How are the ideas of Manliness, Hostility and Aggression in 'A View From the Bridge' connected?

Marco on the other hand appears to have a more muscular body which gains the respect of Eddie in the beginning and similarly gives Eddie respect. This is because Marco conforms to most of Eddie's ideas of 'masculinity' which illustrates an instant connection between the two. Marco has a more muscular physique, is patriotic and has a family which suggests he has strong social values. Although he is slightly quieter than Rodolpho, he does use his force when need be; for example when Eddie betrays Marco and his fellow immigrants by telling the immigrations that they are illegal citizens in the country. This forces Marco to say "I'll kill him; You hear me?" This demonstrates that he will enforce his authority using the 'manly' way when necessary. It also shows his patriotism towards his country which leads to his moral values. Marco's burst near the end of the play, towards Eddie, eventually leads to his death. Although Eddie dies due to Marco's violence, Marco still is more of a man than Eddie in the opinions of many other characters in the play, for example Beatrice and Catherine. He is more of a man as he only resorts to violence as a last resort and when he has been provoked, which is understandable; most of the time, however, Marco is a quite man minding his own business. As a result of Marco's cool, calm and collective attitude towards life, Eddie feels rather threatened by this due to it being apparent that Marcos is genuinely more of a man than him. In the play this can be portrayed when Marco challenges Eddie to a weight-lifting contest involving chairs, "Can you lift this chair?" Marco easily prevails as winner much to Eddie's disgust. This moment of conflict between the two males leads to an increase in hostility between them therefore resulting in a more negative atmosphere whilst both characters are present amongst each other.

Female characters play a major role in the play. Beatrice feels that she and Catherine are equally at fault as the male characters. This is because she feels that as a result of her prolonged silence concerning the blatant wrong-doing occurring before her eyes, she refuses to speak and therefore feels that she is also to blame for the hostility present between the other characters.. Both women were well aware of the proceedings taking place. However, neither of them chose to do anything about it which does suggest that it was their fault for not preventing the matters that unfolded. The quote below shows Beatrice trying to convince Catherine that they are also at fault. "Whatever happened we all done it, and don't you ever forget it Catherine." This was Beatrice's opinion. Catherine, however, feels hard done by the male characters, mostly Eddie, and she feels her views and feelings were suppressed and overtaken by Eddie. Her anger and disbelief is shown when she is speaking to Beatrice about Eddie and she says "how can you listen to him, this rat." Knowing that the males were in the heart of most confrontations, the females in the play were not completely innocent as they did have the opportunity to prevent the events that unfolded, however opted not to. The language used by Arthur Miller for the dialogue for the female characters is very similar to that of Eddie's. The dialogue for Eddie, Catherine and Beatrice tend to be in a more 'slang' manor which would suggest a less educated being, whereas Marco's dialogue portrayed by Miller is more sophisticated and therefore a difference between educated and non-educated people becomes distinct.

Arthur Miller wrote this play to be performed; stage directions are enforced in detail and is why the play has a greater effect on the audience when performed. These detailed stage directions often consist of telling the actors which facial expressions to use when performing a certain part of the play. This allows the right atmosphere to be set around the play and creates the relevant mood. Nearer the end of the play Eddie intends to kill Marco with a knife. However, it is ironic that Eddie dies via his own knife and this symbolises the greater/real man winning. This can be represented using the quote "Eddie fell to his knees before Marco.'" The setting of the play contributes to the increase in tension and the atmosphere created when throughout the play. The story is set in the Red Hook, a slum area, in Brooklyn in the 1950's. Knowing that the area is fairly run down and the citizens within do not have a large understanding of social and life issues; the characters' dialect is mainly determined by the context of their society. Miller was heavily influenced by the Greek tragedy to the Norweigen, Henrik Ibsen, and in the play also comments on his views on important social and political issues. This makes the play seem a lot more life like and engages the audience, whether it be performed or read. It is vital however, for the audience to clearly understand the context in which the play was written in. This is because times were very different in those days, with males predominantly earning the money whilst the females mainly staying at home with the kids and carrying out daily chores. Nowadays it has become easier for females to do what they like. These issues would have greatly influenced Miller whilst writing this play and therefore it is essential that we as the audience must understand the context in which it was written in to fully appreciate its true meaning.

The role of Alfieri plays a very significant part in the way the play unfolds and the different interpretations the audience take from it. The way in which Arthur Miller includes him into the play amongst the other non-educated characters was very cleverly done. As previously mentioned, Arthur Miller was heavily influenced by the Greek tragedy of the Norwegian Henrik Ibsen, and this is very relevant to the insertion of Alfieri, being the narrator, who has already foretold the final tragedy in the very beginning. Miller's language for Alfieri is written as a direct contrast to that of Eddie, Catherine and Beatrice. Alfieri's dialogue 's tend to be more sophisticated and thoughtful and on occasions shows signs of black humour, as evident by the quote "You wouldn't have known it, but something as just happened." In the play he is distanced from the rest of the characters which make his scenes a lot more meaningful to the audience.

The ideas of masculinity, aggression and hostility I feel are tightly linked. Knowing that the play was set in the rough streets of Brooklyn in the 1950's, often the only way to survive is with the use of violence, aggression and the reputation of individuals in the city. Eddie is an accurate depiction of a man who lives for his reputation and proves this when he dies for his reputation at the end of the play. When Eddie comes across people who he does not like, in this case Rodolpho and later on Marco, due to his lack of education Eddie often comes across as very hostile towards them. His lack of education also contributes to the difficulty that arises when he try's to express his feelings so he often has no other choice but to resort to verbal or physical aggression. I believe that each of the males in the play have admirable characteristics about them, Eddie has strong beliefs on pride, Marco is very family orientated and has strong moral values and then Rodolpho his carefree personality shows us how life should be lived. Arthur Miller's views on masculinity are introduced into the character of Alfieri, through this character he reveals how he feels "it is better to settle for half." This means settling for what is available to you having worked out a compromise. With his perception on manliness he includes Eddie, Marco and Rodolpho. These three characters portray Miller's views on masculinity on three different levels, showing that Marco being in between Eddie and Rodolpho is the real man as he enforces violence when need be and also being in touch with his feminine side shown by his family values. Miller has Eddie killed by Marco at the end; this is a metaphor and a sign of the real man winning in his eyes and believes that living the life of Eddie will not allow you to achieve everything you ever want in life.

Purva Kaushik