A “slight pause” takes place when Alfieri is talking to Marco. He wants Marco to “promise” that he will not “touch” Eddie, so that he can “bail” him out until his “hearing comes up.” This is where Miller introduces a pause, which illustrates Marco’s unhappiness about his current situation. His response is only “all right”, which is not a promise. Miller may use this to make the audience vote in favour of Marco, as he is not promising anything. Conversely, I still see it as a point against Marco, demonstrating that he is lying. When he is bailed Marco starts “praying in the church.” Miller indicates to the audience that Marco has the intention of doing something bad. When he cries for “Eddie Carbone!” Miller intends to blame Marco as he is escalating this conflict. Marco shouts “Anima-a-a-l”, showing his aggression as Miller demonstrates him as a person raging with anger. Then he kills Eddie. Isn’t that too much to take a life for revenge? Marco has shown a constant aggression towards Eddie, and has finally murdered him. What Miller keeps secret is why Marco forgets about his family. He could have worked until his “hearing” and earned some money. Instead, he just looks for revenge. Why?!
On the other hand, Eddie can be seen as responsible for his own death. He provokes Marco into committing a cruel act. Miller forces the character of Eddie to make the first move as “he lunges for Marco.” Marco in self-defence “strikes Eddie beside the neck.” Miller tells the audience and Eddie how “crazy” Marco is, and he still goes out to fight him. Then he calls him a “liar”, which Marco certainly is not. This provokes Marco as Eddie is the one lying, as he knows he is in the wrong, not Marco. After the “blow” Eddie “springs a knife” to try and slaughter Marco, but this is reversed into him and pressed “home”. Miller demonstrates Marco’s self-defence, which ends up in him killing Eddie.
So, who is guilty? Is Marco culpable or innocent? Is Eddie blameworthy for his own murder or is he blameless? Neither are totally at fault or completely guiltless if you ask me!
None of Miller’s detail is accidental, and this is clear in the opening stage directions. If we view the stage setting we can observe that there is a “ phonograph.” It clearly has significance otherwise Miller would not have put it there. It is played in Eddie’s house when Rodolfo and Catherine are dancing and it makes Eddie feel enraged. Miller wants Rodolfo to dance with Catherine as Eddie has just beaten Rodolfo in a boxing “friendly” match, which certainly was not friendly. This particular scene is important as Rodolfo asks Catherine to dance sending a message back to Eddie that Catherine is Rodolfo’s, and that nothing Eddie does will change that. This leads to Marco challenging Eddie’s strength when he asks whether Eddie can “lift” the “chair.” From this position onwards Miller allows Marco to dominate the play, and tension grows between the two characters. Miller shows Marco in the wrong for his aggressiveness, and Eddie at fault for his jealousy towards Rodolfo.
The “bedroom door” has its importance, as it is the place where Miller allows Rodolfo and Catherine to have sex. This strengthens their relationship. Whilst they’re having sex Eddie comes home. Eddie views Catherine, “under his gaze” as “she adjusts her dress.” He then observes Rodolfo coming out of the bedroom, and Miller demonstrates Eddie realising what has just happened. This leads to Eddie telling Rodolfo to get his “stuff” and himself “outa” the house. As Catherine attempts to leave, Eddie “kisses her on the mouth” and “she strives to free herself.” Miller clearly wants to show the audience how strong Eddie’s feelings are towards Catherine. Rodolfo then “pulls on Eddie’s arm.” He tells Eddie to “have some respect,” and Miller intentionally illustrates Rodolfo as a loving and caring man. Eddie provokes Rodolfo into flying “at him in attack.” Miller displays Eddie as a strong man, and thus Eddie sees the “attack” coming and quickly “pins his arms” and “suddenly kisses him.” Miller hints at Eddie’s intention, which is to prove Rodolfo’s homosexuality to Catherine, but instead he makes things worse. Miller could intend this stage direction to be a factor displaying Eddie’s guilt. However, some of the audience may think differently, that Eddie kisses Catherine to show her that she is wanted, and kisses Rodolfo to keep Catherine in the house.
Another important item, in the stage directions of Miller’s play is the “telephone booth. This is not used until the last scenes” when Eddie phones the Immigration Bureau. He reports against his relatives, Marco and Rodolfo, and refers to them as “illegal immigrants.” Miller makes obvious that this is done out of jealousy towards Rodolfo. However, Eddie seems to have second thoughts when Immigration officers arrive at his door. He warns Catherine to get them out of the “apartment” that the “stairway leads” to. Catherine moved them there because Eddie wanted them out of his apartment. Miller’s intentions are again confusing. Maybe he implies that Eddie is falsely trying to look blameless by warning Catherine that it is too dangerous for them to stay. Perhaps Miller wants Eddie to look innocent at this point, as he has just tried to warn Rodolfo and Marco. Thus, Marco is innocent, as he has done nothing, but Eddie may be innocent or guilty thanks to Miller’s ambiguity.
In the stage setting we can see “a desk,” which happens to be “Mr. Alfieri’s law office.” Over here, Miller displays a number of scenes, the two most significant being the scene where Eddie and Alfieri have a conversation, and that where Marco and Mr. Alfieri talk. The first conversation is about Rodolfo. Eddie tells Mr. Alfieri that Rodolfo is gay and is marrying a woman. Eddie thinks he is doing it to get his “passport.” He wants Mr. Alfieri to utilise a law, which will not allow this event to happen. This conversation obviously presents Eddie as guilty, as Miller allows the audience to know that he is lying. Not only this, but Miller also demonstrates how Eddie is prepared to hurt his niece as she will be upset if anything happens to Rodolfo. The second major conversation is when Marco is refusing not to kill Eddie. The Immigration Bureau has arrested Marco, along with Rodolfo. He thinks that Eddie has “degraded” his “blood.” However, that is insufficient reason to commit murder, and maybe Miller wishes the audience to pick up on this. When asked to promise to not kill Eddie, Marco says, “such a promise is dishonourable.” Miller intentionally makes Marco look guilty at this particular point of the play. Marco is in the right to be angry, but in the wrong when desiring to “kill.”
To indicate the guilt or innocence of characters, Miller uses stage directions along with speech at the end of Act 1. For instance, a stage direction, which Miller applies to blame Marco, is “a strained tension gripping his eyes and jaw, his neck stiff.” Miller portrays Marco as a guilty man, as the audience view how he deliberately develops a “tension” between himself and Eddie. Also, the way he is described, by Miller makes him look as if he is ready for a fight. For instance he raises “the chair like a weapon over Eddie’s head” – and “then transforms what” may “appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph.” So basically Marco threatens Eddie, and warns him not to touch his brother again. Miller portrays “Eddie’s grin” vanishing “as he absorbs” Marco’s “look.” Thus in Miller’s play, the most assertive character has now become vulnerable, showing Marco’s guilt and Eddie’s innocence.
Stage directions also show both Eddie’s culpability and his blamelessness. For instance, the whole of this scene is the follow up to when Eddie “staggers” Rodolfo by punching him. Obviously the audience view Eddie as guilty, as Miller illustrates to them how Eddie finds a sly way of taking his anger out on Rodolfo. On the other hand Miller also utilises a stage direction which shows Eddie’s innocence. This is when Eddie “raises the chair one inch, but it leans over to the floor.” He does not realise what Marco is doing. “He tries again and again fails.” Thus, Eddie is, for the first time, being uncomplicatedly polite and friendly to people around him, and therefore Miller forces his audience to side with Eddie.
Speech used by Miller to suggest Marco’s guilt includes “Can you lift this chair?” Here Miller shows Marco implicitly questioning Eddie’s strength in an impolite manner. This is significant as Miller signals the obvious start of future tension between the two. Another speech utilised by Miller, which demonstrates Marco being in the wrong is “Here”, which he says dominantly. Eddie has tried raising the chair and has been unsuccessful, but now Marco will succeed. He obviously wants to initiate trouble, and the audience are therefore against him at this point.
Miller also uses speech to suggest Eddie’s guilt. For instance, “Did I hurt you kid?” This is Eddie’s response to the boxing match. He obviously hurts Rodolfo purposely, to convey a message to leave Catherine alone, yet he also tries to portray friendliness by asking the question. Miller allows everyone to realise that Eddie has fooled all the characters, except Marco. Another speech applied by Miller is when Eddie wants to “teach” Rodolfo boxing “again.” He has just hurt Rodolfo, and has found a new way of harming him without anyone thinking he is serious. Now he desires to carry on doing it. Thus, Eddie is seen at fault. On the contrary Miller also writes speeches for Eddie’s character, which make him blameless. Eddie is viewed as innocent when he asks “What” does Marco “mean.” Miller shows Eddie as confused when he asks politely what Marco is inferring. Then he says, “Sure, why not?” He seems to think that lifting the chair is easy and is still in a friendly mood. He tries and finds it unexpectedly “hard”, his excuse is that it’s “on an angle.” Again, Miller shows him being friendly, even though he has not been able to lift the chair, and has been embarrassed and humiliated. The audience therefore see him as innocent, through the words he uses.
At the end of the play, to suggest characters’ guilt or innocence, Miller again intentionally uses stage directions and speech. For example, Miller portrays Marco as a dual character, where sometimes he happens to be at fault, and, at others, to be completely innocent. If Miller portrays Marco as guilty, then Eddie is viewed as innocent by the audience, and vice versa.
The character of Marco seems to be a honourable one. He does not “promise” Alfieri that he “won’t touch” Eddie. Thus, Miller wants to show the audience that Marco is principled and truthful, displaying his innocence. Another fact that Miller uses to show Marco as guiltless is that he is provoked into performing ruthless acts. Firstly, Eddie phones immigration about Marco and Rodolfo, which has devastating consequences. Secondly, Marco’s anger is again triggered when Eddie repeats his own name “Eddie Carbone…” three times. Miller wants it to be provocative and infuriating as it keeps reminding Marco of Eddie, who has stolen “food” from Marco’s children. Then Eddie calls Marco a “liar” and expects him to “apologize” to him. If this is not provoking someone, then I do not know what is! This is Miller’s intention all along, to show that Marco is forced to take drastic action. He allows Eddie to make the first move into trying to attack Marco as he “lunges” for him, at the start of the last scene where Eddie and Marco quarrel. Eddie also “springs a knife into his hand,” and obviously has the objective of fatally hurting Marco. Eddie “lunges with the knife”, but ends up getting stabbed himself, a situation which Miller purposely makes controversial.
However, Miller shows another side to characters. Firstly, Marco does not “promise” not to kill as he considers it as “dishonourable.” Therefore, Miller aims to inform the audience that Marco intends to kill Eddie, which makes him a guilty man. Secondly, when Eddie is at his house, Marco yells “Eddie Carbone” challengingly. Again Miller portrays Marco as in the wrong, leaving Eddie innocent. “Marco strikes Eddie beside the neck.” Miller makes visible Marco’s aggressive and culpable character when he hits Eddie, and when he shouts “Anima-a-a-l!” Marco also demands Eddie to go on his “knees”, showing a lack of respect for the man who put a “roof over” his “head.” Miller shows earlier on why Marco is so livid with Eddie, thus Marco’s actions are explicable at this particular stage. However, he is still found guilty in front of the audience, as he is not in control of his anger. Another act of Marco, which makes him culpable, is when Eddie tries to merely cut him, and Marco presses “the blade” “home” into Eddie. Maybe Miller wants us to think it is in self-defence. But he does it in front of his cousin Beatrice. He hurts her for nothing. Does Miller not show Marco as guilty and Eddie as innocent? I think he does at this particular stage of the play.
Eddie is dead, thus the audience blame Marco as an automatic response in sympathy of Eddie as the leading character of the play. But does their tenderness show them both sides of the story? Is Marco really responsible for Eddie’s death? I believe that Miller intended both Marco and Eddie to be seen as partially responsible. But who is more culpable, Eddie or Marco? That is the question that Miller wants the audience to think about after reading “A View From the Bridge.”
