The story opens as the narrator explains that "the blind man" is on his way from Connecticut, where "he was visiting the dead wife's relatives," and that the narrator's wife has invited the blind man to spend the night. The narrator goes on to explain how his wife's relationship started, beginning "that summer in Seattle she [when] she had needed a job." The husband seems suspicious of their relationship, and his tone is jealous and demeaning. He describes the blind man's situation with short, terse sentences; "He didn't have any money, either. But she was in love with the guy, and he was in love with her, etc." He almost seems to balk at their relationship as his use of "etc." depicts. However, the narrator's ignorance and his perception of the blind man's life is obvious. Because the narrator cann

These two opposing views of the wife's relationship with the blind man play an important role in the story. They help to justify, how the husband and the wife act toward the blind man upon his arrival. When the blind man first arrives, the husband goes to the window and watches his wife and the blind man get out of the car. When they come in through the door, the husband hides his true feelings about the blind man and greets him cordially, although he probably wishes he were never there. From this point on, the husband's actions toward the blind man and his thoughts illustrate that he does not feel comfortable with the blind man in his home.

The importance of the cathedral incident is twofold: for one, the husband has finally become comfortable with the blind man, but more importantly, he has allowed himself to experience something that he previously did not previously understand. Before, the husband was ignorant in a sense, unable to see the meaning of a relationship with a man who couldn't see. To him, it was pointless, and the barrier to the truth for him is built on his ignorance toward the matter. His ignorance at the beginning of the story put him on the outside of the situation: he is not part of the relationship between Robert and his wife's life because he cannot be. However, later when the wife is not as active in the story, and Robert and the husband begin to draw, the husband become enlightened. His is finally able to understand what his wife was feeling and finally able to open up to a new set of ideas that before were unable to flow through his mind.

Shortly after the narrator sets the initial tone, he cites an example that plays an im

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1121
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)