Architecture in absentia: “Cathedral”, by Raymond Carve

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-7726.2020.1.36394

Keywords:

Ekphrasis. Intermediality. Architecture. Comparative literature. Raymond Carver

Abstract

The notion of ekphrasis, either understood as a rhetorical device from antiquity or as a literary tool, is a (inter) medial procedure that enables the crossing of borders between literature and other forms of art, such as painting, sculpture and architecture. By making an absent edifice present in a literary work, ekphrasis is able to elucidate not only familiar built environments, but also places never seen before. As it is the case of the short story “Cathedral” (1980), by Raymond Carver. The symbolism aroused by effort of the atheist narrator to make a blind character see a religious architectural construction streamed by a television documentary through a drawing has been read as a turning point in the author’s bitter pessimism. Departing from the notion of architecture as a medial phenomenon (VIEIRA, 2017) along with the study on the transfer of medial characteristics among dissimilar media (ELLESTRÖM, 2010, 2014, 2017), the aim of this paper is to discuss how the medium architecture is made present (or not) in the short story “Cathedral”.

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References

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Published

2020-04-28

How to Cite

Vieira, M. de P. (2020). Architecture in absentia: “Cathedral”, by Raymond Carve. Letras De Hoje, 55(1), e36394. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-7726.2020.1.36394

Issue

Vol. 55 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Qual é a amplitude da literatura quando a palavra lit. se espalha pelas artes?

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