Towards the end of Act 1, Catherine and Rodolpho are dancing to Paper Doll in front of Eddie, Beatrice and Marco. The conversation flows towards how Rodolpho could make money. They suggest cooking, singing and dress making but mean while Eddie is getting angrier. This is shown by him unconsciously tightly twisting his newspaper into a roll and suddenly tearing it. He decides Rodolpho has been flattered enough and stands up.
“What do you say, Marco, we go to the bouts next Saturday night” (page 55)
This clarifies Eddies jealousy towards Rodolpho and he is now trying to impress Catherine in his own way of showing his manliness. His question, directed at Marco, was declined but Rodolpho was willing to accompany him.
Eddie decides he should offer to show Rodolpho some moves.
“Come on, Rodolpho, I show you a couple of passes”(page 56)
Eddie showing Rodolpho how to box gives an idea of anger as the boxing is a result of his competition for Catherine after Rodolpho had been showing off his dance moves. Therefore, the audience get the impression that the boxing is not one friend teaching another but almost a fight between them to impress Catherine.
This idea reflects upon what Eddie considers to be manly as Rodolpho dances to impress, he puts on a boxing show. The boxing is to try to compete with Rodolpho and to do this Eddie feels he has to show his masculinity.
Rodolpho is a man who feels free to show his feelings and is not afraid to show his feminine side by singing and dancing but in the 1950’s this is thought of as a very homosexual act and at that time many people were against homosexuals. Eddies thoughts on this are shown when he tries to kiss Rodolpho after Eddie has been out drinking. Eddie questions Rodolpho’s sexuality when he’s talking to Alfieri.
“I’m ashamed. Paper Doll they call him. Blondie now” (page 47)
This indicates Eddies feelings towards homosexuality, and his thoughts, he is ashamed to be living and working with Rodolpho because of his femininity. Eddie then goes on to say
“I mean if you came in the house and didn’t know who was singin’, you wouldn’t be looking for him you be lookin’ for her.”(Page 47)
This confirms Eddie’s thoughts to the audience show that he strongly believes Rodolpho is a homosexual and it is therefore not right for Catherine to marry him. However, this also reflects back to the thoughts of masculinity and what Eddie believes the qualities of a man should be.
The kiss from Eddie is him trying to test the questions he has been asking himself. Rodolpho does not respond to the kiss. But, Catherine does.
“Eddie! Let go; ya hear me! I’ll kill you! Leggo of him!”(Page 64)
This shocks Eddie, he lets go of Rodolpho but tells him to get out the house. This was the final straw for Eddie as the tension builds between them.
Telling Rodolpho to leave also meant Marco would go too. However, this comes as no surprise to the audience as the tension and hostility between Marco and Eddie had also been growing before this commotion. At the end of Act 1 Marco had shown his strength by lifting a chair up by one leg and holding it above Eddie’s head. This may have been a challenge for Eddie and clearly showed Marco’s strength was far beyond Eddie’s.
The penultimate scene creates the most tension and aggression between the men seen through out the play leading to tragic consequences. Eddie’s frustration towards Rodolpho and Catherine’s marriage proposal was clearly obvious to the audience with his final plea for them not to get married by calling the immigration services on Marco and Rodolpho. When the immigration services come to the door and ask for Marco and Rodolpho they realise who has told on them and this is when the major anger and aggression starts.
After the commotion with the immigration services Beatrice and Catherine try to calm Eddie down by talking to him (page 82-83). However, this only frustrates him more
“You want somethin’ else, Eddie, and you can never have her!” (page 83)
This evidently shows to the audience that Beatrice also has her feelings about Eddie’s thoughts on why Rodolpho and Catherine should not marry. Eddie now has almost everyone against him and does not have much to loose. He has lost both his dignity and his family and feels the blame should be put onto Rodolpho and Marco.
“For what you said about me in front of the neighbourhood?”(page 83)
This shows how he feels about his status within his neighbourhood and again his dignity. Although Eddie’s main reason of hostility was towards Rodolpho not Marco, he now aims his frustration on Marco because of the previous scene in which Marco humiliated Eddie in the middle of the street. Eddie feels he has nothing left to loose and decides the easiest way out is to kill Marco. As he sets about trying to do this Rodolpho tries to persuade him otherwise.
“No, Marco, please! Eddies, please, he has children! You will kill a family” (page 83)
However, Rodolpho’s pleas get him nowhere and the fight continues out onto the street.
The fight turns from Eddie’s anger about the marriage to what Marco had said about him to their neighbours.
“You lied about me, Marco. Now say it. Come on now, say it!”(page 84)
Eddie is not showing his feelings about the marriage but about his dignity and significance within his community. The final straw for Eddie was Marco shouting;
“Anima-a-al!” (page 84)
to the rest of the street and refusing to say he had been lying. After saying this Eddie is on tenterhooks until he ultimately lunges at Marco with a knife but Marco being the stronger of the two turns the knife to stab Eddie.
The play portrayed how aggression and hostility can control and ruin lives. Manliness was a key factor that created the jealousy and aggression but I personally feel it may have been used too much by Eddie as an excuse of jealousy for Catherine’s love. Aggression and hostility were clearly shown throughout the play with much more obvious aggression towards the end of the play before the death of Eddie. Towards the start of the play Catherine was mutual between Rodolpho and Eddie but nearing the end of the play she sided with Rodolpho rather than with Eddie. For example, when Eddie told Rodolpho to get out of his house she says
“I’m going with him, Eddie” (page 65)
This clearly shows her siding towards Rodolpho and not so much Eddie. This creates tension and hostility between them in the house.
In conclusion, the audience sees that the tension, aggression and hostility between the males became so strong that the family falls apart with the tragic result of death.
