Eddie and Beatrice tell Catherine a story about a boy called Vinny Bolzano, to make her realise how wrong it is to betray your family. In the story, Vinny Bolzano reports his family to the Immigration Authorities. His family then viciously assault their own flesh and blood to exact their revenge. The story is important because it shows how the immigrants lived in fear. They know that it is quite risky for them to live in America illegally, and it makes them suspicious of the people around them. It also shows how they took the law into their own hands, that if you dishonour your family, they will punish you themselves. The story of Vinny is ironic too, because later in the play, this is the action Eddie takes, which tragic consequences.
In the next scene, Beatrice’s cousins Marco and Rodolfo arrive in America illegally, and travel to the house to meet and stay with their cousin. From the start, Marco shows Eddie respect, and tells him that they won’t outstay their welcome, “I want to tell you now Eddie – when you say go, we will go”. Marco makes sure that Eddie knows that he is seen as the head of the house, and that they respect him.
Rodolfo announces to the family that he sings, “I am also a singer,” and he sings ‘Paper Doll’ for the family. It is significant that this particular song has been chosen for the play. The song lyrics could be a hint concerning a relationship between Rodolfo and Catherine. It may also signify the relationship between Catherine and Eddie, “It’s hard to love a doll that’s not your own”. This line shows the way in which Eddie may love Catherine, but her love for him is quite different. Another line that is symbolic is, “I’m gonna buy a paper doll that I can call my own”. This symbolises the way Eddie wants to own Catherine. Another significance in the lyrics is the line, “A doll that other fellows cannot steal”. This shows Eddie’s growing jealousy and overprotective feelings for Catherine, and that he doesn’t want her to be with other men. The song was a very important choice for the play, as it provides clues for the Audience and creates tension, leaving them wondering what will happen between the couple.
As Catherine and Rodolfo grow closer, Eddie begins to resent Rodolfo more, “He gives me the heebie-jeebies”. Eddie is jealous of their relationship. At the same time, Beatrice and Eddie’s problems are revealed to the audience. When Beatrice complains, “When am I gonna be a wife again Eddie?” the audience realise that Eddie and Beatrice hadn’t slept together for three months, “It’s almost three months”. This heightens the tensions within the audience, because they realise that Eddie’s refusing to sleep with his wife as a result of his obsession with Catherine.
Later, Beatrice and Catherine talk about Catherine’s relationship with Eddie. Beatrice tries to make Catherine see that the way she behaves around Eddie may have been acceptable when she was younger, but it is inappropriate now, “you still walk around in front of him in your slip”. The audience realise that Beatrice is probably aware of Eddie’s feelings, causing tension among the audience, as they will wonder when the situation will be out in the open, now that Beatrice knows of Eddie’s feelings. She confronts Catherine to help her become more independent, but also to help herself. If Catherine marries Rodolfo, Eddie’s obsession with Catherine will disappear and Beatrice will get her husband back.
Eddie’s feelings lead him to Alfieri. When he enters, Alfieri comments, “his eyes were like tunnels”. This is a simile explaining that Eddie could only see in one direction, and that direction was Catherine.
Eddie consults Alfieri to find out if he can prevent Rodolfo and Catherine marrying. He thinks Rodolfo is using Catherine to become a legal citizen in America, “what about if the only reason for it is to get his papers?” He is trying everything in his power to keep Catherine to himself. He also implies that Rodolfo may even be homosexual, because he has blond hair and is a singer, “he aint right”. The audience become aware of Eddie’s level of obsession when he says, “I take the blankets off my bed for him, and he takes and puts his filthy hands on her like a goddam thief!” He continues to exclaim, “He’s stealing from me!” Eddie sees Catherine as his possession. This created tension within the audience, because it is the first time in the play where Eddie directly expresses how he feels about Catherine. The audience will be shocked by Eddie’s revelation.
In the next scene, Eddie tries to teach Rodolfo to box. Rodolfo lightly hits Eddie, “I don’t want to hit you, Eddie”. Then Eddie hits Rodolfo back, “watch out, here I come, Danish”. He tries to antagonise Rodolfo by calling him ‘Danish’ because he has blond hair. When Eddie hits him, Rodolfo staggers back, stunned by the blow. This causes dramatic tension. The audience recognise Eddie’s playful boxing as something more sinister and serious. Although their feelings aren’t being expressed verbally, the boxing is an excuse for Eddie to hit Rodolfo without any confrontation. Eddie is also trying to prove that Rodolfo isn’t a ‘real man’ because he cannot box. The incident is for the purpose of humiliating Rodolfo in front of Catherine.
When Eddie hits Rodolfo, Marco rises to Rodolfo’s defence immediately. This will elevate the tension in the scene, because the audience will be curious as to whether Marco will confront Eddie.
Marco then proves that he will stand up for his brother by challenging Eddie to lift a chair, “can you lift this chair?” Eddie tries to lift the chair, but fails, “Gee, that’s hard”. Marco, however, lifts the chair and holds it above Eddie’s head to show his strength and power over Eddie’s. It is a warning to Eddie that if has to protect his brother against Eddie, he would not hesitate to do so, and Eddie would regret it if he did. The dramatic tension is increased in this scene because, although there is no physical contact, Marco’s physical actions are a subtle way of threatening Eddie.
At the start of the second act, Eddie arrives home to find Catherine and Rodolfo have been sleeping together, and his jealousy turns to rage as he orders Rodolfo to leave, “get your stuff and get outta here”. Catherine protests, and then reveals that if Rodolfo leaves, she will leave with him, “I just can’t stay here no more”. Eddie reacts to this by forcefully grabbing Catherine and kissing her. Although kisses are usually associated with affection, this kiss is Eddie’s way of not only silencing Catherine, but also owning her. The kiss is to show her that she is his possession.
Rodolfo is enraged by Eddie’s behaviour, “Stop that! Have respect for her!” So Eddie responds by overpowering Rodolfo, pinning his arms behind his back and kissing him too. This kiss is not affectionate either, it is to humiliate Rodolfo and to mock him by suggesting he is homosexual. This is one of the points in the play when dramatic tension is at its highest level. When performed to an audience, the kisses would be a shock to the people watching.
Eddie’s next action is to consult the advice of Alfieri. It is in this scene that we see the extent of Eddie’s downfall so far. After being told that he has no power to stop Catherine and Rodolfo’s relationship legally, “morally and legally you have no rights, you cannot stop it; she is a free agent”, Eddie takes a drastic step and reports Marco and Rodolfo to the Immigration Authorities, which was regarded as the worst crime possible among their community. Eddie has sunk so low that he has betrayed his own family and his moral beliefs, reflecting the story of Vinny Bolzano Eddie told earlier in the play. He knows how he would be viewed if his actions were revealed, but his state of mind concerning Catherine causes him to act irrationally. This scene will also cause dramatic tension, as the audience will be on edge wondering when the community will discover Eddie’s betrayal.
In the final scenes of the play, the consequences of Eddie’s actions become clear; as the Immigration Authorities arrive eat the house to arrest Rodolfo and Marco. Beatrice immediately senses that Eddie is to blame, “My God, what did you do?” Marco also blames, and spits into Eddies face to show him that he is nothing more than dirt for what he has done. The physical actions cause dramatic tension, because the audience expects retaliation from Eddie.
Marco then publicly announces that Eddie is the culprit, “That one! I accuse that one! He killed my children! That one stole the food from my children!” Marco deliberately uses his children to turn the community against Eddie. By mentioning his children, everyone will sympathise with Marco, while feeling disgusted Eddie.
On the day of Catherine and Rodolfo’s weeding, a row erupts when Eddie attempts to stop the two women leaving the house, “Nobody from this house is goin’ into that church today”. This instruction infuriates Catherine, who exclaims, “This rat! … He bites people when they sleep! He comes when nobody’s lookin’ and poisons decent people”. Catherine is comparing Eddie to a rat, because he betrayed his family and then denied his actions to avoid confrontation and save himself, like a rat does when it bites people in their sleep and then vanishes by morning.
Rodolfo arrives at the house to collect Catherine, but he also tries to apologise to Eddie, “It is my fault, Eddie. Everything. I wish to apologise”. Eddie does not accept Rodolfo’s apology, “I heard enough”.
Beatrice tries to make Eddie accept the apology, “He kissed your hand!” but when Eddie does not listen, she decides to bring the situation out in the open, “You want somethin’ else, Eddie, and you can never have her!” Beatrice is directly addressing Eddie’s obsession with Catherine. She is trying to persuade Eddie to let Catherine go, explaining that no matter how much he tries, Catherine will never be his possession.
Marco then arrives, demanding an apology, “Animal! You go on your knees to me!” The dramatic tension mounts in this scene, as the audience can sense that something is about to happen between the two men.
Marco hits Eddie, who falls to the ground. However, Eddie produces a knife, which makes Marco quickly retreat. The level of tension at this point is one of the highest in the play. The audience will be in suspense as to what will happen next.
Eddie lifts the knife, demanding one last apology, “You lied about me, Marco. Now say it”. When he does not receive his apology, he flies at Marco, who grabs his arm, turns the blade inwards and stabs Eddie. Eddie dies in Beatrice and Catherine’s arms.
Miller uses dramatic tension to highlight the tragic decline of Eddie Carbone in the play. Miller uses a lot of physical contact in the play to create tension in scenes such as the boxing incident, the kissing scene and Eddie’s death. Eddie Carbone was a man of action rather than words, and this is reflected by the physical contact in the play. I think Miller was successful in building up tension for the audience, because at different points in the play Eddie’s behaviour would create tension and cause suspense. They are waiting for a climax in the play, so each time an incident occurs the tension builds more and more as they know the climax will be even more explosive.
Eddie’s downward spiral was shown effectively through the play. At intervals throughout we see Eddie’s deterioration and his behaviour gradually become more obsessive and irrational, as Catherine is slowly pulled further away from Eddie. His obsession with his niece ended with the loss of his life as well as his loss of Catherine. As a consequence of trying to own Catherine and keep her to himself, he just drove her further away. Eddie’s actions ironically caused exactly what he was trying to prevent, irreversibly losing Catherine forever.
By Shelley Whitehead
