How is the last scene (from ‘The lights rise on the apartment…’) a fitting and explosive conclusion to the play?
A View from a Bridge-Arthur Millar Philippa Griffiths
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How is the last scene (from 'The lights rise on the apartment...') a fitting and explosive conclusion to the play?
In order to understand the last scene you must know the story of the whole play which I will briefly describe." A View from a Bridge" shows an insight into the life of a longshoreman called Eddie Carbone, who originally came from Scilly but is now living in the country of America in a slum near Brooklyn Bridge. He shares his life with his wife Beatrice and the girl, Catherine, who he has brought up as his own daughter and has grown a subconscious fanatical possessiveness for. Catherine is becoming of the age where she is old enough to go out to work and support herself, wanting to explore the many different enjoyments life has which she has been shielded from before. Eddie wants to keep her as a unchanged child, but Beatrice does not agree and the slight tension which lies in the family bubbles over after the arrival of two Scilian immigrants, cousins of Beatrice, who come into the household. Eddie initially gets on well with the elder brother Marco, who possesses many qualities that Eddie admires but, the manly qualities that Marco has become a threat to Eddie as tension between him and the brothers build up. Rodolpho is young, unmarried and obviously attractive to Catherine. Eddie has an instant dislike towards him and is overridden with jealousy because of the affections he is gathering and returning to Catherine. His hateful feelings are eventually enough to denounce both brothers to the Immigration authorities, which in a Scilian community is an unforgivable crime and so Marco kills him in the very last scene of the play.
In order to answer the question I must investigate the purpose of the play and conclude the possible reasons for characters actions. All mentally stable humans have morals which may relate to the environment the person was brought up in. This is what we believe distinguishes us humans from animals. It could be said that in the play Eddie behaves like an animal as in the concluding scene Marco shouts 'Anima-a-a-al', he seems to behave like he has no integrity, especially not the strict ideals of the Scilian community. I believe Eddie is in control of his morals which do basically follow the Scilian community e.g. protect your family in the way you think best, but his feelings are in turmoil causing Eddie to behave in an unexpected way e.g. denouncing illegal immigrants. Early on in Act 1 he was disgusted Vinny Bolzaro reported some immigrants that were staying with his family. And says ironically 'You'll never see him no more,a guy do a thing like that.' If Eddie had know himself better he could have made the denied feelings he had for Catherine clear before the problem spiralled out of control.
The need for compromise is evidently a very important theme in the play right from the beginning as Alfrieri says, 'Now we settle for half and I like it much better.' A compromise needs to be made so people feel satisfied that some of their needs to be made so people feel satisfied that some of their needs have been met and so they know what everybody else wants. Compromise was needed in a variety of instances in the play, firstly between Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine on the dispute about Catherine having more freedom, secondly between Eddie and Rodolpho about Catherine and lastly and probably the catastrophic conflict in the play between Eddie and Marco. They are two people from the same culture who ultimately what the same thing, an apology, eg Marco says ' Maybe he wants to apologise to me' and Eddie says 'He's gonna come here and apologise to me'. It is obvious if two people want the same thing off each other they are not going to get it what they want. The last scene is fitting to this theme because it shows if compromise is not taken the worst case scenario is death.
The play is still relevant to today as the primitive drives which control the characters in the play are present in today's society. Every single character in this play is driven by the endurance of primitive drives, which I will explain individually throughout the essay. The play clearly demonstrates to stop these drives which are inbuilt coming into force ,takes a lot of strength as most the time you are not aware of how you are behaving e.g. Catherine e.g. Beatrice says 'You still walk around in your slip' .As we are human we have a conscience and most of the time feel sorry with what we have done eg. Beatrice, 'Then we all belong in the garbage'. The characters in the play fight their instincts for a while until events push them over the edge and they lose control and their instincts take over.
The title clearly reflects the plays themes, one way to interpret the title is to say when you are viewing the landscape (Redhook) from the Brooklyn Bridge you are not personally involved but impartially as you are looking at the houses which people live in but are not concerned about their lives. This idea could go into the context of the audience witnessing the play being involved but only impartially as the outcome bares no real effect to their life. When you are having a view from a bridge you are looking at the exterior of the houses as the insides are blocked by solid walls this could be put in the context of the audience being shielded from the characters true motives, like they have put a wall across from letting you in. The bridge is Alferi who is a man socially higher up than all the other characters in the play so he is further along the process of becoming 'an American'. Brooklyn bridge is the way out of Red Hook and symbolically Alfieri is the bridge because he is higher up looking down on the community of Red Hook and also he is further along it than the other characters in the play therefore he is wiser than them.
Miller wanted to make ' A view from a Bridge' a modern Greek Tragedy, hence the presence of the Chorus in Alfieri. I think the incorporation of the character Alfieri present inside and outside the action has worked extremely well to make it successful.. The audience look on the situation the same as the narrator Alfieri and feel on a par with him so when Alfieri becomes inside the action the gap between the audience and characters is narrowed, Alfieri therefore could be said to be lowering the bridge and giving the audience a close look. Alfieri is ...
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Miller wanted to make ' A view from a Bridge' a modern Greek Tragedy, hence the presence of the Chorus in Alfieri. I think the incorporation of the character Alfieri present inside and outside the action has worked extremely well to make it successful.. The audience look on the situation the same as the narrator Alfieri and feel on a par with him so when Alfieri becomes inside the action the gap between the audience and characters is narrowed, Alfieri therefore could be said to be lowering the bridge and giving the audience a close look. Alfieri is used as a strong dramatical device. He talks in past tense eg. 'and sat there' which shows he is looking back in history on events and knows the outcome of the tale. This increases the audiences tension as they realise Alfieri could let slip clues to what is going to happen. He immediately reveals to the audience that the tale he is about to tell is out of the ordinary in the introduction, he describes it as the case which ' the dust in the air is blown away' in his office which show the following events are going to be exciting which keeps the audience gripped. Throughout the play he talks of the inevitably of the outcome which he knew at the time e.g. 'and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course', he seems to behave as if a Greek Oracle who sees the future through present wise eyes. Every interlude he tantalises the audience that bit more, creating a tense atmosphere as they subconsciously know the outcome but want to see how it happens. He speaks very dramatically bearing some resemblance to the poetic talk of a Greek Chorus, hyping the audience up as his hints to Eddie's fate, (I could see every step coming, step after step like a dark figure walking down the hall towards a certain door. I knew where he was heading for. I knew were it was going to end'), get the audience guessing to what is going to happen. His dramatic language also implies things without him directly saying it e.g. 'after they had eaten the cousins came', you can tell by the language that the entrance of the cousins to the play is quite significant. The dramatic techniques Millar uses around Alfieri increasing the audiences 'edge of the set tension' throughout the play makes the ultimate scene very explosive because the ultimate climax has been reached. He ends the play ironically with the same words he used in his opening scene, 'now we settle for half and I like it more' . This has important significance to the play because throughout it people wanted more than half.. Alferi told the story of Eddie Carbone to justify the statement he made and to make it clear the importance of compromise. His speech, like a funeral oration, leaves the audience reflecting on Eddie's good points and questioning what really is right and wrong. The important statement 'justly shot by unjust men' is very apt to describe Eddie's actions in Alfieri's philosophy, what he did was admirable to not give in for what he believed in so in one sense his actions were justified but in another unjustified because he did not compromise and admit he was wrong in some respects.
There is tension existing between Eddie and Catherine right at the beginning of the first scene as Eddie is uncomfortable with the skirt Catherine is wearing e.g. ' I think its too short.' but Catherine obviously disagrees and protests e.g. 'Eddie it's the style now'. Eddie also confronts her about the way she walks down the street e.g. 'your walkin' wavy. 'This argument is typical of those between fathers and daughters seems to put Eddie in the place of Catherine's father figure, as his position is not yet clear until he says 'Katie I promised your mother on her death bed. I'm responsible for you', this clarifies that Eddie is the commanding force in Catherine's life. Yet, although his position could be read as a father figure, it could also be seen that Catherine and Eddie are man and wife. There seems to be a frission going on between them such as Catherine running her hands over her skirt and also the clue when Catherine greets Eddie about his reaction which is mentioned in the stage directions, 'Eddie is pleased and therefore shy about it', this appears to be the behaviour of a love struck teenage who is happy that their crush has noticed them but cautious in case they notice their reaction. Eddie also says to Catherine, 'you gotta keep your self more' but for what? For him? Is Eddie hiding behide his fatherly role subconsciously manipulating Catherine to get what he wants? Eddie's worry about Catherine's sexual provocativeness maybe because he is jealous and wants Catherine solely to himself so no one else can have her but as this is so early on in the play it probably is not read into too much by the audience who more likely see Eddie orthodoxly, playing the role he is supposed too. Initially when Beatrice first enters their relationship seems comfortable. Eddie is caring and loving towards her eg, 'What are you cryin' about' and there is interaction between them as Eddie kindly reaches out and grabs her hand to comfort her but not in a flirtatious manner. As soon as the subject turns to Catherine the tension is felt between the three characters and the mood from a light-hearted atmosphere is totally changed. Eddie is flabbergasted by the announcement that Catherine wants to leave school and threatens her by saying, 'you'll never get nowheres unless you finish school'. Beatrice in surprising comparison to when she was listening to Eddie's opinion very subserviently earlier, now is disagreeing with Eddie and taking Catherine's side quite bravely and standing up to Eddie in a way she probably would not normally do. Is this a mother to daughter kind of bond she has with Catherine so she can see things her way or does something more complex lie behide her motives? The tension between the three main characters seems to be simmering but an additive of something else may cause an explosive reaction. The reaction waiting to happen is like a bomb counting down the time to the explosion. Time is of the essence in this play as Catherine can only be kept a baby for so long, the theme of time is evidently a major factor in this play, in Act 1 p12 to 15 Eddie takes out his watch at least three times, this is just before the arrival of the two cousins. This is perhaps symbolising that time is beginning to run out and the bomb is near explosion. One reason why the last scene could be called an explosive conclusion to the play is because there is no longer a slow build up but all the 'fireworks' are being set of at once. This technique creates an extremely tense atmosphere and apprehension on the arrival of the two brothers to see what will happen.
Rodolpho and Marco are the catalysts as they really make the concoction bang. Eddie has changed from the initial meeting of the brothers to the last scene. In the previous scene before the brothers come Eddie sits down in an armchair puffing a cigar which suggests he is reasonably relaxed in a comfortable chair. However in the last scene the image is quite the opposite as 'Eddie is alone in a rocker, rocking back and forth in little surges. The rocking chair and arm-chair symbolise he is the man of the house. His head of the house position seems quite stable while he is in the arm-chair but in the last scene he 'surges' back and forth in the rocking chair which suggests he feels his postion is vunerable and it also suggests madness and obsession. He seems to have gradually changed after the arrival of the immigrants they must be the catalystscausing the change. Rodolpho is initially a catalyst as he threatens Eddie unintentionally on the subject of Catherine. Catherine seems to be attracted to him from the moment she sees him("He's practically blonde!") and Eddie obviously feels immediately threatened by his presence as he trys to get Catherine out of the room e.g. 'How's the coffee doing' She obviously wants to be engaged in conversation with Rodolpho as she comes back in from the kitchen to listen and forgets the coffee as Eddie again says to her ' What happened to the coffee?' and eventually Catherine still does not get the coffee as Beatrice says 'I'll get the coffee'. Eddie, as a father figure may have been concered about Catherine falling for a man he knows nothing about and does not what her to get her hopes up and also he could feel that Rodolpho is competing with him for Catherine's affections. However maybe he is worried Rodolopho is a threat to win Catherine on a more intimate level. Eddie obviously is very mixed up with his emotions and the feelings Rodolpho is stirring inside him are confusing him even more, he subconsciously knows to feel secure in his life he needs Catherine to fulfil many gaps in his it whether it be for a different kind of love than expected.
Eddie obviously took a shine more to Marco than Rodolpho when they first met. Marco showed Eddie respect in a subservient manner (I want to tell you now Eddie-when you say go , we will go') which Eddie likes as it makes him feel more powerful. Marco seems to have the edge over Rodolpho (Marco raises a hand to hush him-Rodopho )as he is older and so does all the formalities eg. the thankyous. He seems maturer and more serious than Rodolpho which Eddie considers to be more on a par with himself and so it is apparent that he is inclined to address him more than Rodolpho who he thinks is being too jovial about the serious situation. Perhaps he is jealous of Rodolpho as he is very out going and has people laughing as soon as he speaks(They laugh-at Rodolpho-as Eddie enters) which overshadows Eddie as the centre of attention. Marco in comparison is more passive, formal and cautious which Eddie likes as it is what he believes to be respectful. Marco ironically becomes the catalyst at the end of Act 1. I think his anger is triggered when Eddie says to him '...ifs he's here for a good time then he could fool around!' But I understood, Marco, that you was both comin' to make a livin for your family.' because he takes it as a personal insult ("I beg our pardon")that he has been fooling around and disgracefully not earning for his dying family. He can sense Rodolpho is been made fun off by Eddie ('one a these days somebody's liable to step on his foot or something' and his primeval instincts kick in as he feels he is the strongest man and has to protect his family name. He sees the physical challenge Eddie is putting to Rodolopho to try and prove to Catherine that he is stronger, Marco can see the rivalry and wants to put Eddie in his place. The warning behide the lifting the chair competition from Marco to Eddie is your fight is with me, Eddie reckonises the challenge and sees Marco as the realistic threat. Eddie respects Marco for the more masculine qualities he possesses(Marco goes around like a real man) compared to Rodolpho who he believes is homosexual. Eddie would earn more respect from others if he took Marco on and won.
The ending of Act 2 mirrors events that occur at the end of Act 1.`This is very dramatic as the audience along with the clues Alfieri gives can see the direction in which the play is heading at the end of Act1. It portraits the inevitability that Eddie has a destiny and can not escape it as the ordered way of the Acts appears to symbolise the fact that the future is mapped out for Eddie with precision. In this idea the last scene is very fitting to the play as it was what the events which occurred along the way were leading up too.
There is a recognisable pattern of 'episode', 'interlude' throughout Act 1 but this changes as Act 2 builds up in pace and tension. There is no time to stop and take a breath as the play is reaching the ultimate climax. Millar creates the last scene so the audience are still kept gripped. He uses techniques such as pausing so the audience can take in what is happening and to create an uneasy atmosphere. 'Now Beatrice emerges from the bedroom. She is in her best clothes, wearing a hat' from what she is wearing it implies she is going to Catherine's wedding without anyone actually saying anything. This is more effective in creating a tense atmosphere because the audience will be apprehensive on Eddies reaction. The audience can sense what is happening from body language e.g. Catherine's says 'You're gonna come with me' but Beatrice has not said that she will not so Catherine must think she has changed her mind from her actions. Perhaps she is taking of the hat and her body language looks fearful and vulnerable. Millar confuses the audience to make the end seem not so conclusive. Eddie says 'he's gonna come here', it is unclear who 'He' is. It is likely to be Marco but he could mean Rodolpho to want an apology for having a relationship with Catherine without his permission..explosive as things happen all at once leading to another, time seems to be moving faster and there is no time to stop as if events need to follow a particular time table.
The final reconciliation between the three core characters is a very emotional moment, Beatrice and Catherine seem to be giving back Eddie 'his name' as they call it again and again and trying to give Eddie justice for the reason he died. They are perhaps guilty as they have realised they contributed in taking Eddie's 'name.' and in his hour of death they are only able to rid of all the confused feelings which cloud the love they truly have for him. Extremely romantically the last thing Eddie says before he dies is 'My B!' in an attempt to reconcile with her, perhaps at the moment before his death for the first time in ages he knew his true feelings. The phrase 'till death us to part' is very apt as Beatrice has scene it through right to the end and ultimately proclaimed her love to Eddie so he knew what she felt before he dramatically died.
Eddie is a tragic hero as he died for what he believed in and would not give up under any circumstances. All the charcters seem to be coming together to witness the execution of Eddie. Rodolpho enters before Marco so perhaps the audience think that Rodolpho as come to give Eddie the apologie he asked for and think its all going to end peacefully but then 'Marco is coming Eddie' Millar uses another pause here so the audience have time to react then Beatrice 'raises her hands in terror' which clearly must have an effect on the audience. Eddie obviously does not want an apologie from Rodolpho(He reaches for Eddie's hand, but Eddie snaps it away) but Marco who from want Rodolpho as said is not going to give one. Attention is drawn to Eddie's physique as he hoists up his pants getting ready for the conflict which reminds the audience how much athletic Maro is.The final conflict between Marco and Eddie is a bit like a western show down because of the way Marco calls his name 'Eddie Carbone!' and Eddie swerves around when all stand transfixed in a dramatic freeze frame. Eddie repeats his name a number of times as if saying a war chant before going into battle. To increase the drama of this scene I think Marco on the street outside would be in the shadows of the buildings and Eddie when he appears outside also to be in shadows to increase the tension of what is going to happen next. This could also symbolise the dark intentions they have in their mind They both come into the light as they meet., perhaps a slight spotlight could be placed on them to identify the main two people, Beatrice, Catherine and Rodolpho also need to be clearly spotted. After Eddie has spoken his last line the lights need to be totally blacked out except for the spotlight shining on Alfieri for his final word. The death of Eddie blows every thing apart as partiuarly Beatrice's and Catherine's lives have been torn apart as for the rest of their life they ar likely to be dramatized by what they have seen.
Eddie's Scilian background enhances his 1950's notions of manhood.Eddie does not have an education to hide is primitive drives behide, he is intellectually challenge and a strong comparison is felt between Alfieri and him. Alfieri's language is plain and direct, language expected of a lawyer, it is much more sophisticated than Eddie who speaks in slang. He feels frustrated that he can't eloquently use words to express his emotions, he can not understand his own feelings and so is a man dominated by physical strength rather than brains. He can only compete on a physical level for instance when he starts to teach Rodolph boxing (I'll teach you)and this is why he was so effected by Marco being able to lift the chair. He acts impulsively before thinking and planing things out as it is easier to do so, e.g. when he spontaneously reaches and kisses Catherine as all his emotions have been building up inside him and all of a sudden they impulsively surge. He is confused about what he really wants and so physically acts it out e.g. trying to prove Rodolpho is gay to Catherine by kissing him. He knows he can't beat Rodolpho on a intellectual scale as it is evident that he is quite intelligent from his wit and language which seem almost poetic at times ( 'Catherine if I take in my hands a little bird') so he trys to prove that he is stronger than him. Eddie lives a simple life which is not one full of pomp so to fulfil his human nature he wants to own something valuable like Catherine He seems to find security in thinking she needs him to make her life e.g. 'That ain't what I wanted' and when she starts to become more independent he lashes out and blames Rodolpho for it. Rodolpho is challenging him for a role he feeels he has played in Catherines life and primevaly jelously,contempt and fustration combine to make him desperate to destroy Rodolpho. The Redhook community is very close nit so eveyone knows eveyones business, if one person disobeys the rules the whole community will turn against them. Eddie is a pround man and does not want his name wiped 'like a dirty rag' all over the community so he is demanding respect as he knows his life in Redhook is not prosperous if he does'nt earn it once more.
The Scilian community, in which Eddie lives is not well advanced, you can tell this by the way Rodoloph informs us about the country that you can 'earn a few lire to push a taxi up the hill,' this is clearly not advanced technology. The lack of advance means they are still very primitive in their values and ideas as they do not have anything else to concentrate their efforts into. Eddie has been brought up the Scilian way and so there is inevitably going to be a conflict of views with Catherine who may have been brought up a Scilian but has been exposed to the American way of life by going to school and meeting others. Families are very important as life evolves around them, therefore loyalty to the family is very important as they are a unit. Scilians are hard done by, they are poor, hard working but yet starving so they need to stick together to survive.If someone does not , like Eddie , it is looked on as a disgrace as it is like killing a family. There is little justice in their lives and so primevaly a Scilian code of conduct exists which can not be violated even though it is not proper law in the eyes of America. The community has continued to follow this law as it is tradition and they probably believe the stone written law is not very just because the difficulties they live in. The problem is Eddie and Marco are the same kind of figure in the same culture and unavoidably there is going to be a conflict. The story may have been a totally different scenario if the characters were not of Scilian background and the story was not set in the 1950's as there personality is shaped by their culture and the time.
As this play is extremely complex it is difficult to point the finger of blame for the tragedy at any one person as I believe everyone was responsible in a proportion for what happened .Beatrice throughout the play is pushing Eddie over the edge not playing the subservient role as the wife Eddie expects e.g. 'Katie, don't listen to him' Her feisty nature is making Eddie feel inadequate as a man. After reading the whole play Beatrice is obviously jealous of Catherine who Eddie gives a large proportion of his affections to but this jealousy is clothed behind her caring for Catherine and taking her side. Only when the situation gets extremely desperate does she confront Eddie with the feelings she has been stewing over,"You want something else Eddie and you can't have her.' She encouraged Catherine to be more independent and without his Catherine may have continued to obey Eddie.
Catherine obviously has mixed emotions for Eddie as she is guilty of confusing him by giving mixed signals. She says she forgets to not go around in her slip but is this really her twisted sexual desire towards Eddie. Perhaps Catherine is more to blame than Beatrice as she was the one provoking Eddie and toying with his feelings.
Rodolpho unintentionally fires up Eddie so he can not be blamed but Marco puts extra pressure on him, causing a crack.He perhaps understandably shows no respect to him and Eddie feels like he has taken his name. Marco could be seen as quite responsible for the tradey as he caused Eddies already aggravated emotions to spiral out of control.
I do feel sympathy for Eddie in the last scene as he is being pulled in every direction by the main characters and like Marco is driven by primeval instincts. Marco and Eddie are both acting the way they are for instinctive reasons, so I am on either side .
'Most of the time now we settle for half and I like it better', this isa very important quote from The View from a Bridge as it sums up the play well. It leads me to have exactly the same view as Alfieri which is if Eddie and Marco had settled for half I would like it better.
