing the painting, thenarrator is forced to confront his own narrow-mindedness and prejudices. He learns to appreciate the beauty and complexity of the world beyond what he can physically see. In turn, Robert gains a sense of empowerment and agency as he realizes that his blindness does not define him. He is able to experience the painting in a way that is uniquely his own, and this experience allows him to connect with the narrator on a profound level.The story ultimately highlights the transformative power of art. It demonstrates how art can transcend physical barriers and facilitate human connection. By sharing their experience of the painting, the two men are able to overcome their differences and gain a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.Chinese Response：《大教堂》由雷蒙德·卡佛创作，是一篇感人肺腑、发人深省的短篇小说，探讨了人际关系的复杂性和艺术的变革力量。

《大教堂》读后感论及自己小说的描写对象，雷蒙德·卡弗曾提及契诃夫——“我不觉得自己和别的作家真的有什么不一样，一百年前，契诃夫就开始写这类被生活沉没的人了。

短篇小说作家一直是这样做的。

”实在未必类似的。

契诃夫写小说像风格厉烈的版画，狠狠挥刻刀扎出底层人物生活的严厉线条来，人人像被生活钉上案板，将崩溃、已崩溃。

独看契诃夫每一篇小说，都能寻得人与生活剧烈的冲突，是要感觉被生活抽了响亮的耳光。

我看汝龙先生翻译的《契诃夫短篇小说选》，其中最不狠心的一篇《万卡》，小男孩做一天苦工，挨打受骂，写封信给爷爷倾诉，结果地址写“寄交乡下祖父收”，满心美好与希看塞进邮筒，睡觉去了。

这种触底的尽看，还要用希看做创可贴，冷心也来不及。

其余各篇看下去，仿佛途经生活屠宰场，人人在经历待宰的日子。

而卡弗的小说，真正是生活无声的“沉没”。

契诃夫描绘屠宰场，卡弗便描绘蒸笼与热锅，人在其中尚且死不掉，离崩溃也远，只悬停在一种艰难过活的状态。

唯一要做的、可做的，是拼命挣扎，寻一处透气口。

独看卡弗一篇小说，寡淡，无聊，病恹恹。

起初拿到《大教堂》，看辑录的头一篇《羽毛》，几乎不知所云，只记得独步花园一只孔雀，以及停滞的空气里一些零落荒凉的对话。

然而多看两篇，看到《保鲜》里连同冰箱一同坏掉、淌脏水的食品，一种凉意不知从何处袭进心里来。

不是从小说中，仿佛是自己的日常生活开了缝。

当年看罗伯特·奥尔特曼的《银色·性·男女》，只晓得看他如何将卡弗九篇小说与一首诗作神奇的排列组合，让本来独立的小说人物间相互联系，这是奥尔特曼擅长多线索交织的电影叙事技巧。

现在的体悟，技巧后面，是奥尔特曼对卡弗极深的理解。

看完整本《大教堂》，我发现每一篇小说并不独立，独立起来少意味，没意思。

连篇看下去，所有人物就在脑子里组成一整幅小人物画卷。

也以绘画做比，大约是简单勾线的钢笔画，轮廓精准，有点睛的几笔。

这所谓的“极简主义”，单讲卡弗形容词廖少的文体，若是看眼整幅画卷，人物形象丰富得一塌糊涂。

Two Blind Men in Carver’s Cathedral ——On Blindness and Insight between Looking and Seeing CatalogueI．Introduction——Why I choose the topic?II．The analysis of audiotapes——Who is the real blind man? III．The analysis of the cathedral——What is the true sight? IV．Conclusion——Blindness or insight?V．Appendix ——Work citedI.Introduction——Why I choose the topic?The short story “Cathedral” is a title story in the collection Cathedralby Raymond Carver [1]. The tale with a “zero ending”reminds me of Lawrence’s novel—“the Blind Man”that we have learned last semester. Surprisingly, there are so many similarities between the two tales. Both of them involve a triangle that a husband and wife in a troubled marriage get a visit from the wife's close male friend and in both stories the climax is the communion between the two men while the wife is absent. Furthermore，the two stories are characterized by an open ending: on the story level, it “leaves at least one major conflict unresolved”; on discourse level, it “calls for the cognitive effort on the reader’s part in order to communicate with the implied author or destroys the communication however hard the reader tries”.[2]However, in Carver's tale the friend is blind while in Lawrence's it's the husband. In“Cathedral”, there presents two types of blind men: One is Robert lack of physical vision and the other is the narrator, that is, the husband lack of insight. I would like to talk about the theme on blindness and insight rather than alienation [3] or the magic of minimalism [4], through the following two symbols: the audiotapes and the cathedral.II.The analysis of audiotapes——Who is the real blind man? “She wanted to talk. They talked. He asked her to send him a tape and tell him abouther life. She did this. She sent the tape” (53).“The blind man made a tape. He sent her the tape. She made a tape. This went on for years” (211).[5]Firstly, the audiotapes that Robert and the narrator’s wife send back and forth to each other represent the kind of understanding and empathy that has nothing to do with sight. The narrator believes that Robert’s wife, Beulah, must have suffered because Robert could never see her, but doesn’t realize that Robert was able to see Beulah in a nonphysical way—that is, he could understand her intimately. When he hears a bit of Robert’s tape, he says it sounds only like “harmless chitchat,”not realizing that this sort of intimate communication is exactly what his own marriage lacks. He is not literally blind, but he displays a lack of insight and self-awareness in many ways:At the beginning, the unnamed narrator doesn’t care whether this visit is important to his wife or what role Robert may have played in helping her through her suicide attempt and divorce. Then He talks about her suicide attempt and previous marriage in a coldly analytical way as if he can barely believe that it truly happened. He is self-absorbed and concerned only with how the visit from Robert will affect him. He can see with his eyes perfectly well, but he has difficulty understanding people’s thoughts and feelings that lie beneath the surface. However, Robert is totally different. Despite his physical lack ofvision, he is open to new experiences.[6]He is an insightful, compassionate man who takes the time to truly listen to others, which helps him to “see” them better than he could with his eyes. Robert and the narrator’s wife have been listening to each other for the past ten years. The fact that we learn exactly that the narrator’s wife is glad to see him, but since he cannot see her, their interaction is still maintain through the audiotapes.In fact, the narrator is blinder than Robert. But his blindness is mentally rather than physically. [7]III.The analysis of the cathedral——What is the true sight? His fingers rode my finger as my hand flowed over the paper. It was like nothing else in my life up to now.My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. “It’s really something, ”I said（228）. [8]Secondly, the cathedral that the narrator draws with Robert represents true sight. The narrator not only shares his vision with the blind Robert, but he simultaneously shares Robert’s inner vision. At the same time, they both share the spiritual vision of men who lived centuries earlier and collaborated to build the beautiful, mystery-laden Gothic cathedrals of Europe. Cathedral, taking hundreds of years to build, is best understood as the monument to people who find value and meaning in living. [9]Symbolic of faith, conversion and strength, cathedral is thekey to the redemption of the lonely and prejudiced narrator.The narrator doesn’t fully understand what happened when he closed his eyes and drew the cathedral, but he knows that it was an important experience and says“But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. It’s really something.”This is a redeeming moment in fact, as the narrator is starting to be aware of a brand-new area of life which can only been perceived with his inner eyes. The experience of drawing has opened a door for him into a deeper place in his own world where he can see beyond what is immediately visible.IV.Conclusion——Blindness or Insight?In conclusion, blindness and insight is a unity of opposites. The difference between looking and seeing is subtle. In “Cathedral”, the act of looking is related to physical vision, but the act of seeing requires a deeper level of engagement. The narrator shows that he is fully capable of looking but puts no effort into seeing anything beyond the surface, which is undoubtedly why he doesn’t really know his wife very well. The blind man, however, has the ability to “see” on a much deeper level than the narrator. True “seeing” involves a lot more than just looking. Try to see things in our mind’s eye then turn blindness into insight.[10] V.Appendix: work cited[1], [5], [8]卡佛, 雷蒙德. 《大教堂》 [M]. 南京: 译林出版社, 2009.[2]唐伟胜. 体验终结：雷蒙德·卡佛短篇小说的结尾研究[D]. 北京语言大学(2009).[3]周颖琪. 雷蒙德·卡佛短篇小说中的异化[D]. 上海外国语大学(2013)[4]孔锐才. 盲目与洞见——浅析雷蒙德·卡佛《大教堂》的极简主义风格[J]. 宁波广播电视大学学报. 2012(02)[6] Clark, Robert C. Keeping the Reader in the House: American Minimalism, Literary Impressionism, and Raymond Carver’s“Cathedral” [J]. Journal of Modern Literature. Fall 2012, V ol. 36 Issue 1, p104-118.[7]全家庆. Analyze the connotation of the blindness in Cathedral [J]. 读与写(教育教学刊). 2013(12)[9]沈慧. 论雷蒙德卡佛短篇小说创作主题的转换[D]. 华中师范大学（2012）[10]邱小轻. 卡佛笔下的美国——解读卡佛的《大教堂》. 四川外国语学报. 2001(1): 56-59.[11]张颖. 深陷精神荒原——雷蒙德卡佛短篇小说中失败者形象研究[D]. 上海外国语大学(2013)[12] Brown, Arthur A. Critique. Raymond Carver and Postmodern Humanism [J]. Winter 1990, V ol. 32 Issue 2, p125. 12p.[13] Peterson, Polly Rose. Psychological Distance in Raymond Carver’s CATHEDRAL [J]. The Explicator. 2012, V ol. 70 Issue 3, p167-169. 3p.。

雷蒙德·卡佛《大教堂》中的精神救赎作者：俞贤来源：《青年与社会》2020年第37期摘要：《大教堂》是卡佛最为成熟的作品。

文章分为三个部分，首先探讨造成小说世界中的主人公疏离的原因;其次分析救赎的途径，即打破禁锢、敞开心扉;最后分析救赎的目的，即“我”从盲人那汲取精神力量，建构精神家园。

从这三个部分出发探寻《大教堂》中温暖与关怀，选择合适的解读角度探究短篇小说《大教堂》作品的存在方式，从中揭示卡佛小说在波澜不惊的叙事下对命运的抗争和对人性的呼唤。

关键词：《大教堂》;解构;建构;精神救赎雷蒙德·卡佛是美国较富盛名的小说家之一，《大教堂》作为其最为成熟的作品，完整地体现了他的艺术理念。

小说不再单纯聚焦于事件;不再只是集中描写蓝领的失意人生和苍白生活;也不再是赤裸裸地展示生活中的“雾霾”和人性里的“灰尘”，而是将封锁的天窗开了一小条缝，让人窥见天空的星星点点，表达了普通人对个体存在的感悟，以及彼此交流沟通中所闪现的人性关怀。

一、精神家园的迷失与荒芜卡佛的作品让人感触较深的就是蓝领阶层的集体性疏离，这种疏离关系在个体生活的方方面面都有鲜明体现。

生活境况的窘迫，使人的生活元素变得单一繁琐而又零散破碎。

在这样的生活压力下，夫妻关系不和，人际交往受阻成为必然结果，进一步导致了自我的迷失堕落，精神家园的荒芜与贫瘠。

（一）生存现状的桎梏《大教堂》中的主人公“我”，是被生活的枷鎖禁锢的人群中的一员，生活境况的拮据、生存状态的苍白，让“我”将自己置身于封闭空间，所以导致了“我”的人际关系网几乎处于空白的环境下。

“我”排斥一切新鲜的、具有美感的事物[1]。

在“我”与妻子的对话中，可以得知“我”缺乏热情友好的待客方式，朋友也很少。

“我可没什么盲人朋友。

”我说。

“你根本就什么朋友都没有。

”她说。

[2]（P214）妻子相对意义来说是“我”最为亲近的人，较为了解“我”的交友情况和待客方式，妻子的这番话，无意中反映出“我”孤寂且自我的生活方式。

我们经受无聊无常，我们寂寞脆弱大教堂“我希望你们能吃点儿我的热面包圈。

你们得吃东西，像这样的时候，吃是好事一小件。

”——《大教堂》卡佛普遍写出了生而为人普遍的一种无奈，我们希望自己成熟、理性、坚强，却又总被情绪掌握，暴露我们在某时某刻十分脆弱的真相。

所有人的生活中都出现过这样的时刻：在应该表达支持的时候背叛（《维他命》）；在应该爱人的时候心怀怨恨（《软座包厢》）；在鄙夷的同时暗暗科刺剑（《羽毛》）；在假装坚强的间隙，为脆弱的瞬间真实地悲伤（《发烧》）。

还有最根本的是，来自生活无常的直接扫荡：老夫老妻重归于好却无处安顿（《瑟夫的房子》）；等待机会吃生日蛋糕西凯努瓦县的儿子永远地死去（《好事一小件》）；爱情就算以婚姻的名义贴上保质期，但负责保质的冰箱也就是生活习惯本身会突如其来地坏掉，失业的丈夫再难离开他母亲消磨时光的沙发（《保鲜》）；在复仇后，一个人也可以马上耗用无聊马上的生活，恢复拘谨的性格，在等待火车之时催促时针（《火车》）；你那样爱与保护的谷仓，其他人可以毫不关心，在《马笼头》中，醉酒的人怂恿他进行危险的跳水，着急的妻子劝阻无用，他因脑部受伤后神志不清也无暇顾忌曾经心爱并投入巨资的马笼头，在搬家时被妻子革在身后。

《大教堂》是卡佛创作于1982年到1983年间的小说集另外我们其实很难平衡爱与偏见：一方面爱酒，一方面也爱妻子，当爱酒变为酗酒时，妻子主动背弃他在对比下主动显得轻微的爱，而他无能为力，就像何人将被堵住的耳朵怎么办（《小心》）；当他歧视盲人，故意将遮蔽妻子肉体的衣服撩开，装作讥刺盲人看不见时，盲人也通过自己的方式让他明白，他对清清楚楚塑造在他眼前的事物有多么无知（《大教堂》）。

在《发烧》中，深爱的妻子和情人即他的同事正大光明地私奔，而他为了自尊心不能整体表现得受伤、颓靡，不可以让人看出来他受到人会了极大的打击仿佛失去了爱的能力。

生活还得继续，尊严必须保持，开学后他需要回校正常上课，然后寻找一个布齐的保姆照看两个年幼的孩子是当务之急，他不独断专行自己悲伤，为了成人的肩负着他一直坚持着所谓正常的作息。