‘You’re a baby you don’t understand these things’
Even though she acts and is treated like a child she has ambitions, she wants to get a good job and move out of the slum they are living in now.
The job that Catherine had been offered was a stenographer, and as I said before she wants to take it, however Eddie doesn’t want her to take it, he wants to support the family on his own to show his manhood.
Eddie like to be in control and likes to be in the limelight, when he comes home he wants Catherine and Beatrice to ask how his day was so when Beatrice’s cousins arrive they steal his limelight away from him. Rodolfo who also likes to be centre of attention comes into the play and sings and dances and people watch him, and stop watching Eddie.
Eddie tells Beatrice that her cousins have managed to get on a boat that left earlier then there original one did, Catherine is excited and when they do arrive she is instantly attracted to Rodolfo, but Eddie takes an instant dislike to Rodolfo because of his singing, cooking and his ability to design and make clothes, and how he spent his first wage packet on new clothes.
‘What does he do with his first money? a snappy new jacket he buys, records, a poiny pair of new shoes and his brothers kids are starvin’ over there with tuberculosis’
Although these quality’s are clearly Italian Eddie feels that the characteristics that every man should posses.
Because of these views he dislikes Rodolfo, and then when Catherine starts to go out with Rodoflo, he feels that she is leaving him for someone else who he sees as not having the qualities that a man should have. Eddie thinks that Rodolfo is only marrying Catherine for the citizen papers that will come with her. It becomes clear that Eddie is attracted to Catherine and is afraid she is leaving him.
‘Katie, he’s only bowin’ to his passport
His passport?
That’s right. He marries you he’s got the right to be an American citizen’
Beatrice is ten talking to Catherine telling her she should start to grown up and take responsibility for her own actions and stop doing what Eddie says.
‘You’re not a baby any more, what are you going to do with yourself’
Rodolfo is a happy-go-lucky person who is only in his early twenties and just wants to have fun. He has come across to America and is making good money. He doesn’t have to send any home and is enjoying the good fortune. Rodolfo and Catherine are instantly attracted to each other, but Eddie does not like the fact that Rodolfo hid not ask his permission to go out with Catherine which was common practice then especially in the Italian community.
Rodolfo is constantly being challenged by Eddie because he feels the need to prove he is more ‘manly’ then him.
Eddie ‘teaches’ Rodolfo boxing and takes the opportunity to punch him Marco seeing what is going on challenges Eddie to pick up a chair by one leg, when Eddie cant do this Marco kneels down picks up the chair and slowly rises it abouve his head to prove he is stronger than Eddie. Marco can see that Eddie does not like Rodolfo and will defend his brother if needed.
Quote Marco /Eddie chair bit
Catherine treats Beatrice like her mother. She goes to her for advice, and Beatrice is always willing to give it to her. Beatrice tells Catherine to go out and be more independent
‘It means you gotta be your own self more. You still think you’re a little girl, honey. But nobody else can make up your mind for you any more, you understand? You gotta give him to understand that he cant give you orders no more’
At the end of the play Eddie has informed the immigration bureau of Rodolfo and Marco being in his house. When the officers come to take them away Marco in the middle of the street accuses Eddie of phoning the immigration bureau in front of the crowd that had gathered to see what all the commotion was about.
Alferi becomes Marcos lawyer and tells him that if he bails him out then he must not go near Eddie, reluctantly Marco does this.
After Catherine and Rodolfo get married, Marco who is on bail awaiting to be deported back to his home country comes up to Eddies house, Catherine, Beatrice and Rodolfo know that Marco is coming and are trying to persuade Eddie to go somewhere else.
Marco goes to the house and hits Eddie on the side of the neck and shouts
‘Animal you go on your knees to me!’
Eddie does the worst thing possible and pulls out a knife, he is sweating because he is not thinking straight and tries to stab Marco, but Marco grabs his arm and pushes the knife into Eddie’s body.
And so I conclude that Eddie Carbone brings his death upon himself he does not know when to let go of Catherine and makes everything worse by going to the immigration bureau. Catherine matures enormously over the two days that Rofolfo is there goes from doing whatever Eddie wants her to do to being an independent, married woman who is caught in the middle of everything is not to blame, if Eddie had let go of Catherine and gave her his blessing then this would not of happened. If he didn’t go to the immigration bureau then it might not have happened, or if he didn’t pull out a knife on Marco in the final scene then he might not be dead. Alferi who can see all this happening as it goes along says in his opening and closing speech about settling for half. This is what Eddie should have done just settled for half.
