The play is constructed of the main plot, Eddie's tragic story and a series of subplots, all involving the main characters and their relationships with each other. Each of these subplots interlink eventually with Eddie's predictable fate. These subplots are told as tension between each of the characters reaches a peak. One of these subplots is the relationship between Eddie and Alfieri.
When relationships begin to break down between Eddie and the rest of the family Eddie is in need of consultation, he seeks this in a man whom he trusts and respects, Alfieri.This however doesn't prove to be as successful as Eddie had intended for it to be, Eddie's law of Sicilian morals is quite different to the American book of law. "Eddie, I'm a lawyer. I can only deal in what's provable.You understand that don't you?" This quote is in reference to Eddie's request of Alfieri, Eddie is trying to imply that Rodolfo is only building a relationship with Catherine so that he can marry her to obtain citizenship papers. Alfieri however, whether Eddie is right or wrong about this cannot take any course of action as Eddie has no evidence, it is only an assumption, or more realisticly an accusation to help Eddie get what he wants, Catherine. Eddie is trying to use the law to his own advantage, but as Rodolfo is not breaking a law nothing can be done. Eddie almost feels betrayed by Alfieri as he thinks more along the lines of manipulating laws rather than obeying their principles as Alfieri does. The end of the scene leaves the audience suspitious of what Eddie is going to do next as their is a dramatic end with a sense of foreboding; if Eddie can't use the law to fix his problems what will he use?
Another form Miller often uses in the play is juxtaposition. He creates tension by bringing completely opposite characters into one situation, creating a constant tension in each scene and always leaving the audience feeling at a sense of foreboding and unease. Two examples of Miller using juxtaposition in the play come knotted together nicely in the form of the catalysts of the play, Marco and Rodolfo. One example of juxtaposition is Arthur Miller bringing Eddie and Rodolfo together. Eddie is a very masculine male stereotype, whereas Rodolfo is a more feminine male stereotype. These two characters are constantly at conflict over their love for Catherine. The tension is only exemplified because their characteristics are such contrasts to each other.
Eddie is constantly trying to speculate about Rodolfo's apparent 'feminine characteristics' to insinuate that Rodolfo is homosexual. "He sings, he cooks, he can make dresses." Eddie uses these insinuations to hurt and insult Rodolfo's sensitive character. Eddie does this to protect himself as he feels threatened by the fact he thinks that Rodolfo is "stealing" Catherine from him [this may be seen as a connotation to not only her as a person, but possibly her virginity aswell]. Constantly Eddie is negatively comparing Rodolfo to himself, trying to show himself to be the dominant male. He often makes comments such as "the boy's a punk" or "the kid ain't right".
Each character has a different choice of lifestyle as a result of having a different personality. Miller takes advantage of this and often juxtaposes characters to make an already tentive scene more full of tension than it was on the first place. This takes the impact the story has on the audience to a completely new level.
The other example I used earlier was Miller's juxtaposition of the two brothers, Marco and Rodolfo. Marco is potrayed to be a serious, wise, hard working man, his place in America to earn money for his poverty stricken family. Rodolfo however, is a young, fun loving, ambitious man. Miller has deliberately made a contrast in these two brother's personas and Eddie quite naturally takes every opportunity to juxtapose the two to his own advantage.
Towards the end of Act One Eddie's actions are becoming extremely spasmodic, this unpredictability, which the audience would not associate with Eddie at the beginning of the play causes tension as they are not quite sure what the man will do next.
At one point Eddie offers to 'teach' Rodolfo how to box. From this point on the messages potrayed are contained very much in the subtext of the play. A lot that is said vocally here is ambiguous. Nothing means quite what it is saying. It seems Eddie is reverting to the typical Italian/Sicilian manner of subtlety. The boxing match in particular is an extremley important point in the play. Here Eddie is trying to show Rodolfo who is dominant.
Rodolfo does not decline the offer for this lesson though, as he does not want to be 'showed up' by Eddie as inferior, or a coward. You can quite clearly see here how Miller has used juxtaposition to create tension between the two characters. Rodolfo, the feminine male who Eddie constantly insults for being so feminine, fighting a 'man's sport' against a clearly male stereotype. Coincidential? I think not.
The stage directions towards the end of Act One and throughout Act Two are extremely important.
"He feints with his left hand and lands with his right." With these actions Eddie is letting out and exposing his aggression and jealousy towards Rodolfo. It shows that his actions speak much louder than words when his true feelings come appearent to the other characters.
Marco ends the scene with a subtle threat. Marco challenges Eddie to lift a chair up by one leg, whilst kneeling with one arm behind his back. Eddie failed in doing so. By looking at stage directions we can see that this is threatening behaviour, intended to warn Eddie not to 'bully'
Rodolfo, whatever his feelings may be towards him "The chair is raised like a weapon above Eddie's head". The end of this scene shows a different side of Marco, he is not afraid to express his emotions and comes across as more subtle than Eddie, but a lot more of a dominant and potent character. Marco proves to Eddie in this scene that he as not as big as he anticipates. This is quite ironic, as Eddie's death is a result of confronting Marco although he knew he was the weaker man.
The beginning of Act Two is opened with Rodolfo and Catherine. The two characters have never been alone in the house together (leaving the audience in anticipation as to what may or may not happen), this is an important part of the play as it sheds light on what their relationship is like and how it is progressing. Catherine shows doubt (enforced unto her by Eddie) in Rodolfo's consistency, his honesty in their relationship. Catherine has never before shown any concern about Rodolfo's commitment to her, this causes tension between the two characters and the audience is left agitated as they do not expect to see tension between these two particular characters.
Rodolfo is hurt when Catherine implies that he is using her. The tension fluxuates, but by the end of the scene it seems to have faded.
The second scene however does not run so smoothly. The lights arise on a drunken Eddie. He is not in control of his actions and his inner feelings come out in a more dramatic, intense way. To see Eddie in such a state of intoxication when he is already acting in a perculiar manner builds up high expectations of the audience, the suspense is overwhelming.
Eddie comes home to find Catherine and Rodolfo alone in the house.
Catherine can sense he is not in control of himself and feels extremley uncomfortable, her feelings reflect very much on the audience. Catherine makes an attempt to leave the house. Eddie's reaction isn't a pleasant one. He first verbally restricts her. Catherine makes a second attempt to leave. Eddie is drunk and upset, maybe slightly paranoid because of this. He doesn't want Catherine to leave his life. She's always been such a big part of him. Eddie has a lot of pent up mixed feelings for Catherine, and these are released when he kisses her. It shows his emotions, in a cain final attempt to keep her maybe, in spite of the situation. It's an intense and confused action, full of emotion. Eddie kisses Catherine becuase he knows that anything he does from this point on to keep her will be in vain as she is growing up and their relationship has now deteriorated beyond healing.
Catherine makes another last attempt to leave. Eddie is drunk and upset, he doesn't want to let Catherine leave his life. She's always been such a big part of him¹. Eddie has a lot of pent up mixed feeliungs for Catherine, and these are released when he kisses her. It shows his emotions, in a vain final attempt to keep her maybe, in spite of the situation. It's an intense and confused action, full of emotion. Eddie kisses Catherine because he knows that anything he does from this point on to keep her will be in vain as she is growing up and their relationship has now deteriotated beyond healing.
Eddie then kisses Rodolfo, to mock him. Rodolfo lunges at him in attack, Eddie grabs him and merely kisses him. It shows Eddie doesn't even have to restrain Rodolfo after his attempt to attack Eddie. It mocks Rodolfo's ability as a man and a husband, a protector. In Italy/Sicily a kiss is a symbol of both love and respect for someone. Eddie uses this symbolic act and turns its meaning on its head to make a mockery of what the symbol means (if not then to show he feels opposite to Rodolfo.). Eddie may also be making further implications that Rodolfo is homosexual. Eddie has shown disrespect for both Catherine and Rodolfo here, the tension has yet again been taken to another level of intensity. The kisses are an effective way of creating drama, especially with an audience in 1955, the scene would have been extremely controversial as they strike up issues which many remained conservative about. Eddie kissing Catherine hints at an incestuous lust and Eddie's kiss with Rodolfo brings the mockery of his homosexuality to a new dimension. Both kisses help the audience develop an even more negative opinion of Eddie, and only leave them in further anticipation of the consequences of Eddie's actions.
Four days after Eddie's drunken encounter with Catherine and Rodolfo, Eddie once again goes to visit Alfieri. He explains to Alfieri his situation, why he did what he did and what he wants to do next.
"Morally and legally you have no rights, you cannot stop it..." Alfieri is trying to tell Eddie that there is absolutely nothing Eddie can do to prevent Catherine from marrying Rodolfo, as there is nothing wrong with what she is doing. Tension builds between Alfieri and Eddie in this scene as Eddie is being extremely close minded and although he is seeking Alfieri's advice, he is too stubborn to listen to him, as what Alfieri is saying is not what Eddie wants to hear. Eddie still insistant that he has control over Catherine's life and will not accept anything contrary to that belief. The audience may feel pity for Eddie here. Though I feel that generally the audience would feel infuriated with such stubborness.
"I'm not only telling you now, I'm warning you - the law is nature. The law is only a word for what has a right to happen. When the law is wrong it's because it's unnatural..." If Eddie does not stop now he will suffer dire consequences for his actions. However, the audience already know what the ending will be. Eddie is not prepared to follow through with Alfieri's advice, infact, he has quite a different plan on his mind.
Lighting here plays a key role, in the background whilst this is all happening we see the stage direction. "A phone booth begins to glow on the opposite side of the stage; a faint lonely blue." The colour of the lighting is significant to how Eddie is feeling and this is a clear example of how the lighting is used to symbolize Eddie's thoughts. Whilst Eddie and Alfieri are in dialogue, the glowing phone booth is in viewpoint of the audience. As the conversation between the two characters continues, the light on the phone booth glows ever brighter. This represents Eddie's growing desperation to do something drastic, to call the Immigration Bureau and also Alfeiri's realization of Eddie's plan.
When the lights arise next, they arise on Eddie and the phonebooth. Eddie has decided to call the Immigration Bureau. When he next arrives home we notice events in the play happen one after another in an almost 'domino effect', the pace of the play is a lot faster than before. The whole cast is a lot more irate than before. In particular Eddie, his actions and words are brash (notice stage directions, they are mostly pauses and silences showing uneasiness between characters. Eddie's often potrayed as angry and irate.) , borderlining insanity. The fate of these characters is holding on by a thread. Things aren't keeping together, and the audience knows that sooner or later that thread is going to snap. Things can't go along like this forever. The mannerisms and dialogues between and in everyone in the cast are insinuating to the audience that the end for Eddie is drawing ever nearer.
Pauses are an effective way to maintain dramatic tension. The audience are not accustomed to silence, thus it has great impact. Silence is usually a result of a dramatic event, it allows the audience to recieve full impact of a scene. Pauses used in this play in particular are used to not only create suspense, but to maintain it. Pauses make the audience anticipate the events to follow.
Later, after the incident with the Immigration Bureau and the kick off to the fude between Eddie and Marco, we find Catherine,Rodolfo, Marco and Alfieri present in the reception office of a prison. Alfieri is discussing various matters with the three, with particular focus on Marco, Marco is, regardless of whatever circumstances, going to be deported. Alfieri is debating with him what his future course of action is going to be regarding his feelings towards Eddie. If Marco can promise not to bring any harm to Eddie then Alfieri can give him freedom to work etc. before he gets deported from the country. If not, then he will be forced to stay in a prison cell until the time of his trial."I can bail you out until your hearing comes up. But I'm noy going to do it, you understand me? Unless I have your promise. You're an honourable man, I will believe your promise. Now what do you say?". This is hard for Marco to accept, as he is not used to such laws, "In my country he would be dead by now. He would not live this long." he does not understand why the law in America works the way it does and does not see why he should have to make such a promise to Alfieri. Eventually though, he does, though he feels that to make a promise that he knows he could never keep is dishonourable. Alfieri explains to Marco that the only one that will ever bring him true justice is God. He is basically saying that Eddie will get his come-uppance, just maybe not as of yet. This particular scene says that Alfieri leaves with a 'processional tread', this may be making a reference to a funeral procession, thus foreboding the evens to follow.
In his speeches Alfieri refers to the theory of fate and how it cannot be avoided or changed. However, when you watch, read or listen [to] conversations that are held between Eddie and Alfieri you begin to see the bigger picture within the play. You begin to see how Eddie's stubborness, strong mindedness and passionate nature play the key part in his fate. Throughout the play Eddie is given warning by other characters about the consequences he will suffer if he pursues his feelings towards Catherine. Yet Eddie being determined to have Catherine as his own does not heed these warnings. Eddie's obsession consumes him.
Eddie is a complex character, to the viewer he may seem irrational in his decision making, but this is not necessarily true. He is merely following his heart rather than his head. As Alfieri recollects at the end of the play "For he allowed himself to be wholly known and for that I think I will love him more than all my sensible clients." (i.e the ones that follow their heads/the law)
By staying true to his heart Eddie hurt a lot of people, this was not what was initially intended by Eddie, but because of his insistance this is how it turned out.
Miller maintains and exemplifies immense tension and suspense to keep the audience's minds stimulated for the whole of the play. Each of Miller's linguistic and dramatic devices work in harmony with each other to create an enjoyable play with great philosophical value.