A View from The Bridge Coursework
A View from The Bridge Coursework
Discuss the importance of stage directions in Arthur Millers 'A View From The Bridge' and what they reveal about the character of Eddie Carbone.
Stage directions are very important in drama and this is evident in Arthur Millers 'A View From the Bridge'. Stage directions give actors and directors character motivation and this allows actors to create believable characters and explain a characters actions and feelings. They also highlight characters emotions that are indirectly portrayed through stage directions instead of directly through dialogue. 'A View From The Bridge' has a lot of stage directions, especially when describing the main focus of the play, Eddie Carbone. When describing Eddie, the stage directions are prescriptive, in particular when describing his reactions to certain situations and to other characters. This allows the actor and directors to have a lot of information on how each character should be portrayed.
In this play, it is very important for the characters to be portrayed accurately so that the audience can relate to the characters behaviour no matter how irrational; this is why the stage directions are made so prescriptive. Eddie's character in particular needs to be understood fully so that the audience can understand his emotional reasoning and his obsessive irrational behaviour.
Stage directions in 'View From The Bridge' often make explicit what is only implicit in the dialogue. This is very true for the character of Eddie. It makes him seem more realistic as in real life people's actions often contradict their words. The stage directions make Eddie seem like a normal person with conflicting emotions making the audience relate with him more.
The Sicilian code of Honour restricts characters from acting in a certain way so the stage directions allow us to know what emotions they are going through.
Eddie Carbone is a 'forty year old, slightly overweight long shore man' who follows the Sicilian code. He is the typical presentation of a strong, powerful Sicilian male who is the head of the family but behind this persona lays psychological unrest that deeply disturbs Eddie leading to his demise at the end of the play.
Eddie and his family are a poor Sicilian family living in Red Hook, the poorer side of Brooklyn Bridge. However, Eddie and his family still retain the self-respect, which is so important in the Sicilian Code. This is evident when their house is described as ' clean, sparse and homely'. The adjective 'sparse' shows they do not have much and aren't rich, but the adjectives 'clean' and 'homely' show that they are not allowing their lack of wealth to determine the state of their household. They have dignity and take pride in what little they have. It shows Eddie has some degree of happiness and contentment in what he has. He is acting honourably to himself and his family.
However, the constant appearance of the phone booth shows that it represents an important part and it represents the inevitability of tragedy. It is a symbol of latent power and having it constantly present gives a hint of what the future brings.
Eddies family are important to him and he feels responsible for their well being as the head of the household. The two women in his life, his wife Beatrice and her niece Catherine are the most important people in his life but later in the play his division over the two women leads to his untimely death.
As Catherine's mother is dead, Eddie and Beatrice have filled the role her father and mother. Howver when Catherine greets Eddie, he is 'pleased and therefore shy about it.' Although their relationship at this point in the play is strictly familial, his response to her greeting seems to have the hidden undertone of a schoolboy crush. Normally when family members greet each other, they aren't pleased or shy bout it, as it is such a usual occurrence. Eddies reaction is more common in lovers or people that have feelings for each other and are happy but shy to be recognised by the object of their affections.
Catherine, however, looks to Edie to fill the role as her father. . When she is talking to him 'she sits on her heels beside him.' Catherine is nearly 18, but she feels comfortable enough to act rather childlike when with him. By sitting on her heels she is looking up to him both physically and metaphorically. Her love for him is completely innocent daughterly love and at this point his love for her seems purely paternal. Her love and admiration for Eddie is shown in that one single moment. This love for continues throughout the whole play regardless of Eddie's behaviour.
Beatrice and Eddie's relationship however, does not seem as close as Catherine and Eddie's. However when Beatrice is upset, Eddie 'touches her hand.' This shows there is still an emotional connection between them. Eddie still cares for Beatrice and even though the physical connection between them is weak but still existent at this point in comparison to later on in the book when Beatrice questions Eddie on why they haven't has sex for 3 months, Eddie is described as replying 'in retreat', showing that he retreats whenever Beatrice try's to get close to him. As the book progresses he becomes more detached to her both emotionally and physically. Eddie does love Beatrice in his own way but his latent desire for Catherine blinds him of all other intimacy.
Catherine seems have emotional control over Eddie without realising, she affects him in a way that his own wife does not. When Catherine realises that Catherine has to grow up, 'he is affected but smiles his emotion away.' Catherine's love for Eddie is open and innocent and it is purely daughterly love so she sees nothing wrong in expressing it. Eddie on the other hand conceals his emotion, in this instant 'smiling his emotions away', showing that his feelings for her may be more sinister, so he feels he has to conceal it.
Eddie has looked after ...
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Catherine seems have emotional control over Eddie without realising, she affects him in a way that his own wife does not. When Catherine realises that Catherine has to grow up, 'he is affected but smiles his emotion away.' Catherine's love for Eddie is open and innocent and it is purely daughterly love so she sees nothing wrong in expressing it. Eddie on the other hand conceals his emotion, in this instant 'smiling his emotions away', showing that his feelings for her may be more sinister, so he feels he has to conceal it.
Eddie has looked after Catherine since she was a young child and has watched her grow up and when he realises Catherine will eventually have to leave, he 'utters a soundless laugh at himself'. He is laughing at himself for not realising that Catherine will leave him. The adjective 'soundless' shows it is a sad, somewhat inward laugh. This kind of laugh is unexpected because as a Sicilian male, he is expected to have a loud manly laugh but instead his laugh is quiet showing that Catherine weakens him in all ways.
Beatrice seems to pick up on Eddie and Catherine's close relationship throughout the play and this is shown when, 'Eddie turns to Beatrice who has been avoiding his gaze.' Beatrice is jealous of Eddie and Catherine's relationship and she perhaps is afraid that if she looks him in the eye she will see how he truly feels about Catherine. Eddies eyes tend to reveal his deepest emotions in a way that his dialogue and movement do not. Alfieri's description of 'his eyes...like tunnels' and the description of Eddie's 'murderous eyes' at the end of the play show that Eddie's emotions do lie in his eyes and by avoiding his gaze she is avoiding the truth about Eddie's feelings for Catherine.
The inexorability of tragedy is evident in the stage directions even in the early stages of the play. This is shown when Catherine lights Eddies Cigar. As she is lighting cigar, it seems as though her actions are the catalyst to tragedy as the cigar is used symbolically. She is the catalyst of tragedy through her relationship with Rodolfo. The presence of smoke and fire suggests that the characters are to be metaphorically burnt in an emotional sense.
Miller's use of inanimate objects as metaphors is continued when Eddie is alone he 'takes out his watch, glances at it, replaces it, and stares at the smoke flowing his mouth.' Eddie's watch in this scene implies that time is taking away until the inevitable happens. As the watch is in Eddie's hands it is as though the events leading to the inexorable are also in his hands and the speed at which the inevitable does happen is in his control. Also the fact that Eddie is watching the smoke, which earlier represented metaphorical burning, coming out of his mouth, shows that he knows he is going to be the cause of the emotional burning and it is only a matter of time before it happens.
In the 1950's society, homosexuality was considered unnatural and immoral; this was especially true of the devoutly catholic Sicilian society. Eddie suspects that Rodolfo, Beatrice's cousin, is homosexual and uses this suspicion as a reason to dislike him. However, it is really because Eddie seems to think that Rodolfo is taking his place in Catherine's heart. This is portrayed when Eddie is 'watching as she (Catherine) pours a spoonful of sugar into his cup, his face is puffed with trouble.' Catherine's choice to pour sugar for Rodolfo but not for Eddie contrasts to earlier in the play when she voluntarily lit Eddie's cigar. She now seems to have focused all her attention on Rodolfo and with this minor action, Eddie's suspicion that Rodolfo is taking Catherine away from him grows immensely and he becomes threatened by the growing relationship between the two.
Even though Eddie does not trust Rodolfo, his family loyalty is very important to him so when his friends Mike and Louis insinuate that Rodolfo is gay, he doesn't verbalise his disapproval of their mocking, but he shows that he is uncomfortable. When they laugh at Rodolfo Eddie is 'uncomfortably grinning.' At this point in the play he is honouring the Sicilian code, because if someone insults his family they are indirectly insulting him. However later in the play Eddie disregards his family loyalty towards Rodolfo and embarks on a mission of revenge towards Rodolfo when he discovers Catherine and Rodolfo have just had sex.
Whenever Eddie is with Catherine, he loses control over his emotions and Catherine breaks through his tough exterior. This is evident when Catherine tells Eddie she likes Rodolfo and Eddie 'looks at her like a lost boy.' The adjective 'lost' meaning to lose one's way, describes how Eddie feels when he is with Catherine. He is unable to focus on where he is headed in his life. He is instead lost in his love for Catherine. The adjective 'lost' also suggests Eddie's vulnerability. The noun 'boy' shows that when Eddie is with Catherine, he feels like a young boy rather than the father figure he is supposed to be. Eddie seems to be controlled by his emotions in this instant much like a young child would be. Eddie's childlike behaviour is similar to the earlier description of Catherine sitting on her heel talking to Eddie, however now the roles are reversed and Eddie is the young child looking up to Catherine in admiration.
At the beginning of the play, Eddie is in command of his family and his feelings for Catherine, however as the play progresses, his command is slowly eroded. This is shown after an argument with Catherine about Rodolfo, Eddie 'in the presence of his wife makes a gesture of eroded command.' Eddie seems to have lost his role as the leader of his household. Whenever Eddie is addressing Beatrice he always seems to retain his role I the family. The verb 'eroded' to describe his command shows that his command has been worn away by just this one argument with Catherine, but whenever Eddie argues with Beatrice, he never loses his command. This is evident when he is arguing with Beatrice over the fact that they haven't been sexually intimate for three months. Instead of losing his command as he does with Catherine, 'he walks off', retaining his dominant role in their relationship. This shows that Catherine has much more of a hold over Eddie's emotions and like a rock is eroded, his role as the rock of the family is eroded by his unnatural feelings for Catherine.
This erosion of command continues when Beatrice finally openly asks Eddie when he is going to leave Catherine alone, instead of answering 'he turns, striving to retain his dignity.' This is the first time we see Eddie breaking the Sicilian code even though it was unintentional. Dignity is an important part of the Sicilian code and this loss of dignity is the first step towards his downfall as it is the last scene in which Eddie is in before his first visit to Alfieri.
Family was very important to Eddie at the beginning of the play and when Eddie tells Alfieri he think Rodolfo is gay he betrays his family. However from Alfieri's description of Eddies 'eyes...like tunnels' we know he is seeing everything through tunnel vision and the only thing he can see is how to prevent Catherine from marrying Rodolfo. He is again disregarding the Sicilian code and revealing family information that he wouldn't share with his two close friends Louis and Mike earlier in the book but he is now revealing them to a complete stranger. Eddies perception of everything has been skewed by his love for Catherine.
When Rodolfo and Catherine are dancing and Eddie is insinuating that Rodolfo is gay, the stage directions build up the emotional tension immensely. While watching the two dance 'he has been unconsciously twisting the newspaper into a roll...he has bent the newspaper and suddenly tears it in two.' The newspaper seems to represent Eddie's anger and as the anger intensifies he rolls the paper tighter and tighter. However as soon as he rips the paper in two, he has decided to let it escape and is now 'weirdly elated' as the tearing of the paper is an outer manifestation of his inner emotional turmoil. He then continues his weird elation by teaching Rodolfo to box. However this boxing lesson has a sinister undertone, as Eddie actually wants to hurt Rodolfo. As the audience knows about Eddie's intense hate for Rodolfo but Rodolfo thinks that the boxing lessons are simply Eddie's way of bonding with him, this is an example of dramatic irony and this builds up the tension. As they spar, the tension is continually built up and when Eddie punches Rodolfo he finally releases his frustration and anger on him and also asserts his role as the dominant male. Marco seeing that his brother is being threatened, challenges Eddie to a chair-lifting contest. The contest is a test of endurance and most importantly strength. When Eddie tries to lift the chair he can't but when Marco does he lifts the chair and has the chair 'raised like a weapon over Eddie's head.' This shows Marco is stronger than Eddie and is raising the chair above Eddie's head to warn him not to hurt Rodolfo as he could crush him like the chair could if Marco dropped it on him. Marco is ready to use violence if necessary. When Eddie realises this 'his grin vanishes.' Marco has literally and metaphorically wiped the smile off Eddie's face and with it the honour, dignity and power of being the dominant, Sicilian male in the house. The position of power switched from Eddie to Marco. This altercation seemed inexorable due to the two strong males living under one roof. As Eddie's love for Catherine grows so does his hate of Rodolfo and so does the chance of conflict between Eddie and Marco.
The loss of Eddie's role as the head of his household seems to leave Eddie unaware of his position. He has gone from being the respectful Sicilian shore man at the beginning of the play who both Catherine and Beatrice looked up to. He seems a shell of his former self, especially when described as 'unsteady, drunk.' When he returns home, he comes home to find that Rodolfo has been alone in the house with Catherine. He is disintegrating emotionally and is being destroyed by his fatal flaw - his incestuous desire for Catherine.
Catherine, whose love throughout the play has been consistent, is extremely upset at Eddie's behaviour but 'her sobs of pity and love break her composure.' At this point Eddie still has a chance to save himself, as Catherine still loves him, before he destroys this chance with a kiss and a fated phone call.
Eddie's change in character leads to a pivotal scene in the play where 'he reaches out suddenly, and as she strives to free herself, he kisses her on the mouth.' When people are drunk, their innermost desires surface and they do and act as they feel. Eddie's drinking allows him to finally express the latent incestuous desire that has been dictating his behaviour through out the whole play. With this one act he has broken nearly every rule in the Sicilian code. He has disrespected Catherine not only emotionally but also physically.
As soon as Eddie kisses Catherine, he seems to want to disguise what has just happened by trying to humiliate Rodolfo. 'Eddie pins his arms, laughing, and suddenly kisses him.' He tries to prove to Catherine that Rodolfo is gay, and he expects to humiliate Rodolfo but he ends up humiliating himself. He seems to think that by kissing Rodolfo he's distracting attention from the fact that he has just released his incestuous feelings on Catherine.
After the two kisses Rodolfo, defending Catherine's honour, fights with Eddie. Then when they stop fighting they are described as being like 'two animals that have torn at one another.' Miller reveals Eddie's character with this animal comparison because he is giving in to his inappropriate desires. He has reduced himself to a bestial level and is being pugnacious in his behaviour.
Eddie knows that he has finally lost Catherine. This is shown when 'Eddie stands with tears rolling down his face a he laughs at Rodolfo.' Eddie appears to be laughing at Rodolfo but the tears seem to contradict this. Earlier in the play when Catherine wanted to get a job, Eddie was 'near tears.' Also when Catherine admits she has to leave because of Eddie's disrespectful actions towards both herself and Rodolfo, Eddie's 'near tears' again. In both of those instances when Eddie is near tears, it is because he thinks he might lose Catherine. Now however he has let the tears fall meaning that he now knows that with his actions that night, he has finally lost Catherine forever.
The phone booth comes into focus again for the second time in the play when Eddie is talking to Alfieri about a way to stop Catherine and Rodolfo's imminent marriage. 'A phone booth begins to glowing the opposite side of the stage, a faint, lonely blue.' The phone booth and Alfieri have been linked to inexorability throughout the play. Alfieri's words act as a Greek chorus linking the phone booth to the inexorability of tragedy that he is helpless to stop.
When Eddie reports Rodolfo and Marco to the immigration, Eddie knows he has done wrong and is terrified. When Beatrice looks at him she 'sees his terror.' These stage directions at this high point of tension, Eddie is revealed as vulnerable with the word 'terror.' however the his real terror is in his feelings for Catherine and the fact hat they have finally surfaced.
He's lost his reputation by breaking the Sicilian code much like Vinnie Bolzano, the boy that Beatrice and Eddie talk about in the beginning of the play. Vinnie Bolzano also snitched to the immigration and by doing so he was disowned by his family and neighbourhood. 'They spit on him in the street, his own father and his brothers', this is also what Marco does when finding out of Eddie's betrayal.
By reporting Marco and Rodolfo, Eddie has broken the most important part of the Sicilian code, honour. He has dishonoured Marco and Rodolfo by reporting them and has dishonoured his neighbourhood by bringing the authority to them. Authority is disregarded in Red Hook and problems are solved without the help of the authority. This shows just how much Eddie's character has changed from his former self in act one when he found out about Rodolfo and Marco coming to live with them he said he would be 'honoured' to have them stay with him. He also tells Catherine and Beatrice not to talk to anyone about them , but now he has turned his back on that honour and is seeing things through his 'eyes...like tunnels' and getting back Catherine is all he cant think about.
When 'two men in overcoats' appear outside the house the audience immediately know that they are from the immigration bureau but the characters are unaware. This is an example of dramatic irony and at this point the tension is built up as the audience are expecting a showdown between the other characters and Eddie after finding about his betrayal.
Respect has been one of the key themes of the play and Eddie's blatant disrespect for Rodolfo and Marco leads to Marco disrespecting him in return. In Italy, spitting in someone's face is an extreme expression of anger, disgust and revolt towards a person, rarely left unpunished. 'Marco spits in Eddie's face.' Marco does this to show he no longer has no respect for Eddie at all and is disgusted by his behaviour. He is literally and metaphorically throwing all that Eddie has done for him back in his face. This spitting in eddies face is similar to the situation of Vinnie Bolzano. When Vinnie's family found out about his betrayal, 'they spit on him, his own brothers and sisters.' By spitting in Eddie's face, Marco marks Eddie as the man who has not only betrayed his own but also brought the unwelcome authority to their neighbourhood. If Eddie wants to retain any dignity he has to punish Marco or he will be completely stripped of any Sicilian trait he has left.
After this scene, Miller includes a 'pause of darkness.' The physical and metaphorical darkness shows that by making the decision to phone immigration and allowing his incestuous emotions to dominate, Eddie makes a journey into darkness. The tragedy must now run its 'bloody course' as Alfieri said right in the beginning of Act One.
When Alfieri is walking, he is described as walking with a 'certain processional trade.' People walking in the same manner as Alfieri is walking in this instant are normally people at funerals such as pallbearers. This is Miller's way of suggesting that something dire is set to occur and as the lights set on Alfieri, they rise on Eddie. This allows the audience to make the link that the death will be based around Eddie. He will either be the murderer or the victim.
On Catherine's wedding day, 'Eddie is alone in the rocker, rocking back and forth in little surges.' The visual image of Eddie's isolation is very unlike the family man earlier in the play. Also the visual image of him rocking back and forth is normally an image used to show people on the edge of sanity and this is Eddie's emotional state. The rocking is an outward manifestation of his emotional state inner turmoil.
Eddie is feeling intense emotions that he cannot control and his emotions are changing constantly. 'Eddie seems about ready to pick up the table and fling it ate her.' Violence is springing from his intense emotion. He has been reduced to a paranoid violent man and his cornered animal reaction and bestial behaviour is causing him to react on instinct rather than thought.
As evident earlier in the play from Alfieri's description of Eddie's 'eyes...like tunnels,' Eddie's emotions lie in his eyes. In the last scene his eyes are described as 'murderous eyes' and he 'cracks his finger with a strange sort of relaxation.' His tunnel eyes are now focused on getting his reputation back and his murderous rage towards Marco. He wants to return to being the strong, dominant Sicilian male he was at the beginning of the play. He seems to be unable to have a multiplicity of foci and can only focus on one thing, whether it is his incestuous desire towards Catherine or his vengeful rage towards Marco.
His 'strange relaxation' is because he now has nothing left to lose as he has lost the most important things in his life. Eddie is on the edge of sanity as 'little bits of laughter even escape him.' He is behaving like a madman much like the earlier description of him rocking back and forth in his rocker.
He has betrayed the Sicilian code and has lost his reputation and his honour. Eddie's demise, which was inexorable, finally happens; 'Eddie falls on his knees before Marco.' by falling on his knees Eddie shows the shame he feels for what he has done. He has finally submitted to Marco and him being on his knee is a visual image of his submission. He has finally given up his role as the dominant male of the family. This visual image contrasts to one earlier in the play where Eddie is standing and Catherine and Beatrice are both sitting showing him as the dominant male. Now, however, he has accepted that he has lowered himself to the place he is. The fact that he knelt to Marco, his final act before his death shows repentance as he is in a prayer like stance and may being asking Marco for forgiveness and being a religious man he may also have been repenting his sins to God too.
Eddies death at the end of the play links to the Greek idea of catharsis. Traditionally people believed watching tragedies was a cathartic cleansing experience. This applies to 'A View from The Bridge' as the force of evil is destroyed by Eddie's death.
The stage directions increase the audiences understanding of Eddie as his actions and eyes show things about his character that the dialogue does not.
The stage directions in the beginning of the play were few but as the play progressed and Eddie's sinister desire for Catherine grew, the stage directions became a lot more prescriptive.
In the 1950's, the time the characters lived in, emotions were normally hidden and everyone, especially men, kept their business private. For Miller to make this play realistic he had to incorporate that and this meant Eddie's actions had to reveal more about him at time than his dialogue.
Even when Eddie finally acts on his love for Catherine, he doesn't do it through dialogue, he simply kisses her. This simple action tells us more about Eddie's character at this point than dialogue could.
'A View From The Bridge' is similar to a modern version of a Greek tragedy. The central character is led by fate towards a destiny that could not be escaped. Eddie fits into the traditional view of a tragic hero. A strong character who is destroyed by a fatal flaw in his psychological make up.
The stage directions are vital parts of the play and without them the play would be in effective and the dialogue would seem somewhat misplaced. This is especially true of Eddie Carbone. He is a man of many layers and they are unravelled primarily through the stage directions.
