‘There are times when you want to spread an alarm but nothing has happened’ explain why Alfieri says this at the end of Act 1?
A view from the Bridge´ is set in Brooklyn, amongst an immigrant community who are poor, most working as 'longshoremen' when the work is available. To explain Alfieri’s comment we must first look at the build up to the scene. Eddie is an Italian and lives with his wife Beatrice and niece Catherine. Marco and Rodolfo are illegal immigrants, 'submarines', who have managed to get into America through a system of syndicates; using some of the money they make working in America to pay off the syndicate. Eddie and his wife accept the immigrants into their home.
There are problems with the situation in the flat from the word go. Eddie starts picking on Rodolfo from the first night. ‘He gives me the heebie-jeebies’. He is jealous of Catherine’s attraction to Rodolfo, and this is taking her attention away from himself. Eddie uses Rodolfo’s illegal status against him and exercises his authority over him. He makes Rodolfo stop singing under the pretence that the singing is drawing attention to him and he may get discovered and picked up, ‘There’s guy’s all over the place’. He does this to mask his feelings of jealousy and dislike towards him. Eddie’s hatred for Rodolfo grows and he is acting on his emotions when he tells Catherine ‘Katie, he’s only bowin to his passport.’ He thinks Rodolfo is only using her to get his papers so he can stay in America. Catherine reacts badly to this and the tension between everyone in the flat grows.
