Since Rodolfo and Marco first arrived at Eddie’s house, Miller has shown how Eddie is desperate to get rid of Rodolfo and to discredit him, and is prepared to go to any lengths to do this. In the case of Rodolfo, he quickly comes up with several excuses to do this, he says that Rodolfo is, Platinum Blond, “slightly built,” Platinum Blond, a good singer and dancer and can make dresses. Moreover, both Mike and Louis from the docks seem to agree with Eddie: “He comes around the docks, everybody’s laughing,” Mike is shown to say. This works both for and against Eddie, firstly it has positive connotations in that it shows that both Mike and Louis agree with Eddie about Rodolfo, and think that it is funny, which gives Eddie more reason to believe he is right and keep going, however, it could have negative repercussions on Eddie because if people find out that the source of the amusement is one of Eddie’s relations then it will lower peoples opinions of him, and the audience knows that his pride is a big part of Eddie’s life.
Later on, Eddie is shown to say to Catherine that Rodolfo is, “Just a hit-and-run guy,” and, “only bowing to his passport.” The word “only,” in the quotes shows that Eddie does not think there is anything other to Rodolfo apart from his desire to have an American passport, this indicates that Eddie has already made up his mind about Rodolfo, and has almost forbidden himself from seeing the good in the character, as he is sure he is right. “Hit-and-run,” has connotations of a disaster in which the perpetrator has committed the act and then “run,” away, Eddie could be using this to tell Catherine that he ‘knows’ her relationship with Rodolfo is not going to last and that Rodolfo is not going to love her as she wants. However, this may have different meaning to the audience, as they already know that Eddie has feelings for Catherine, and so this may imply to them that Eddie is only saying this because he is jealous of Rodolfo and wants Catherine to himself. This could create tension in the audience because it seems as though Eddie is abusing his power and influence as an uncle and using Catherine’s trust in him to make her do what he wants. This may also create tension because the audience is not sure how Catherine will react, and whether she will listen to Eddie or not, and also what affect this will have on the rest of the characters and the relationships between them.
It is obvious to see that Catherine is clearly distressed and confused by what she has been told; she is at a very vulnerable time when Beatrice comes to comfort her. However, it is easy to see that Beatrice trusts Beatrice on this though, and feels comfortable talking to her. Catherine says, “All right,” and “ok,” multiple times throughout their conversation, indicating that she is agreeing with everything Beatrice says. The stage directions have a great impact in this scene: “Catherine, now sensing an imperious demand turns fearfully to Beatrice.” The words “imperious demand,” may suggest that Beatrice is now ordering Catherine, and telling her what to do rather than discussing with her, and this creates tension because the audience can see that Catherine has chosen to obey Beatrice even though this means disobeying Eddie. Tension is also created by the fact that Beatrice is using this argument to get rid of Catherine, because although Beatrice is saying that Eddie thinks she is jealous of Catherine, when in actual fact everybody but Catherine can see that she is only saying this to make Eddie seem like the enemy because she is jealous of the attention Catherine is getting from Eddie.
During Eddie’s Discussion with Alferi he voices several feelings he has about Rodolfo, which he has not previously been able to express to anyone else. The first argument against Rodolfo Eddie comes up with is that Rodolfo, “ain’t right,” that, “he’s a blond guy. Like… Platinum and that, “if you close the paper fast, you could blow him over.” These are all attempts to subtly suggest that Rodolfo is homosexual. This would give more credit to his argument that Rodolfo is just after his papers, as, if Rodolfo was indeed gay then he could not possibly love Catherine. This creates tension in two ways: the audience are not sure whether to believe Eddie or not, as although in theory it is possible, it seems much more prudent that Eddie is struggling to make what he is saying fit the Reality of the situation, and looks more like Eddie is trying to convince himself of this to assure himself that he is right and to stop himself having to admit that he loves Catherine.
Once back at the house after leaving Alferi’s office, Eddie makes several subtle hints at this to the other characters, when Marco says that Rodolfo is a good cook, Eddie, in his frustration at there being nothing he can legally do about Rodolfo, says in a supposedly sarcastic or cynical tone, “It’s wonderful, he sings, he cooks, he could make dresses…” Eddie links all these together because these are the qualities he believes a real man should not have, this ties in with Eddie’s feelings that Rodolfo is gay, and his distorted views on masculinity. The word “wonderful” has connotations of being good and useful, this may be linked with Eddie trying to convince himself that he is right and Rodolfo is gay, and that the more ‘feminine’ qualities he can find with him, the more truthful it seems. However, as Eddie is not trying to sound sincere, it is more likely that he is being sarcastic, and is using wonderful as the opposite to what he means, as he feels the situation ‘just keeps getting better and better.’ The fact that Eddie is basing his argument mainly on the fact that he doesn’t think Rodolfo is manly enough, may suggest that he does not have a problem with Catherine having a boyfriend at all, but instead feels that the boyfriend should be the ‘normal’ alpha male, who is able to protect her, and that Rodolfo is not capable of this. This may create tension in the audience as, if Eddie is violent towards Rodolfo he will not be able to defend himself, as he is not a strong, manly person. This is important for two reasons: Miller shows that Eddie may not want Rodolfo to be with Catherine as he is not masculine enough, Miller also shows Eddie to say that “if you close the paper fast, you could blow him over” and that his voice when singing resembles that of a woman. This could suggest that Eddie does in fact have Catherine’s best interests at heart, and that he just doesn’t feel Rodolfo would be able to look after her, but does not want to voice this in case it makes him look weak. This creates tension because up till now, it has seemed as though Eddie’s motives have been that he simply does not like Rodolfo, and is only thinking about himself. Moreover, Eddie is shown to feel that he must maintain a high level of masculinity and dominance in order to keep his authority in the household. He restricts any emotion he may show in case it lowers others opinions of him. This is depicted when he is talking to Alferi, and has to leave because he is scared Alferi may see his distress. This is shown by the stage directions: “he feels the threat of sobs, and with a helpless wave goes out up the right ramp.” This creates tension because if Eddie hides his feelings and emotions from everybody including the man he feels he can talk most openly to then he will have no means of release and all his anger will build up until he can no longer control it and will unleash it on the other characters.
The relationship between Catherine and Rodolfo also creates tension throughout the characters, and this is easily picked up on by the audience. In Eddie’s view they almost taunt him with it by flaunting it in front of him, and the audience can see that it is Eddie’s inability to control himself when faced with these situations that will lead to his downfall. This is particularly poignant right after Eddie’s confrontation with Rodolfo about them coming home late. Rodolfo is shown to turn down an invitation to dance with Catherine in “deference to Eddie.” However this is to great avail as both Catherine and Beatrice, who also wants to show Eddie up at this moment, pressure him into it. Catherine is shown to say, “Come on,” and Beatrice: “Go ahead, dance,” in approval. These create tension because it demonstrates that no one agrees with Eddie, or just doesn’t care what he thinks, and the audience knows that with Eddie’s personality this will greatly upset him and he will probably do something rash, especially as it is his own wife who has turned against him. When Catherine and Rodolfo start dancing against Eddie’s wishes, he feels threatened and that his authority has been destroyed: “(Eddie Freezes),” this shows that Eddie has been almost rooted to the spot by Catherine’s suggestion that she and Rodolfo should dance. The word freeze has connotations with being motionless and shocked, this could indicate that Eddie feels he has been undermined and is too taken aback to do anything, the fact that he is ‘frozen to the spot,’ implies that this may be the first time he has been deliberately disobeyed, and that he may decide to blame it on Rodolfo as Eddie thinks he is the cause of all his problems. This creates tension because the audience can see that Eddie is slowly losing control and may finally lose it. After they have finished dancing the stage directions say that Eddie: “has been unconsciously twisting the newspaper into a tight roll…and it suddenly tears in two.” This is a very important part in the scene as on the one hand, the newspaper represents Eddie’s state of mind and when it tears it shows that Eddie has finally ‘snapped,’ and is about to do something. But on the other hand it could be used to represent one of Rodolfo’s limbs, and the fact that Eddie may want to ‘rip him to pieces’ for defying him. This creates tension for the audience as they have never really seen Eddie lose it before so they know that it does not happen very often an as a result will probably be violent, and also for the fact that he is becoming more and more aggressive, and so whatever is going to happen will probably be soon. This is shown in the next thing Eddie does when he ‘teaches’ Rodolfo to fight. Eddie says, “put sump’m behind it, you cant’ hurt me,” The phrase “you can’t hurt me,” could be Eddie taunting Rodolfo saying that he is weak and that whatever he does Eddie will still be in control and have his authority. This would create tension because Eddie, although supposedly in jest, is fighting Rodolfo, which is something we know that he has wanted to do because he doesn’t like him. The tension may also be related with Marco, who is Rodolfo’s brother and so will stick by him, as he is much stronger than Rodolfo and maybe even Eddie.
Up till this point it has been shown that Marco is a neutral character and does not want to either defend Rodolfo or attack him, Eddie sees this as an excuse to use him as a weapon against him. Upon seeing that Rodolfo listens to, respects, and to some degree obeys Marco, Eddie utilises him in order to have more power and influence over Rodolfo. When the conversation about it, “ain’t so free here (in America) either,” becomes directed at Rodolfo, the stage directions show Eddie turning towards Marco and asking if he “knows what I (Eddie) means,” This may be because if Rodolfo thinks that Marco agrees with Eddie then he may as well. It may also mean that Eddie is trying to get approval for his indirect attack on Rodolfo, or even for Marco to back him up and talk to Rodolfo for Eddie, as if he were in fact a parent figure to Rodolfo. Marco says to everyone in the room: “if he does wrong you must tell him. [To Eddie] What does he do wrong?” and he repeats twice to Rodolfo that he must, “come home early now.” This emphasizes Marco’s parental role over Rodolfo, which creates tension because it firstly shows that Marco is listening to Eddie, and to some degree is doing what he says, but also that Eddie and Marco share some similarities in that they both have family members who are they are not the parents of, yet both feel the need to act as a father figure towards that family member, and to some extent, more in Eddie than Marco, to tell them how to live their lives. This would make the audience feel uneasy, as they do not know what will happen to the relationships in the play if Marco starts agreeing with Eddie.
Eddies deteriorating relationship with Marco do not improve this situation, and so helps to create tension. The last scene we see in Act 1 creates enormous amounts of tension for Act 2 by furthering the exploration of masculinity, and Eddie’s need to control, and feel like he is still in charge. Marco demonstrates this at the end of the scene through challenging Eddie to lift the chair from the leg. Eddie is shown to feel that his masculinity is put into question when he fails to lift the chair, and then his authority and leadership removed when Marco can. We can see from the stage directions that Eddie feels threatened by this, and his ego badly wounded. Eddie tries to shrug this off by saying: “it’s on an angle, that’s why, heh?” This cover up may be an attempt to lighten the mood, and if Eddie treats it as a joke then the rest of the family will as well, and it will take their minds off the fact that his strength has failed him. However, Eddie’s “grin,” which is most likely the remains of the attempted explanation, is soon removed as Miller shows his “grin vanishes as he absorbs his (Marcos) look,” this is a direct result of Marco being able to lift the chair and when he does the stage directions say: “and he (Marco) transforms what may appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph,” On one hand this may suggest sadness on Eddies part, as his ego has just been greatly dented. However, it may also be a result of Marcos “glare of warning” and is in fact Eddie trying to control his anger at Marco’s blatant hostility. This creates tension for the audience because up till now they have always believed Marco to be the one neutral character in the play, just over there to send money home, but now it seems like he is taking an active part, and defending Rodolfo against Eddies slanderous onslaught.
In conclusion, I feel that Arthur Miller creates tension in the climax to Act 1 in “A View From The Bridge,” in many different ways. These include the exploration and presentation of many of the key themes that Miller has sewn throughout the play, comprising mainly of: masculinity, incest, Greek tragedy, jealousy, pride and obsession. He uses surprise, and a ‘factor of the unknown’ to keep the audience in suspense as to when Eddie will lose control, but never in doubt to the fact that he will. All in all Miller uses a variety of techniques and themes to create tension for the audience and keep them in suspense for the whole play, and successfully draws on this to build huge climaxes at many points.
