Eddie’s cultural background is carefully depicted by Miller. Miller presents Eddie as someone who has upheld the values of his community. He is the head of the family and holds strong family values. He has honour in his community as he is seen as a hard working man, who provides for his family. ‘How much can a man make? We work hard, we’ll work all day, all night’. This is said by Rodolfo shortly after they arrive, it shows the culture of hard work and that men are expected to work in order to support their families. The Sicilian community has its own distinct code of values. Hospitality to other families is very important. Eddie can be seen as a reputable person as he has taken into care his wife’s orphaned niece. Eddie and his wife Beatrice house illegal immigrant cousins from Italy, Marco and Rodolfo. ‘Eddie, you got a lot of credit comin’ to you’. Here Eddie is seen to have a lot of respect in the community for providing the illegal cousins with hospitality. Sicilian values also can go against the American laws. Family members should not betray each other to the authorities; this is shown by Eddie telling the story of Vinne Boltzano, the tale of a grass. Eddie says “The family had an uncle in the house, and he snitched to the immigration”. Boltzano was justly punished by the community “….a guy do a thing like that? How’s he ever going to show his face?” The Italian community thinks it’s dishonorable to betray relatives, so Vinny will never be seen in the neighborhood out of shame. It is ironic that Eddie should tell this story, and be warning Catherine not to say a word to anybody about the immigrant brothers. Eddie happens to find himself in the same position as Vinne Bolzano near the end of the play.
On the other hand, as respectable as he may seem, Eddie at times is shown by Millar as an unsympathetic character. At the beginning of the play Eddie and Catherine’s characters may easily be mistaken to be husband and wife, as they behave ambiguously. They seem like their flirting, ‘beautiful, turn around, lemme’ see the back’. It seems like Eddie is looking at Catherine in a sexual manner. Eddie is very protective and strict towards Catherine even though she is his wife’s niece. ‘Those guys look at girls’. Eddie says this when he disapproves of what she is wearing as it attracts the attention of men. But his affection for her is more than what meets the eye as we will discover further in the play. There are several moments in the opening of play where the audience is given clues that Eddie's love for Catherine may not be normal. This unlawful love first appears in Eddie's obsessive concern with Catherine's appearance and way of dressing: “I think it’s too short,” he says about her dress. He goes on: “Katie, you are walkin’ wavy! I don’t like the looks they’re givin’ you in the candy store. And with them new high heels on the sidewalk - clack, clack, clack. The heads are turnin’ like windmills”. When Catherine lights Eddie's cigar in the living room, it is an event that gives Eddie unusual pleasure. Eddie’s great attention to his niece puts pressure on his marriage. “When am I gonna’ be a wife again, Eddie?” Eddie turns down Beatrice, they don’t have a sexual relationship, and the audience may understand that it’s because of the feelings Eddie has for Catherine. This can be seen as a forbidden love, for a niece and an uncle to have sexual attractions between them is seen as unethical.
Eddie sees Catherine as a ‘Madonna’, he idolises her. Eddie sees with regret that Catherine is slipping away from him. From the word go Eddie takes an immediate dislike to Rodolfo, simply because of Catherine's attraction to him. Eddie cannot stand to see Catherine becoming independent and making decisions for herself. This includes her falling in love with Rodolfo, without Eddie’s consent. Catherine's attraction to Rodolfo brings Eddie's love for his niece into the open. Rodolfo is an extravert. Eddie really takes a dislike to Rodolfo's talents and he tells him to be quiet when he is singing, and he will be quiet. Because Rodolfo can sing, cook and make dresses. Eddie thinks Rodolfo is homosexual. ‘Paper doll they call him. Blondie now’. This is said by Eddies friend, and Eddie feels uneasy that people are teasing someone that he is associated with. Eddie has a strong sense of manliness and does not think Rodolfo is a man's man. Eddie tells Alfieri about Rodolfo, “he ain’t right”, and that “you could kiss him, he was so sweet”. At the end of Act 1, Eddie organises a ‘Friendly’ boxing match, to show his talents, in the way in which Rodolfo did. Miller shows a great deal of masculinity in the play, the men in the play are competitive to show what they are capable of. Beatrice encourages the boxing because she wants to see comradeship between Rodolfo and Eddie. Eddie ends up hitting Rodolfo quite hard, this is a way of Eddie getting out his anger. We see Eddies character change a great deal, especially after the arrival of Rodolfo and Marco. It is Eddie's jealousy of Rodolfo that leads him to turn Rodolfo and Marco in.
Although Eddie seems unable to understand his feelings for his niece until the end of the play, other characters are aware. is the first to express this in her conversation with Catherine. ‘You still walk around in front of him in your slip’. Beatrice is telling Catherine to grow up and is trying to discourage Catherine from going along with Eddies desires. also realises Eddie's feelings during his first conversation with Eddie. Beatrice clearly articulates his desires in the conclusion of the play, “You want somethin’ else, Eddie, and you can never have her!”. Eddie is restrained, he wants to believe Catherine is his own and a virgin. The image of Eddie getting kicked out of bed when the in laws stay over, relates to him getting out of the sexual picture of Catherine when Rodolfo comes.
In scene 4, act 1, we see Miller balancing all different aspects of Eddies character. Eddie is waiting outside his apartment. Beatrice arrives, but it’s clear that he is not waiting for her. He is waiting for Catherine, who is out with Rodolfo. The audience and so can Beatrice recognise that he is waiting as a jealous lover. Beatrice and Eddie argue, she accuses him of jealousy and points out that Catherine is nearly 18. Beatrice also defends Rodolfo. “His a nice kid, what do you want from him”. To this Eddie replies “he gives me the heeby-jeebies”. From this use of language, Miller makes Eddie seem like an unintelligent man, who cannot express himself properly. In this scene we also get to see Eddie as a neglecting husband. Beatrice points up that they no longer have sex. “When am I gona be a wife again Eddie?”. Eddie ignores his wife, he backs away; when he says “I can’t talk about it”. Eddie cannot talk about his problems, he can’t articulate his feelings. This is why is more likely to resort to violence. At the end of this scene Louis and Mike have a conversation with Eddie. From this conversation we hear Louis praising Eddie for providing shelter to Marco and Rodolfo, “believe me Eddie you have a lotta credit coming to you”. In this scene Miller shows Eddie as an honorable man, a neglecting husband and a jealous lover.
Millers staging of the play affects the action. The small living room, where the play is mainly set, is tight and compact. The cramp conditions means the characters are forced together and lack personal space. The family is presented in the heart of everything and the staging shows family values. The flats relationship with the street, the desk and the telephone effects the audience’s perception of the relationship within the community. By placing the flat and the street close together, it shows that the family is close within a tight nit community. It shows that the values of the family are the same of the community. The phone box that Eddie calls the immigration office with shows the image of the authority being distant. The relationship with the desk is that the law is close, but it cannot help Eddie with his problems.
The play explores many different issues. It shows the Allegiance to community law.
There is great conflict between community and American law in the play. The community abides by Sicilian-American customs values respect and family, has strong associations with names, believes in trust and wants revenge when a member has been wronged. ‘All the law is not in a book’ this is said by Marco. Some of these values come in conflict with those of the American system of justice. Eddie chooses to turn against his community and abide by the American laws. Within the Italian code, if a man insults or dishonors you, you are obliged to take revenge. The play also covers issues of female freedom. It shows the change from being a girl to becoming a woman. Rodolfo gives Catherine a chance to explore the ‘boyfriend territory’. Catherine’s attempt at is deciding to marry Rodolfo and follow his rules rather than Eddie’s. She has become independent and has started making decisions for herself. Catherine loses her virginity to Rodolfo, she is his ‘women’ now. This means that Rodolfo is now responsible for Catherine rather then it being Eddie.
Miller uses key words that reoccur throughout the play. ‘Honour/dishonour’ and ‘respect’ within the Italian community seem to reoccur. This shows that honour and respect are highly valued. The idea of ‘paper’ is also used throughout the play. The song ‘Paper Doll’ is all about stealing a girl away, this song relates to Rodolfo stealing away Catherine from Eddie. ‘I mean if you close the paper fast-you could blow him over’, Eddie says about Rodolfo because he thinks he is insubstantial. Eddie also says that Rodolfo wants his ‘papers’ for legal citizenship. The ideas of Homosexuality are explored in the play. Eddie uses the phrase ‘he ain’t right’, he is trying to say Rodolfo is homosexual, but he doesn’t use the word ‘gay’.
Eddies idea of ‘honour’ involves several elements, which come to be in conflict. Eddie is an important upholder of community values, as a part of this is the idea that the women in his family are like his property. As head of the household he expects to be asked permission from Rodolfo to take Catherine out. “I take my blankets off my head for him, and he takes and puts his hands on her like a goddam thief”. From this Eddie thinks he has been honourable to Rodolfo, and Rodolfo has dishonourable as he is not abiding by Italian values.
The ‘honour also involves the idea that Eddie should be respected by the people around him, as head of the household no matter what he does. Eddie feels Beatrice should go along with his lack of interest in sex. “I do what I feel like doing or what I don’t feel like doing”. Eddie says this because he feels that he doesn’t always need to explain himself. If Eddie has to explain himself or apologise, it means he will lose status. He is constantly self-interested, wanting to protect his innocence. He feels that his absurd decisions make sense, where calling the Immigration Bureau in the middle of an Italian that prides itself on protecting illegal immigrants, has no consequences. If he decides to betray his wife’s cousins, he feels he is entitled to do so. Eddie feels he shouldn’t be disrespected by Marco, to whom he gave hospitality, even if he has betrayed him.
. In this play Eddie is presented a tragic hero. He has some character flaws, but can be in some ways seen as a great person too. Miller controls the audience’s sympathies on the character of Eddie. Miller attempts to ensure the audience have some degree of sympathy for Eddie. In certain respects Eddie is a sympathetic character who has lived honourably by the rules of his community. . He was also someone who stood up for what he believed in. Eddie then loses the audience's sympathy when he calls the immigration authorities. Also the bad sides of his character involve being a bad husband and lusting over his niece. Near the end of the play, Eddie regains his sympathy because of the manner of his death
The big conflict in the play comes when Marco disrespects Eddie. They are both family men, these two characters clash as they both feel the need to protect their families. As Marco is being lead away by the immigration officers, he spits on Eddies face and accuses Eddie of betraying him, in front of Eddies neighbours. Marcos actions empathises the degradation of Eddies character. When Marco spits on his face it shows a complete lack of respect, it shows Marco thinks Eddie is a traitor to his family, who depend on him. The neighbours turn their back on Eddie to show their contempt, it also shows isolation. Catherine’s verdict on Eddie is that he is a traitor, she compares him to being a rat. When Eddie says ‘I want respect’, he means that he wants to be man of the house again, head of the household. Even if he had betrayed his wife’s relatives he still feels his thoughts and accounts should be taken into consideration. When Eddie says ‘he got my name’, he means that Marco was the one who accused him of being a traitor, and being dishonourable, so only by Marco apologising can restore Eddies reputation. This is dramatised by Marco being able to shout out Eddies name on the street as a challenge. Eddie then shouts his name out three times to reclaim it. Marco's actions questions if Eddie is important, it strengthens the perception that Eddie is in the wrong.
When Marco appears in the street calling out Eddie’s name, it is clear that he is here to get his revenge. Revenge is a sense of personal and family justice, ‘in my county he would be dead now, he would not live this long’. When Marco says this, he feels he is entitled to get his revenge by the Italian values. Marco hits Eddie, and then Eddie produces a knife. Marco then grabs his arm and makes Eddie stab himself. Eddie Carbone is killed by his own knife, suggesting that it was he who was to blame for his downfall. The irony in Eddie’s death is that he wanted to kill Marco, but got killed himself. Also Eddie wanted to get rid of Rodolfo and Marco, but they got rid of him. In this scene we see that Beatrice has faith in Eddie despite everything, she holds him when he dies. Eddies death results from his character flaw.
Near the end of the play, the respect Eddie once had from his family is now lost. The forbidden love he has for Catherine has disgusted the family which in turn cause them to disrespect him. Eddies actions of betraying Rodolfo and Marco can never be justified in the views of the Italian community. He loses his respect from not only family, but the community as well. Through out the course of the play we see Eddies character change, he starts to break down when he lets his desires take control. We are shown at first a good man who seems perfectly happy he is liked in the close knit community of Red Hook, and he has the love of wife and niece. The happiness is destroyed when jealousy takes over. His stubborn attitude leads him to his downfall.
Eddie has many different roles in this play which come into conflict. Miller presents Eddie as a respectable image in the community, a husband, guardian and a forbidden lover. Eddie feeling as a jealous lover leads him into conflict with his community. He placed his desires above family responsibilities. This causes him to come into conflict with just about everyone, his family and the community. His respect and honour meant everything for him, but he was blinded by his love for Catherine, so everything else was forgotten. Eddie betrays the community values that he used to cherish. He had lost face and dignity in front of the whole community. Eddie resorts to desperate measures to protect his identity and name. He could not live with losing face, he wanted to assert himself. Eddie’s death was the only way in restoring the moral order. Eddie dies for, not that of the community values, but for his own pride.