The relationship between Eddie and Catherine is very close as they act like man and wife, “She strikes a match and holds it to his cigar” this is a typical showing closeness, usually between man and wife. Eddie is angered when Catherine and Rodolfo start to go out with each other and tells Catherine that the only reason Rodolfo is seeing her is because he wants to become an American citizen, “he marries you he’s got the right to be an American citizen. That’s what’s goin’ on here.” Eddie tells her this trying to look like he is protecting her but it is really just to force her away from Rodolfo meaning she has to then return to Eddie for support. Eddie dislikes Rodolfo, “The guy aint right,”, not only because he is in an intimate relationship with Catherine but also because Rodolfo is not a typical man. Rodolfo acts very feminine as he sings, cooks and sews which are all things that girls do, according to Eddie and his stereotypical view, “he’s a cook to! He sings, he cooks…”. Eddie has a very different relationship with Marco, Rodolfo’s older brother, Eddie respects Marco as he acts like a man and is very hard working. However at the end of Act 1 Marco becomes a threat to Eddie’s position as alpha male by showing he is stronger, usually this would prove nothing but Marco was speaking to Eddie in his own language. When the relationship between Catherine and Rodolfo becomes more serious Eddie starts a spiral of decline, he turns to drink and he becomes more arrogant with Catherine, this pushes her into marriage.
The reasons why Eddie can be blamed for his own downfall are the fact that he cannot admit to himself the feelings that he has for Catherine, this in turn causes Eddie to immediately dislike Rodolfo which makes Eddie want to split up Catherine and Rodolfo. However, by trying to do this, Eddie ends up pushing Catherine further away.
Catherine can also be blamed for Eddie’s downfall, she acts like a child around him and this could be to blame for Eddie’s obsession with her. Before the play Catherine saw Eddie as a father figure but once her relationship with Rodolfo deepens she then begins to see Rodolfo as the father figure, “I don’t know anything, teach me, Rodolfo” Catherine says this to show how her relationship with Eddie has changed and so has her relationship with Rodolfo as it then becomes sexual. Catherine is heavily influenced by Eddie, and when he tells her that Rodolfo is using her for his passport she immediately believes this. However, she accepts the assurances of Rodolfo and from that point Catherine abandons herself for him. This is also the point where Catherine begins to show a real strength of character that has not been in evidence before. However, any strength this might have given her evaporates in the final moments of the play when she murmurs her heartfelt regret for her part in Eddie’s tragic end.
Catherine is the one that Eddie loves so how can she be blamed for his own downfall? Catherine starts off the play as a little girl and at that time Eddie is contempt, however, Catherine acts too much like a little girl that when it is time for her to grow up she does it so fast and so sudden that it takes Eddie by surprise, leading him to his own downfall.
Eddie’s wife, Beatrice, is very aware of Eddie’s feelings for his niece and it soon becomes clear she is unhappy about it. Beatrice’s main aim in this play is to get her husband back, the physical, sexual part of their relationship has broken down and, despite challenging Eddie over this, Beatrice is unable to make him face why this might be. Beatrice is often saying she has, “other worries” about when she is, “gonna be a wife again, however, Eddie cannot admit his weakness to himself so he cannot admit it to her, and Beatrice remains powerless as a result. Even though she is powerless Beatrice does have her plans to get her own way, when Eddie leaves the house so will Beatrice, “his wife was out shopping”, this leaves Rodolfo and Catherine alone.
Beatrice may have been trying to push Catherine away from Eddie but she is doing this for the good of Eddie, she knows he wont admit his weakness and when she realises what is going to become of this she feels it is best to point it out to him, “you can never have her!” Beatrice is a loyal wife and sticks by him when everyone else has turned against him, however, Eddie fails to return the feelings until his death where his last breathe is left for her, therefore I believe that Beatrice cannot be blamed for Eddie’s downfall.
