Ritual de lo Habitual

Like Sam said, rituals are interchangeable with comfort and a sense of security that is essential to human happiness, to a certain extent. If we know exactly what we'll be doing, we have that to cling to, no matter how much the rest of our day varies, from strange to boring to bad. 
But there's a danger in rituals and too much comfort. The narrator is hostile to Robert because Robert is in a minor way disrupting his routine, which he needs to be happy and sure of himself, his life, and his relationship with his wife. The narrator can't handle a minor change because he is so set in his rituals, and this is more dangerous than helpful. We use rituals for comfort, but sometimes the comfort that we're searching after gets in the way of us attaining a higher level of happiness.

Rituals are, in essence, the basis of the character's status quo. As many people have said before, rituals are comforting, that they help people to cope with what happens in their lives. I would like to "dance" with this idea as I think that perhaps the psychological implications of the characters is deeper than simply coping. I said in class one day that people don't change, partly because I wanted to incite a little conflict in what was a somewhat-bland conversation. I also said that with the axiom in mind that people don't like change, that they like things to stay the way they are. We like things that are the same because that way, we know what happens, and will happen. We love to know because there is no uncertainty, nothing to fear or worry about because you already know the end. This is a huge reason we don't like change. Which also brings us to the man's disdain for Robert coming over. For years, Robert was simply a distant confidant and friend of the man's wife. That way, the man knew that the relationship wouldn't be physical--it never was beforehand and nothing's changing when it was just tapes--and it would be that way if the relationship remained purely tapes. If Robert comes over, what would happen? This question plagues the man because it breaks pattern and is unpredictable.

But sometimes, change is good. It gives a new perspective and knew expectations. Before, we feared and worried about the outcome of a new action or event; that's why we didn't like the new event. But now the new event is no longer new, and now part of the status quo we know, to a certain extent, know what will happen, putting our minds at ease. Also, new events open up our eyes to things previously unseen because we never dared to go out of our comfort bubble. When the man was helping Robert "see" the cathedral, the man sees Robert as more than a disabled acquaintance of his wife. He also is open up to the world of blindness and how it affects people and their ability to function and perceive the world. Rituals are meant for comfort and perhaps, in a religious context, to accomplish a goal. But sometimes, its best to create new ones and even break down some old ones to broaden our view, to be brought out of the shadow even if we may fear the light.