Afterwards Eddie explains how Marco and Rodolpho will get a job here eventually and eventually have their own home. He then looks at Beatrice and Catherine and smiles at both of them. Eddie feels his shirt pocket for a cigar but moans aloud that he left it in his coat pocket. Catherine insists to get the cigar and goes upstairs to get it. Eddie looks at Beatrice and asks if she was mad with him lately. Beatrice in anger says that he’s the one who’s mad and walks into the kitchen to do the dishes.
Catherine comes in and lights up his cigar for Eddie. Eddie tells Catherine that she should help Beatrice with the dishes. Alone, Eddie looks towards the kitchen then towards his watch, checks the time and sits in the armchair. The lights go down go down and Alfieri (the lawyer who introduces Eddie at the very start of the story) comes once again on the stage. He says that Eddie was a good hard workingman. Then he introduces Marco and Rodolpho to the story. There are strains already present in the scene where we first meet Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine. When Catherine shows Eddie her new skirt (page 5), moreover when Beatrice hears about her cousins arriving she touches Eddie’s hand (page 8) but instead of Eddie comforting her he asks why she is so touchy, Beatrice replies by saying that she is just afraid that if it don’t turn out good Eddie will be mad at her. Towards the end of the scene (page 15) Eddie looks at Beatrice then at Catherine, he smiles normally towards Beatrice but when he faces Catherine a powerful emotion is on him. This shows that his relation with Beatrice is not good. Afterwards, when Catherine goes up to get a cigar for Eddie, Eddie looks at Beatrice and asks if she was mad with him lately. Beatrice in anger says that he’s the one who’s mad and walks into the kitchen to do the dishes. This shows that Beatrice is suspecting that something is going on between Eddie and Catherine.
The relationship between Eddie and Beatrice is not very passionate. It is as if Eddie keeps his distance from Beatrice e.g. in page 8, when Beatrice touches Eddie he asks why she is being so touchy. Eddie does not show his feelings and emotions towards Beatrice either. For example, in page 14 when Eddie stands facing the two seated women, ‘Eddie is standing facing the two seated women. First Beatrice smiles, then Catherine, for a powerful emotion is on him, a childish one and a knowing fear, and the tears show in his eyes and they are shy before the avowal’. However, we do see some affection between Eddie and Beatrice. When Beatrice panics about her cousins arriving, Eddie comforts her by saying that she has “too big a heart” (page 8, line 5 and 19). Eddie does not act like a loving husband towards Beatrice but like the man in charge of the house and that he is in charge. We see some proof that suggests this, in page 8 (line 17), Eddie is talking to Beatrice about him ending up on the floor because she has to big a heart, Beatrice calls Eddie an angel for allowing her cousins to stay. This shows Eddie’s role in the house as the man in charge. Beatrice says, “I’m just afraid if it don’t turn out good you’ll be mad at me”, this shows that everyone in the Carbone household live under Eddie’s rule. There are some clues that indicate that Beatrice suspects that all is not well between Eddie and Catherine. When Beatrice tries to get Eddie to calm down and eat before he hears the news that Catherine has been offered a job (page 8, line 38). This is because she knows how he will react. Probably she secretly already senses the relationship between Eddie and Catherine is too strong. Perhaps Beatrice wants to calm him down because Beatrice thinks that Eddie will get angry and say no straight away without thinking. Also Beatrice tries to warn Eddie (page 11, line 3). She says, “Look, you gotta get used to it; she’s no baby no more. Tell her to take it. (He turns his head away). You hear me? (She is angering). I don’t understand you; she’s seventeen years old, you gonna keep her in the house all her life?”
By this probably she means that Catherine is growing and understands more. Catherine is turning into a woman and has to take care of herself. Beatrice is probably trying to say that Catherine is going to feel sick as she grows older and realises how Eddie treats her, perhaps she did not realise it when she was younger. Arthur Miller shows the relationship between Eddie and Beatrice by the atmosphere between them and the way they act towards each other. Eddie does not show his love to Beatrice as a loving husband loves his wife. Beatrice on the other hand is a bit scared of Eddie as we see when she says, “I’m afraid that if it don’t turn out good you’ll be mad at me”. She also despises him and is very angered when Eddie protects Catherine too much.
The relationship between Eddie and Catherine is very different from the relationship between Eddie and Beatrice. Eddie loves Catherine almost like a lover, although he never really admits this to himself. Eddie is over protective of Catherine and wants to keep her as a child. Eddie asks Catherine, “Where you goin all dressed up?” (Page 5, line 13), in his mind probably he is thinking that Catherine is going out to meet some men. It also bothers Eddie so much that Catherine is ‘walking wavy’ he probably says this because he does not want Catherine to attract any men on the street. However, their relationship is more like girlfriend and boyfriend although they never admit it to themselves. Straight away and throughout the first scene we already see signs of the relationship between Eddie and Catherine. At the starting of the play, when Eddie comes home from work, Eddie sees Catherine waving to Louis, Eddie is pleased and therefore shy about it. Eddie gives Catherine a lot of compliments (Beautiful, its nice etc). He does this to please Catherine. When Eddie tells Catherine her skirt is too short it suggests that his feelings for Catherine are quite strong because he probably he does not like the idea of men looking at her legs. This is also evidence that Eddie is over protective of Catherine. In the first few pages we see that so far Eddie has noticed Catherine’s skirt, her hair, the way she walks, her high heels, the way men look at her and the way she waved goodnight to Louis. Some things are perfectly normal for Eddie to notice but some are a bit worrying. Noticing the way men look at her and the way she waved goodnight to Louis is perfectly normal because he is being over protective. However, Eddie noticing Catherine’s skirt, hair, high heels and the way she walks is worrying because it is like Eddie is more like noticing her body and Eddie noticing the way she walks is worrying to because it suggests that when he’s outside he notices Catherine’s movement and body in a perverted sort of way.
Catherine’s feeling for Eddie is quite strong as well. In page 5, line 14 Catherine runs her hand over her skirt when she is replying; this could suggest her feeling towards Eddie to the audience that she is sexually attracted to him. Also in page 6, line 13 Catherine becomes tearful when she realises she has not pleased Eddie, this tells us that Catherine wants to please Eddie and wants him to be proud of her. There are further evidence of how Eddie feels for Catherine by comparing the first meeting between Eddie and Catherine with the first meeting between Eddie and Beatrice.
The relationship between Eddie and Catherine seems to be more impassionate. Eddie spends a long time on Catherine’s appearance when he has such important news about Marco and Rodolpho arriving for Beatrice. This shows that Eddie is more interested in Catherine. He also tells Catherine the news before Beatrice. It bothers Eddie that Catherine is attracting men. Eddie gets paranoid with simple things like Catherine waving Louis goodnight, it is like he wants to her for himself. Although Eddie loves Catherine, he never really admits it to himself e.g. it is important for Eddie that Catherine stays in school. This will help Eddie to explain his feelings to himself if he keeps her as a child as he will see his feelings as making Catherine happy. Eddie also uses the fact that Catherine is his niece as an excuse because he raised Catherine and he has never had a child before therefore he thinks that this is how he should feel towards a daughter without realising that he is flirting with her. Arthur miller shows the relationship between Eddie and Catherine by both the feelings they are open about and the feelings they hide even from themselves. Eddie has strong feelings for Catherine. He doesn’t like any men getting close to Catherine. Eddie is over protective of Catherine it is like she belongs to him and no one else gets in the way of their closeness. He explains his feelings to himself by keeping Catherine as a child. By keeping Catherine as a child he thinks he loves Catherine as in a ‘daughterly love’ not a ‘romantic love’. Catherine on the other hand wants to please Eddie. She wants him to be proud of her and becomes very upset if Eddie disapproves of her.
Eddie is a good man, hard working, proud and generous. He is the head of the Sicilian household and is expected to behave with honour. No one questions him. We see examples of Eddie’s character when Catherine asks him, ‘suppose somebody asks if they’re livin’ here. (He looks at her as though already she had divulged something. Defensively) I mean if they ask’. Eddie orders both Beatrice and Catherine that even if people say they saw Marco and Rodolpho, they should never sat that they saw them. Beatrice replies that she understands but Eddie warns her again. Catherine finally says that ‘suppose somebody-’ but gets interrupted by Eddie and he says, ‘I don’t care what question it is. You don’t know nothin’. This shows that Eddie is the head of the Carbone household and no one questions him. Everyone in the Carbone household live under the word of Eddie, he is thus not used to having to compromise.
The culture Eddie belongs to is very superstitious. They believe that meeting lawyers or priests on the streets is unlucky. The Sicilians are also suspicious and distrust other people. They are over protective of their own e.g. it is the Sicilian code of honour to protect their relatives who arrive as illegal immigrants to refuge in their house. This could all end in tragedy as no one questions Eddie and he is the head of the household. When Marco and Rodolpho arrive it changes everything because Eddie feels threatened of being head of the house. Eddies feelings are too strong and his personality is too fixed. It is like Catherine belongs to him and no one gets in the way of their closeness. When Catherine falls in love with Rodolpho it is like Rodolpho has broken the closeness between Eddie and Catherine and so is driven insane with jealousy, which triggers the tragedy of the play.
There is some evidence that Catherine is starting to grow up. Catherine has got a job at a big plumbing company. Eddie is surprised that Catherine will get $50 per week, which is probably more than Eddie gets. This will affect Eddie and their relationship. Eddie does not want Catherine to go to work because he thinks that Catherine should finish school first, he does not like the neighbourhood over where Catherine will work and that the fact that Catherine will be around a lot of men in the plumbing company. This will mean that Catherine will become independent; she will not have to rely on Eddie as much as before. This will probably make Eddie feel as though he is not the ‘man of the house’ no more. Furthermore, it is important for Eddie that Catherine stays in school. This will help him to explain his feelings to himself if he keeps her as a child because Catherine will be dependant on him, which will make him responsible of her. Eddie will be needed to protect her from the outside world. Therefore, Eddie could explain his feelings by mercifully thinking that Catherine is still a child and needs protection from him. By keeping Catherine as a child he will be refused by himself to see her as a woman.
The arrival of Marco and Rodolpho into the house sparks of events that will follow because their arrival increases the tension in the atmosphere of the Carbone household. We see examples of this when Eddie seems a bit put out that Rodolpho and Marco are coming. He says, interestingly, that he fears ‘they’ll be in our beds’. This suggests that Eddie might have some unconscious worries that Marco and Rodolpho would take over the house or be sleeping with Catherine. However, I think that the tragedy would have happened anyway, whether Marco and Rodolpho came or not because Catherine would have fallen in love with somebody else anyway, either at work, school or from her neighbourhood. The outcome of the play is really prepared for in this first scene because the arrival of two men living under the same roof as a young, single woman would bound to cause some relationship between them, whether it be emotionally, attraction or friendly. Eddie’s feelings are too strong, his personality is too fixed, the culture he grew up within is too dominant for him to escape and so Eddie is blinded by his insanity and jealousy and gets rid of Marco and Rodolpho although he knows it will mean that he will be hated outcast from his community.
In conclusion I think Arthur Miller show the strains on the Carbone household in the scene where the audience first meets Eddie, Catherine and Beatrice by showing the relationship and attitude Eddie shows openly and intentionally towards Beatrice compared with Catherine, the way Beatrice and Catherine responds their feelings towards Eddie and how Eddie’s character is displayed as the man of the house and everyone who lives in the Carbone household lives under his rule and that Eddie’s tragedy is inevitable.