'The law is only a word for what has a right to happen.' Discuss the many roles Alfieri has to play in 'A View From the Bridge'

‘The law is only a word for what has a right to happen.’ Discuss the many roles Alfieri has to play in ‘A View From the Bridge’

Alfieri is a very important character in this play after all it is his story. The original pint of Alfieri is to avoid confusion and misinterpretation of the themes and plot. Millers previous play ‘the Crucible’ had many complex themes and ideas that when performed confused the audience and led to misinterpretation of the story. However as Miller continued to write Alfieri’s role evolved and took on other purposes. Miller got his idea for the play from a lawyer friend who had to deal with a similar case in real life, so in thanks for the idea he made Alfieri a lawyer. I intend to discuss the various roles of Alfieri and give my opinion and interpretation on them.

Law and Justice

Alfieri introduces to the audience two types of law and justice, the written law and community justice. Alfieri takes the side of the written law and Eddie takes the side of community justice. This turns into an ideological conflict between Alfieri’s views and Eddies ones. Both types of justice take place in Red Hook however the law is forced upon the community and so is frowned upon. The community frowns less upon the unwritten law that Eddie wishes to pursue against Rodolpho and that Marco ultimately takes against Eddie as it seems to be fairer, swifter, more brutal and seems to punish the morally wrong. Community justice allows Red Hook, a predominantly Italian community, to police themselves without outside interference and so therefore feel like a separate state to the USA and is if they are truly Italian again.

As I will be discussing in more detail later, Alfieri also uses the wording of his law to persuade Eddie to rat out Marco and Rodolpho to the immigration bureau. Something that he was so against at the start of the play. This in tern leads to the extraction of community justice against Eddie by Marco. So Alfieri ultimately turns from a figure of the law into a figure that incites unlawful behaviour, something a lawyer should be totally against.

Narrator/Chorus

The chorus originated from classical Greek theatre. It’s where one or more persons narrate upon ...

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Narrator/Chorus

The chorus originated from classical Greek theatre. It’s where one or more persons narrate upon the storyline, plot and themes in either song or speeches. Alfieri is like a Greek chorus as he explains the story, plot and themes as the story goes on. He offers the audience guidance and explanation and offers a valuable insight into Eddies Actions and decisions. However much unlike a chorus Alfieri actually gets involved in the plot and shapes the course of the story. In particular his relationship with Eddie is very interesting, it’s almost parasitical. Alfieri seems to live indirectly through Eddie, shaping his decisions and watching the outcome from afar, feeding off his passion as his own life is so passionless. When Eddie goes to Alfieri for advice, Alfieri suggests going to the immigration bureau, and that would be the only way of stopping Rodolpho from marrying Catherine. This isn’t very subtle of him and this ultimately causes Eddie to report Marco and Rodolpho. Alfieri almost certainly knows that this will cause Marco to extract revenge on Eddie. He also grants Marco bail even though he knows that he will only use this bail to extract revenge on Eddie. Alfieri would much rather see the blood spill than the family patch up their differences. Although Alfieri wishes to shape the action and cause the blood to spill he isn’t compelled to be a direct part of the action and holds himself apart as if he were watching above from a bridge.

Audience Relations

Alfieri guides the audience and gives them information on the themes and plot of the story. However Alfieri is an ‘engaged’ narrator and seeing as it is his story, his ‘view’ he could withhold vital information that shows his true relation with Eddie. However if the audience is sharp enough they can notice this relation.

On a less character based analysis you can see Alfieri giving subtle hints in his opening speech on the way events will shape out. During the beginning of the story Alfieri has quite a few interludes informing the audience of what is going on and the relationships of the characters. But in the second half of the story as Alfieri starts to become more involved, and starts to shape the course of the action he detaches himself from the audience to allow them to make up their own minds about what is going on and who is to blame. I also see this detachment as guilt like as he is ashamed of what he has done and so cannot face the audience.

Conclusion

In conclusion I see Alfieri as a very negative character. He can be compared in some respects to the ‘Weird Sisters’ of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. In ‘Macbeth’ The Weird sisters tempt Macbeth into murdering Duncan much as Alfieri tempts Eddie into ratting out Marco and Rodolpho, and in tern tempting Marco into murdering Eddie by granting him bail even though he is reluctant to ask for bail as he knows he will seek out Eddie. Alfieri seems to bring out the worst in even the best of people. Marco who is a man of his word and prefers to solve conflicts passively (challenges Eddie to lift a chair, where Eddie fails Marco manages to lift the chair above his head.) is incised into violence and breaking his word by Alfieri.

Alfieri ultimately turns from a figure of the law into a figure that incites unlawful behaviour, something a lawyer should be totally against. Alfieri is in a very good position to stop the violence however he chooses not to. Even the smallest pebble can change the flow of a mighty river if well placed. He says in his opening speech:

‘To meet a lawyer on the streets is unlucky’ however I feel that this statement is wrong and that it is only unlucky if you met a lawyer like Alfieri. Alfieri is in my opinion a Voyeurist. This is someone who lives his or her life almost second hand through someone else. In this case Eddie, but that Alfieri gets such a thrill from eddies life that he drives him to his death. Alfieri is not the good guiding character that you see at first glance but a very bad and nasty one.