Beatrice: (no longer afraid) Oh, for goodness sake, it is her wedding day.
(Eddie’s face suddenly sinks and he goes to sit in his rocker)
Here Beatrice is aware that Eddie has lost control. She is fed up with Eddie and Marco’s rivalry and is desperate for things to go back to the way they were.
Eddie: You don’t get it do you? All day at the docks, I hear whispers around me. I couldn’t even enter my front door without all the neighbours whispering and staring at me. (Almost shouting now) That rat, he took my name and threw it in the mud. (Almost pleading with Beatrice) B, I want my respect.
This shows that what Catherine said before- ‘nobody is gonna talk to him again if he lives to a hundred’ was true. It also shows that Eddie’s honour has been lost which is symbolised by Marco spitting at him before. Honour is one of the themes, which runs throughout the play. Respect must be maintained; that is the inevitable consequence of the attitudes to family contained in this play.
Eddies is so concerned about his respect in the neighbourhood he forgets about what he is doing to the people close to him. This is shown when at the final scene in Miller’s ending he kept on demanding respect ‘‘wipin the neighbourhood with my name like dirty rag; I want my name back Marco, now gimme my name and we go together to the wedding’’ as a result of this Eddie died. I also included this aspect because it brings out the context in which the play was set in. Eddie was so concerned about what the neighbourhood thought of him because he lived a close-knit community. So when they heard what Marco had said and done to Eddie, they probably thought it would be better not to talk to Eddie, as it might affect them. This would hurt Eddie knowing what the community thought of him, that’s why he was demanding respect and would not accept defeat.
Beatrice: Look, I just want Catherine to be happy
Eddie: (desperate tone) Oh B, even Mike and Louis turned on me.
Beatrice: (Beatrice isn’t sympathising with Eddie and just wants to get to the wedding) Just apologise and it’ll all be back to normal (Beatrice is slowly moving towards the front door)
Beatrice is desperate to get things back to normal because has done nothing to deserve this.
Eddie: (shocked and disappointed but still considering this possibility) Say I’m sorry?
(He notices Beatrice moving towards the door) Beatrice, you walk out that door, don’t come back.
Beatrice: (Beatrice stops at the door. She lets out a nervous sigh) Oh.
Eddie: What’s the matter now?
Eddie is showing that he is faithful to his duties as a husband by showing consideration towards Beatrice. This would show Eddie as a better man because despite Beatrice disobeying Eddie by wanting to go the wedding, Eddie still cares for her as a wife.
Beatrice: (very nervous and agitated) Why don’t you go to the kitchen and get some coffee.
Beatrice is giving a sign to the audience as well as Eddie that something is wrong because at this time the audience also don’t know that it is Marco who is approaching the house. Also, usually in a Sicilian household a wife would make coffee for the husband so Beatrice’s behaviour is odd.
Eddie: Look, I don’t want no coffee. Now tell me what’s the matter B. (Eddie gets up to approach B but then looks at the window and sees Marco approaching the front door) that scum, lemme at him (he rushes past Beatrice and through the door to the porch).
The first sentence is grammatically incorrect which shows the dialect these characters speak in. The Carbone family are an uneducated and working class family, which says that perhaps Eddie is not the tragic hero in this play. Usually ‘heroes’ are people of importance like ‘Macbeth’ who was ‘Thane of Cawdor’.
Beatrice: Come on Eddie, calm down. If you hurt him, you’ll be in an even worse position than you’re in now (Eddie seems to be considering Beatrice’s words)
This shows Beatrice’s practicality and care for Eddie
(Marco enters first. Rodolfo and Catherine follow, holding hands)
Eddie: (extremely angry tone of voice) You dirty rat. You have made my life a living nightmare.
Marco: You brought it on yourself. First, you humiliate my brother and then you steal food from my children! Where I come from you wouldn’t be living to experience this misery. (About to lunge on Eddie)
This emphasises how different the Italian way of life is. This is similar to Miller’s script when Marco says ‘in my country he would be dead now’. I included this dialogue by Marco because it brings out the theme of law and justice in the play. It shows that for once Marco is unable to adapt to the American way of life. Justice and law however are not the same thing and the conflict between them runs throughout the play. From previous work I found out that in 1920’s America, law was not fully abided by the American people. Miller gave the role of the chorus to a lawyer to demonstrate this. Alfieri is telling us of gangsters, the Sicilian past and a people unwillingly accepting the law at the beginning of the play to show this. The fact that this play evolves around illegal immigrants also shows how much the law was really believed in.
This dialogue from Marco also shows the theme of loyalty. .Alfieri talks about gangsters in the opening speech, which immediately leads the audience to think of the Mafia. The Mafia is greatly involved in business as well as organised crime. ‘Family’ members are protected; enemies or those who let down the family are treated pitilessly. These views are constantly emphasised throughout the play.
When we first meet Marco he shows himself powerful by his actions rather than his words. He is very modest and almost all his conversation is dominated by the wish not to cause trouble- ‘when you say go, we will go’. He thanks people frequently, he quietens his younger brother, he refuses food and he wonders if they can accommodate him for the time being in such a small house. This is why he only has one speech to say in the whole of my script because as I have said before Marco is powerful by his actions rather than his words. From his actions here we can see he is still calm, and able to control his feelings because his tone is calm but then he ‘lunges’ at Eddie which shows that Marco is only human. Marco has been able to control his anger in previous scenes, for example when he held the chair over Eddie’s head but the fact that he lunged first shows how much anger he actually feels. In my ending Marco is a lot calmer, he didn’t directly invite Eddie to fight with him like in Miller’s ending: ‘Eddie Carbone’, ‘Anima-a-a-l’. I think my ending gives more power to Marco because Eddie sounds as though he is going insane because his life has been made ‘a misery’. It also shows Eddie as less cowardly because we can see how much Eddie has been affected by what Marco said before. Also the calm appearance of Marco shows he has control and hasn’t been driven crazy by all the events that have happened.
Both Eddie and Marco have feelings of injustice. Eddie has his strongest feeling of injustice when Rodolfo arrives which is one of the causes of the rivalry between him and Marco. Eddie dislikes Rodolfo so teases and humiliates him, which causes Marco to humiliate Eddie. Eddie has been a father to Catherine all her life and "gave her the food out of his mouth". He paid money to her so that she would meet a better class of people and there are subtle hints that he is attracted to her as well. He is justified to feel jealous and spiteful towards Rodolfo when he comes over from Italy and wins Catherine’s heart. He feels betrayed by Catherine that she has suddenly run off and lives her own life (this also could be attributed to his fear of Catherine growing up, and that she is not his little baby anymore.)
In his extreme anxiety he betrays them to the immigration bureau. In doing this he has also betrayed a neighbour’s cousins as well as Marco who is trying to make money to save his family. Not only has he betrayed his family he has betrayed himself and his word of honour, which means so much in the Italian culture, and to Eddie himself.
Eddie’s own words were,“ You can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word you gave away.” Eddie has betrayed his own beliefs, and lost the respect of his whole community and his honour. The community has turned against Eddie, who ignored Alfieri’s words of warning:
“You won’t have a friend in the world, Eddie! Even those who understand will turn against you,”
Marco publicly denounces Eddie as a murderer, because Eddie has denied him the possibility to work in America to provide for his starving family’s desperate needs. It is Marco that is his opponent now, not Rodolfo, because Marco has taken Eddie’s name and honour. It is Marco’s belief that he has the right to take revenge and it is his duty to do so for the sake of his family. He cannot see why according to American law Eddie goes unpunished, “In my country he would be dead now.” In Italy the law was not all in a book and justice was more to do with feelings and emotions. Eddie is inevitably going to be merciless opposition when he demands ‘his name´ back. The two men have basically the same beliefs and values, and after this head-on collision death is inevitable, because both men believe they are in the right and have gone too far to be able to give any ground or compromise. It is all or nothing. Marco has already ‘tried settling for half’ but Eddie hasn’t so Eddie’s death is the inevitable consequence of the play.
Marco and Eddie are quite similar because they are both driven by their belief in a code of behaviour, in traditional standards of right and wrong. At the start of the play Eddie worries about Beatrice and Catherine not understanding the power of the United States immigration Bureau and then he launches into the Vinny Bolanzo story, which is a premonition of Eddie’s own story
‘Like Vinny Bolanzo… you can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word that you gave away’, it a short line but is of major significance. It is Eddie who speaks the line that later relates to his own dishonour and the loss of his good name:
Before Eddie calls the immigration bureau, he goes to Alfieri for advice. The use of lighting is very important here because we are distracted from Alfieri’s final words by the light rising on the telephone box. Alfieri questions perfunctorily, but we know that the law has nothing to offer Eddie and the most important speech of Alfieri’s actually spells out natural moral law: ‘The law is only a word for what has a right to happen’
Rodolfo: (jumps in between Eddie and Marco to stop them from fighting)
Look, Eddie I am sorry, OK. It is my fault; I should have asked your permission before I take Catherine out. How about we all go to the wedding together, eh? (He offers to shake Eddie’s hand but Eddie ignores him and pushes him out of the way)
This intervention from Rodolfo shows another important theme running throughout the play- honour. Honour must be maintained; that is the inevitable outcome of the feelings to family contained in this play. Eddie has many reasons to justify his dislike in Rodolfo. He thinks Rodolfo is gay but it is also the opinions of others, which causes him to dislike Rodolfo. For example when Mike and Louis make fun of Rodolfo, it is an insult to Eddie and his family.
Beatrice: Eddie, he apologises to you!
Eddie: I don’t care; he wasn’t the one who stole my name!
Eddie’s sense of justice and fairness motivated him a lot in reporting Marco and Rodolfo to the immigration bureau. At the beginning this was positive for instance he thought he had to let Marco and Rodolfo stay because it was the right thing to do:
‘‘Then what the hell. It’s an honour’ B., I mean it. I was just thinkin’ before, comin’ home, suppose my father did not come to this country, and I was starvin’ like them over there. And I had people in America who could keep me a couple of months? The man would be honoured to lend me a place to sleep’’. This shows his family loyalty at the beginning of the play but towards the end his sense of justice and fairness seem to get lost. When he says this line it shows that he only cares about his ‘name’. This is similar to miller’s ending in that he refuses the apology from Rodolfo but seeks revenge from Marco. Eddie has almost made himself believe that he hasn’t done anything wrong which is shown here. Marco didn’t actually ‘steal’ Eddie’s name but juts told the truth. It was Eddie who ‘stole food from my (Marco’s) children’s mouth’
Catherine: (runs up to the porch after Marco) Why did you do it Eddie, why?
Catherine again shows her naivety and that she was unaware of what she has done to Eddie. It also shows the audience that she probably wasn’t ‘walking wavy’
In my ending Catherine doesn’t really play a part in raising the tension like she did in Miller’s ending. I did this because I wanted to show Catherine as a scared little girl like she was in the beginning of the play. This would also give the impression to the reader that she did have feelings for Eddie. This would create more sympathy for Eddie, when he dies.
Eddie: (weakening, he takes a look at Rodolfo and then at Catherine) Oh Katie. I can’t take this no more. I’m sorry. I never meant for this to happen. (Eddie rushes on to the street and jumps into his car and drives away)
Here Eddie finally apologises for what he has done but not directly to Marco, as this would not show his proud personality. He does however finally admit he made a mistake, which shows him as a better person and makes his tragic death more distressing for the audience. This play doesn’t have any scenes or sequences, which are played off-scene so it may be difficult to bring a car onto the stage.
Alfieri: (Alfieri is lit up and is in the centre of the stage. While Alfieri is saying his soliloquy, Beatrice, Rodolfo and Catherine look over the bridge. Beatrice is weeping and so is Catherine.) The last anyone ever saw of Eddie was from the bridge. Most of the time we settle for half but not this time. I know he was wrong but he allowed himself to be completely known and so I will miss him greatly.
This shows how Eddie was not able to ‘settle for half’ which was what led Eddie to his death. This speech of Alfieri’s is quite similar to Miller’s speech because I think it gives a summary of Eddie’s life.
Throughout the play the religious context in which it has been set in has not been emphasised much. The community in which Eddie lived in follows Roman Catholicism, where taking your own life was a sin. By Eddie taking his own life, it shows the serious element of the play, which I think was what Miller, was intending to do.
The characters looking over the bridge is symbolic because they are looking down on him which shows that Eddie has completely lost his power and control? Marco is not looking down from the bridge because either he has absolutely no respect for Eddie or that he was sent back to Italy. The decision lies in the hands of the audience. This action also fits very well into the title of the play.
I ended the play with a speech by Alfieri, which is also what Miller did. Alfieri’s role in the play is to act like a chorus. He fills in the gaps of the story to help the audience understand what is going on. I think it was important for Alfieri to end the play because Alfieri is the ‘mechanism by which the play unfolds.’ Alfieri is the only character who the audience can actually trust, firstly because he is not actively involved in the action of the play. Alfieri simply comments on the action and re-tells the story which is shown by most of his lines being spoken in past tense.
Alfieri is the only connection between the audience and the play so it would be good for Alfieri to end the play. Miller uses Alfieri as a way of showing the passing of time and so it is necessary for him to end the play.
In my script after Eddie’s death, Alfieri is lit up so that the audience focuses on him, and gives a final soliloquy, which is needed to calm the audience down after another scene of high tension. This is similar to Miller’s ending which is like a eulogy, as it looks back over Eddie’s life. Also in Miller’s chosen ending Eddie, the tragic protagonist dies saying Beatrice’s name, which shows how he was still faithful to his wife, and he didn’t let his feelings for Catherine stop him carrying out his duties. In this sense he is a hero. His ‘fatal flaw’, however (his love for Catherine) will not allow him to be happy. As Beatrice says- ‘you can never have her.’
Miller’s chosen ending brings out the themes of law and justice, love, religion and honour in the play. Alfieri’s epitaph for Eddie included many religious references- ‘holy’, ‘pure’ and ‘good’. In Miller’s ending there is a religious message that you should not bear grudges and shouldn’t take revenge because as shown by Eddie it can have tragic consequences.
Alfieri’s final words portray Eddie in a good light because he ‘loved him more than any of’ his ‘sensible clients’
Millers or Mine?
In my ending Eddie killing himself shows how that he not only broke the Sicilian code of trust but also betrayed his religion. This obviously increases the seriousness of his situation and also shifts the blame further towards the direction of Catherine. It is when Catherine asks ‘why Eddie’ that Eddie breaks down. Sicilian communities in the 1920’s were very strict followers of Roman Catholicism, where committing suicide was greatly sinned. By Eddie killing himself, it shows how Eddie’s inability to ‘settle for half’ led him to his horrific actions and most importantly to the betrayal of his religion. Miller’s ending sends a message that it is better to ‘settle for half’, which is told by Alfieri. My ending also sends this message but it is emphasised by the element of religion.
Despite the horror of what Eddie has been driven to do; Beatrice still obeys Eddie which is also what happens in Millers ending. I think this is important to include in the ending of the play because it shows Beatrice as innocent. Firstly, her husband develops feelings for her niece, and then he reports her cousins to the immigration bureau. Beatrice didn’t do anything to deserve any of this. Eddie is the tragic protagonist in this play and the fact that he rejected his feelings for his wife for the feelings for his niece shows this.
In conclusion, Miller’s and my ending seem to bring forward the message that it is better to ‘settle for half’ except in my ending it is emphasised more by the religion aspect. Each of the characters, however are represented differently. Catherine is shown as naive and shows more respect towards Eddie because she doesn’t shout at him as she did in the other ending. Beatrice is shown as more innocent, Marco has more control and Rodolfo is shown as a honourable man. Most importantly, Eddie is shown as more humane because he finally admits he was in the wrong. Also my ending creates more sympathy towards Eddie apologises for the mistake that he made. There are many similarities between Millers ending and mine. For example the use of Alfieri. Both endings finished with a speech by Alfieri. I think this was important because Alfieri is the only link between the characters and the audience without being part of the action. Also both endings tend to show Beatrice as innocent because from the rest of the play we can see that she had done nothing wrong so didn’t deserve to be put through what she was experiencing.
