Alfieri was born in Italy and came to America to study law. He shows that he wants good of Eddie, Marco and Rodolpho. He bails out Marco and Rodolpho. As Eddie betrays everyone, Alfieri reads his mind and repeatedly warns him “you won’t have a friend in the world… put it out of your mind”. We see that Alfieri wants to help Eddie’s family but also respects the law.
“His eyes were like tunnels; my first thought was that he had committed a crime, but soon I saw it was only a passion that had moved into his body, like a stranger”
In this quote, Alfieri describes Eddie's appearance at their first meeting, to the audience. Alfieri almost seems to fear Eddie as a paranormal beast. Alfieri truly believes that Eddie was possessed with, "passion that has moved into his body, like a stranger," and was unable to control himself. The passion that Alfieri describes is the passion for his niece Catherine. The passion, unreleased and suppressed in his unconscious was a stranger to Eddie's conscious self that actively denied any thoughts of incest or otherwise. This quote also reveals the style of Alfieri. Alfieri tells the tale of Eddie Carbone as if he is a legend. Eddie is described with dramatic and literary descriptions that are unusual in the dramatic form.
Tension between characters:
Arthur miller creates a lot of tension towards the end of act 1 in a variety of different ways. Firstly and most obviously, he uses dialogue of the characters to add tension to the play. For example when Rodolpho says “Lemons are green” a very simple and meaningless comment, however Eddie takes to this as Rodolpho mocking him, and so Eddie bursts with anger and frustration, feelings which have been bottling up inside of him throughout the introduction of Rodolpho earlier in Act 1, by shouting “I know lemons are green for Christ’s sake, I said oranges are painted I didn’t say nothin’ about lemons”. This proves to the audience about Eddies feeling towards Rodolpho aren’t that of love but of hate and resentment, by turning what was a normal conversation uncomfortable, and these new feelings are reflected in everyone else’s attitude toward Eddie.
At the start there is tension between Beatrice and Eddie, perhaps due to the fact that Eddie and Catherine are quite close. More tension is created by Catherine telling Beatrice and Eddie that she has found a job. At first, Eddie argues but agrees at the end.
The relationship between Eddie and Catherine seems very normal at first. Eddie is an overprotective guardian of his niece. However, through Eddie's actions and various clues from other characters, Eddie's romantic feelings toward Catherine are revealed. The first indication of Eddie's sexual desires is Eddie's delight as Catherine lights his cigar. The warm and affectionate act between nice and uncle has an obvious phallic meaning in this context. Alfieri also realizes Eddie's feelings during his first conversation with Eddie, who says, "There is too much love for the niece. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?" Eddie, himself, does not seem to comprehend his feelings until Beatrice clearly articulates his desires in the conclusion of the play, "You want somethin' else, Eddie, and you can never have her!"
This is the first time that Eddie seems to realize his true feelings for Catherine and recognize his own madness. But even when Eddie realizes his demon, the love for his niece, he is powerless to stop it.
Further tension is created after the arrival of Marco and Rodolpho, this time between Eddie and Rodolpho. This is because Catherine is obviously attracted to Rodolpho. Eddie becomes really jealous of Rodolpho and thinks Rodolpho is stealing her away from him. More tension is built between Catherine and Eddie when Eddie tells her that Rodolpho only wants the papers so he can live in America legally.
In the end of act 1 where Marco shows his strength to Eddie by lifting the chair with one hand, there is a lot of tension between Marco and Eddie.
Eddie's jealousy of Rodolpho causes him to betray Rodolpho and Marco out of his love for Catherine, but will not acknowledge this love. Because Eddie never completely denies his feelings to either Beatrice or Alfieri, but rather brushes them off, it seems he may be unconsciously aware of them. This unconscious knowledge of sexual taboo drives Eddie into a self-serving and destructive madness that he cannot control. Eddie's greatest fear is not Marco, Rodolpho, or even the loss of his name. What Eddie fears most is the disclosure of his secrets—he fears his own being.
Themes:
Family:
Beatrice, Catherine and Eddie are a loving family. Marco also loves his family who are in Italy. Marco comes to America so can earn more and send more back to his family in Italy.
By telling us about the character of Vinny Bolzano, Arthur Miller shows us how important it is to stay loyal and not betray your family.
Eddie forgets the very words that he made clear to Catherine
“Just remember, kid, you can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word that you gave away”
This quote reveals the irony and madness of Eddie's character. Eddie tells the story of a young boy who called immigration on his relatives. Eddie lectures Catherine about how they must tell no one about Marco and Rodolpho, the illegal immigrant cousins the family will be hiding. However, in the end of the play, Eddie obviously calls Immigration on these cousins, just like the boy. Miller sets up Eddie so vehemently against betrayal that his transition to the betrayer seems illogical. The set-up requires Eddie to undergo a drastic change, if not complete breakdown, within the play to make such a transition. The force of this transition reveals not only his self-destructive madness, but the deepness of his unspoken love for his niece. This quote also reveals that Eddie knows his own fate—he knows what will happen to him, but cannot escape his fate. Eddie watches himself make decisions he knows will not only ruin his reputation in the community, but also possibly kill him. Eddie may know the consequence of what he does, but remains powerless or too mad to stop it.
Jealousy:
When Catherine becomes attracted to Rodolpho, Eddie gets very jealous of Rodolpho. This creates tension between Eddie and Rodolpho.
Eddie also blames Beatrice to be Jealous of Catherine. Beatrice explains Catherine “you think I’m jealous of you, honey? But I’m not”
Womanhood:
In the Italian-American society of Red Hook Brooklyn, Miller portrays the women as virtually helpless and unable to affect the fate of their husbands or any male figures. Although much of the action centers on Eddie's love for Catherine, Catherine does not have a significant impact on the events of the novel. Beatrice, initially more outspoken than Catherine, also has little impact on the story.
The idea of what makes a woman or what defines a woman is very prevalent in the text. Catherine and Beatrice talk specifically about the terms in their conversation in Act I. Beatrice thinks Catherine needs to grow up and become a woman. To do this she needs to decide by herself whether she wants to marry Rodolpho. She needs to stop walking around the house in her slip in front of Eddie, and not sit on the edge of the tub while Eddie shaves his beard. The idea of independence or separation from Eddie is coupled with the decision to find another male to attach to, a husband. Catherine's attempt at womanhood is deciding to marry Rodolpho and follow his rules rather than Eddie's.
Homosexuality:
Although specifically articulated, homosexuality or what makes a man "not right" is a persistent theme of the novel. Eddie obviously identifies Rodolpho as homosexual because Rodolpho sings, cooks and sews a dress for Catherine. Eddie also questions Rodolpho because he does not like to work and has bleach blonde hair that makes him look more feminine.
Masculinity:
Eddie gives Rodolpho several tests of his masculinity. In the first he teaches Rodolpho how to box and the second, more blatantly, Eddie kisses Rodolpho on the lips. This kiss is a sign of Eddie's own suppressed homosexual feelings, an easy parallel with his kiss with Catherine. The sexuality of Rodolpho or Eddie is unclear. Eddie speaks directly to Alfieri about the specific things that bother him about Rodolpho.
Eddie likes Marco because he thinks he is a hard working man. Marco knows how Eddie feels about Rodolpho and shows his strength to Eddie as he lifts the chair with only one hand. Eddie considers this as a masculine act and also a threat in order to protect his brother from Eddie’s jealousy.
Community:
Community is a powerful context for the play; it dictates very specific norms and rules for the family that controls the actions of the characters. All of the characters are forced to reconcile between American culture and the Italian community culture that surrounds. The cultural and moral difference between the two provides great tension in the play. The tight community around them also creates great tension in the Carbone family because they are constantly being watched. The neighbours knew when Marco and Rodolpho arrived, saw Marco spit in Eddie's face and Eddie die by Marco's hand. The community is the watcher. Although Eddie takes a substantial turn away from the community by calling the Immigration Bureau, he still needs acceptance and spends his last moments fighting Marco for his good name in the community.
High Heels
For Catherine, high heels are representative of womanhood, flirtation and sexiness. She has just started wearing high heels around the community and to school and obviously enjoys the attention she gets from men. They are also symbolic as a rite-of-passage to womanhood. As Eddie strongly disapproves of her wearing them, Catherine purposefully rebels against her uncle every time she puts them on. The high heels give her sexual power over men—they look, stare and gawk at her beauty. Eddie thinks the heels are threatening for the same reasons Catherine loves them. Eddie is fearful that, if she looks attractive, some man will ask her out and she will leave the house. Eddie has a powerful reaction when she wears the high heels, as if she must take them off so they do not arouse him or anyone else. This creates a lot of tension between Eddie and Catherine
At the end of act one the family are all in the apartment. Miller creates tension between Eddie and Rodolpho with a boxing standoff. The playwright creates tension using many stage directions and leaving the audience on the edge of their seats waiting for the tension between the men to climax. This is an important part of the play because it helps the audience understand the characters and prepare for the events to come.
This scene reveals the character's true identity and their previously concealed anxieties. Eddie was once the man of the house and a patriarchal figurehead but he has now become an extremist, due to a loss of control over his niece and a loss of respect from family.
Tension is caused between the men because of the fight for control and Catherine. At this moment of the scene Eddie has just hit Rodolpho and Marco wants to get his own back by threatening Eddie. This is demonstrated effectively with use of stage directions, physical and facial:
“Marco is face to face with Eddie, a strained tension gripping eyes and jaw, his neck stiff, the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie's head”
This shows Marco is angry with Eddie and wants to show Eddie that he is also the man of the house and he will not take any more insults from Eddie.
Miller creates dramatic tension by using different dramatic devices such as stage pauses. For example, when Eddie has just insulted Rodolpho and there is a silence:
“Eddie [sits on his rocker]: Well, that's all I'm askin”
“Eddie reads his paper. There is a pause an awkwardness. Now Catherine gets up and puts a record on the phonograph-Paper Doll”
This is an uncomfortable moment of tension. Catherine breaks the silence by putting on Paper Doll, but it creates more tension by amplifying the friction between Catherine, Rodolpho and Eddie. Catherine also uses it as a means of provoking Eddie by asking Rodolpho to dance. This scene is a complete contrast to earlier on in the play where Miller showed Catherine to be obedient and respectful towards Eddie. This sudden change in Catherine's behaviour is partly due to the conversation earlier on in the play with Beatrice:
Beatrice: “You still think you're a little girl, honey. But nobody else can make up your mind for you any more, you understand?”
Beatrice is telling Catherine to become more independent from Eddie and this is why Catherine has changed so much by the end of Act one.
This scene develops the plot of the play putting images into the audiences heads of what is to come. The audience will get the feeling that a disaster will happen between the men. Miller does this by gradually building up the tension between all the characters.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Act 1 is a very effective close to the scene as it is packed with tension, making it gripping and definitely making the audience want to find out more. There is an incredible amount of tension during the chair lifting. The stage directions note that Eddie is sizing up Rodolfo, and there is a concealed suspicion. This is appropriate, as the scene becomes more exciting and tense during this dramatic event.