A View From The Bridge – Coursework

Kayleigh Cartwright 10JGu Coursework

Alfieri comments that Eddie has “allowed himself to be wholly known.” Discuss the dramatic techniques used by Miller, which reveal the complexity of Eddie Carbone to the audience by the end of the play.

The play “A View from the Bridge” is set in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in the 1950’s.

The main character, Eddie Carbone, lives with his wife, Beatrice, and his 17year old niece (who he has brought up as his daughter) Catherine.

Eddie is a typical 1950’s man. He works as a longshoreman whilst making sure his wife stays at home, taking the role of ‘the little housewife’, and that his ‘daughter’ goes to school to get a good education.

Miller had put these characters into the setting he did, because the feeling of being in control and being ‘the man of the house’ is important to Eddie, and also Red Hook is an area in Brooklyn which has it’s own morals, and certain ways in which people act, and live their lives. The area of Red Hook is Italian-American, and therefore has very strict Catholic morals, values, and social conventions.

Miller uses the idea of Greek tragedy to give us an insight into what is going to happen towards the end of the play. Miller himself said, “Betrayal is implicit in the idea of tragedy”.

In addition, Miller uses Alfieri, as an equivalent to the chorus, and as a narrator to give the audience and even clearer insight into the play. He comes into appearance whenever a complex issue arises, to explain Miller’s opinion of what is happening. This is noticed in the very first speech when he says “in Calabria perhaps or on the cliff at Syracuse, another lawyer, quite differently dressed, heard the same complaint and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course.”

Eddie Carbone is a very proud and very strong-willed man. He likes to feel in control of himself, his family and his home, and because of this, he will not allow himself to be criticized.

In the beginning of the play, Eddie has a certain sense of family loyalty, as he and Beatrice tell Catherine the story of Vinnie Bolzano, and how “he snitched to the immigration” “on his own uncle”. He speaks about Vinnie with great disgust as to how someone can ‘snitch’ on their own family, but the irony is that Eddie does exactly the same thing when he calls the immigration. Although I think he knows exactly what he is doing is exactly the same as what Vinnie did to his family. I think he feels he is right in doing what he did, because he thinks he is protecting Catherine by stopping her marrying Rodolpho, but in fact, it only brings the two of them closer As the realise, marrying is the only way Rodolpho will be able to stay in America.

Eddie is a very possessive over his ‘daughter’ and becomes almost obsessed with what he thinks is her welfare, but clearly isn’t, and he is in fact jealous that he is no longer the only man in her life.

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He shows this in several ways before and after Rodolpho arrives to stay with them. When, at the very beginning of the play, Catherine shows Eddie a new skirt she and Beatrice had been shopping for all he can say is “I think it’s too short, ain’t it?” He then goes on to say things like “you be givin’ me the willies the way you walk down the street,” “I don’t want to be a pest, but I’m tellin’ you you’re walkin’ wavy,” “I don’t like the looks they’re givin’ you in the candy store,” and “with them new high

Kayleigh Cartwright 10JGu

heels on the sidewalk clack, clack, clack. The heads are turnin’ like windmills.” I think he is starting to show his jealousy of other men taking interest in Catherine even at this early stage of the play.

Eddies obsession becomes very clear to Beatrice when Eddie is desperately trying to prise Catherine away from Rodolpho’s attention. Beatrice doesn’t like this, and says to Eddie “when am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie?” and “It’s three month’s Eddie.” To his wife’s comments, Eddie just replies by saying that he is worried about his daughter because she is, after all a young woman, who has never had a boyfriend before.

In his eyes, Eddie himself can never be wrong in something he says, because he is typically a 1950’s man, and believes that the man is correct, and the women should follow.

Each of the other characters have different views on Eddie, and these views are seen to change, as they actually realise he is not the man they all originally believed him to be.

Throughout the entire play, Beatrice loves Eddie tremendously, as a wife would, and should love her husband. She constantly congratulates and compliments Eddie for the things he does, all the way to the very end by saying things like “You’re an angel! God’ll bless you, you’ll see, you’ll get a blessing for this!”

Beatrice comes over as a pushover, and that she would do anything Eddie asks of her, but in fact, she has a very strong willed, mature and stable character.

Beatrice feels as though Eddie is treating her more like a friend than a wife, because although things seem fine to other people, their sexual relationship is extremely unstable, and virtually non-existant. Beatrice actually tells Eddie how upset she is with their relationship when she says, “You want somethin’ else Eddie, and you can never have her”.

In the beginning, however, Eddie and Catherine have an extremely secure father-daughter relationship, and it just seems that he is looking out for her because he wants to prevent her coming across any danger (like when he mentions things like short skirts, high heels, and men looking at her).

Eddie makes Catherine feel like a child, and she obviously likes this feeling until Rodolpho comes into the picture at which point she then decides she no longer wants to be a child, but a woman, to get married and maybe have children of her own.

Catherine does go against Eddie’s wishes, making him feel disobeyed, but she obviously didn’t feel the hatred she showed, because as Eddie is dying she says to him “I never meant to do nothing bad to you.”

Catherine loves Eddie very much, but is surprised when she realises he feels the way he does about her and when his jealousy of Rodolpho is made clear. He obviously feels very mixed up because he shows his feelings towards Katy, and his jealousy, by kissing both Catherine and Rodolpho on the lips, to prove Rodolpho’s ‘sexuality’.

Rodolpho tries extremely hard to get on with, and keep peace with Eddie, whilst Eddie doesn’t seem to want to notice his efforts, but to just try to put him down, and not really give him chance. Rodolpho is very young and typically naïve. Because of this sense on naivety, Eddie seems to take advantage of his situation, without Rodolpho noticing what Eddie is actually referring to.

Eddie decided from the very first minute he saw Rodolpho that he didn’t look Italian and because he was typically young and boisterous.

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Eddie particularly didn’t like the fact the Catherine had put on high heels on in the house, just to make a good impression on a young man (Rodolpho) – EDDIE “What’s the high heels for Garbo?” CATHERINE “I figured for tonight- “Do me a favour will you? Go ahead.”

Rodolpho tries to keep peace the whole way through the play, just to keep Catherine happy, even after Eddie had ‘snitched’ to the immigration officers”

He has the instinct to go with family and cultural morals, but he ignores it through his love for Catherine, but he cannot make Eddie see that it is for love, not so he can become an American citizen.

In the beginning, Marco shows great gratitude, trust and thanks towards Eddie, because he has opened his life and his home for Marco and Rodolpho to be able to improve their lives. As the play progresses, Eddie starts to ‘take the micky’ out of Rodolpho by giving sly ‘digs’ as to suggest the he is gay, and as Marco is Rodolpho’s older brother, and in his eyes, Rodolpho’s ‘protector’ he automatically sticks up for his ‘baby brother’.

From the first time Eddie suggests something ‘strange about Rodolpho, Marco is constantly ‘on guard’ for trying to protect his family name.

Marco is clearly unsure about Eddie and his behaviour, and makes it certain that Eddie knows he isn’t ‘weak’ mentally or physically. He shows this on page 57, when he asks Eddie if he can lift a chair using only one hand. When Eddie fails to do this, Marco stands up, bends down, takes hold of the leg of the chair, and lifts in slowly above his head. Eddie seems quite intimidated by this, and backs down sheepishly, while Marco ‘bows in his glory’ and acts ‘Macho’ like he thinks a ‘real man’ should.

Alfieri clearly has high regards and a lot of respect for Eddie, because although he tells the audience the truth, and when he thinks Eddie is wrong, 9 times out of 10, he has something good to say about him.

Alfieri also always tells Eddie the truth, especially when Eddie visits him in his office about his problem with Katie marrying Rodolpho. He says “This is my last word, Eddie, take it or not, that’s you business. Morally and legally you have no rights, you cannot stop it; she is a free agent.”

Miller, as any author, wants the actor playing the character of Eddie to understand the way Eddie feels about his family and surroundings during times good and bad. An example of a bad time would be when Eddie and Rodolpho have their ‘play fight’, and as Rodolpho gets hurt, the whole family rush to his attention, making Eddie out to be the bad guy, and Eddie doesn’t like this as he feels they are betraying him, he shows this to the audience by screwing up a newspaper.

Eddie is obviously a hard character to play because his feelings are ‘up and down more than a yo-yo’ throughout the play. He is a very emotional character, but tries not to let anyone see his emotions as he wants his family to respect his authority, and he thinks that being macho and ‘manly’ is the only way they will.

Miller makes it as easy as he can for the actor, but because Eddie’s emotions are so complex, it is still hard to get to grips with his persona.

I think the part of the play that would be the most difficult for an actor playing Eddie would be when realises that Catherine is going to marry Rodolpho and there is nothing he can do about it….

BEATRICE – “She don’t wanna go out now. It’s too late Eddie”

EDDIE – “Suppose I told her to go out. Suppose I - ”

Kayleigh Cartwright 10JGu

BEATRICE – “They’re going to get married next week Eddie” (his head jerks round to her)

EDDIE – “She said that?”

I think Miller wrote that stage direction (his head jerks round to her) because it makes the reader feel the tension Eddie would be feeling. The anxiety, and the feeling that he now cannot do anything to stop this, in his mind, awful wedding, that seems to be the end of the world.

After that, Eddie then goes on to say that he thinks she is rushing into getting married, but Beatrice explains that there is nothing he can do to stop her, and indirectly tells him that he should have paid more attention to Catherine’s best interests, and not what he wanted for her.

The part of Alfieri is a very important key to the play “A View from the Bridge”. He is the chorus, but also has a part in the play – taking the role of Eddie’s lawyer, and also advisor.

Alfieri helps the audience to understand the complex views of the characters, and he gives the audience Miller’s view of the situations and the way he meant the play to be understood when he wrote it. Alfieri is needed to explain Miller’s opinion because the story line could be perceived differently by each person that read or saw the play.

Alfieri also gives the play a serious side, and gives the audience a chance to look at how serious the situation is, and not how funny it is that a man can make dresses, or that one man hit another trying to teach him how to box.

In a sense, Alfieri is the stability the audience needs throughout the play, to teach the people that this sort of thing actually happened, and that it isn’t just ‘a fairy story some guy made up off the top of his head’.

The only character in “A View from the Bridge” that speaks in correct, educated American English is Alfieri. Eddie and Catherine use a lot of slang-language, picked up along with a heavy Brooklyn accent. They say things such as ‘yeah’ instead of yes, and ‘stole’ instead of stolen.

Rodolpho and Marco have the typical ‘foreign’ use of English, by missing letters out of words, and using a singular word in place of its plural. Although they both speak this way, Rodolpho does more than Marco, as Marco is careful of his speech, and thinks about what he says before he says it, whereas Rodolpho just speaks without thinking.

Personally, I think the main problem in the play is Eddie’s jealousy, and his problem with constantly thinking he is being betrayed. He thinks Catherine is betraying him by marrying someone he doesn’t approve of, and he feels Beatrice is betraying him, by letting her go through with it.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching and reading the play, “A View from the Bridge”. It brought a different culture across that I had never experienced before.