The arrival of Marco and Rodolpho is the catalyst that changes Miller’s male view, we originally feel Eddie is the image of masculinity, but the introduction of these important characters change the view of the audience. Are these two men, although not the perfect picture of the stereotypical male, any less masculine than Eddie Carbone? Eddie feels the traits he possesses are what make a man and when a less stereotypical male makes an appearance, such as Rodolpho, Eddie cannot cope and feels he is ‘not quite right.’ He warms to Marco earlier as he appears to be similar to Eddie, a man’s man.
In this scene we discover that Eddie is not as much like Marco as he had originally thought. Marco is strong, powerful and brave but he is not as obsessed with the idea of male dominance as Eddie. He is looking after his family, working here to feed them, but he trusts his wife and believes she is capable of running the home without him. He possesses more of an understanding of women than dominance. Marco is different to Eddie in a number of ways, he tries to keeps the peace between Eddie and Rodolpho, he wants to avoid the confrontation that Eddie desires to prove his masculinity and he also has no issue with men not being the ‘perfect’ view of masculinity that Eddie cannot handle.
Eddie is so confused about Rodolpho’s apparent lack of masculinity that he questions his sexuality, feeling that a ‘real man’ cannot have such feminine qualities as cooking, sewing, singing and dancing. These skills are merely artistic self-help skills for his home in Italy and due to his youth and laid back nature. He cooks to help on the boats, many fishermen sew nets and knit in the winter and his love of music is purely because of his youth. Eddie does not see this and feels so bewildered that he assumes Rodolpho is a homosexual.
In the earlier part of the extract Eddie immediately expresses his insensitive side to the audience when he makes the chauvinistic comment about Italian women being unfaithful while the husbands are away. This emphasises Eddie’s sexist views that women need to be guarded and watched over, Marco, however, trusts his wife and is hurt at the remark. When Rodolpho replies “It’s not so free” it appears to be the comment Eddie has been waiting for, the opportunity to retaliate and shout at him for leading Catherine astray. He wants to show his power and control over Catherine and warn Rodolpho that he cannot take her away. Subconsciously his desire for Catherine and his jealousy of their relationship is the main cause of his hatred for Rodolpho.
An argument ensues in which Eddie becomes increasingly aggravated when all his reasons to be angry are quickly solved. He is trying to think of a reason why Rodolpho is wrong for Catherine but his reasons are unjustified. This emphasises Eddie’s strong views on masculinity and his dislike for any man Catherine chooses, even without a reason to loathe their character. In this section the theme of masculinity is evident through Eddie’s words to Rodolpho, the limits he places on Catherine’s freedom and his antipathy. Beatrice’s knowledge of Eddie’s love for Catherine manifests itself to the audience although not to Eddie when she says, “Well then, be an uncle then.” It reveals her hidden antagonism towards Eddie’s comments. Marco is relatively calm throughout this, he tries to keep the peace by saying, “You come home early now, Rodolpho.” to avoid Eddie becoming increasingly frustrated. Later, however, this calm attitude changes as Eddie continues to make unreasonable accusations.
In the subsequent section Beatrice dismisses many of Eddie’s worries. For example Eddie says, “Where’s his papers, who is he? Know what I mean?” to which her response is “It’s the same chance in the daytime.” She continues to belittle his authority in this way due to her rage with him which adds to his tension. Eddie at this point still feels that Marco and himself are on the same wavelength, but when Marco responds to his views on making a living in New York with, “I beg your pardon, Eddie.” Eddie realises he is not quite the ‘man’s man’ he initially thought. He seems to feel the ‘proper man’ who understood him does not actually agree with him at all. The song ‘Paper Doll’ which is played begins the repeated pattern at the end of this act of dancing and then competition, a contrast of feminine and masculine activities. Rodolpho is obviously concerned about displeasing Eddie, he seems to be anxious about his instability as he is reluctant to dance with Catherine.
Eddie begins to mock Rodolpho’s skills, praising them sarcastically, “It’s wonderful. He sings, he cooks, he could make dresses…” He then says three times how he would not be on the water front if he could do those things, the repetition recognises his extreme tension and whilst he says this he rolls up a newspaper and tears it in two. It is a reflection of what he would like to do to Rodolpho and underlines his strength and aggression.
He continues to bully Rodolpho by calling him ‘Danish’, indicating that he is weak, flaky and unusually blond for an Italian; it seems to border on racism. Challenging Rodolpho to the fight is Eddie’s way of showing everybody how masculine and macho he is compared to Rodolpho, trying to show off his strength and make Rodolpho seem weak. He has no intention of teaching Rodolpho to box. He wants to hit him, give him a warning that he could hit him again. Eddie feels that humiliating Rodolpho will make Catherine less attracted to him, which is not the case.
This punch has enraged Marco. He loves his family and although he can be a calm and rational man, he will not accept Eddie’s continuous taunting. He challenges Eddie, lifting the chair is a sign of strength and therefore masculinity. When Eddie fails and Marco raises the chair high above his head, Miller is showing that Marco is more of a man than Eddie, he has strength but compassion and it is an omen of what is to follow. Eddie’s tragic end is already confirmed in this scene, how he will continue to make accusations at Rodolpho until Marco challenges him once more, a fight he will again lose.
Miller is trying to show through this scene, and later in the play, that there may be a stereotypical view of masculinity, but nobody needs to be exactly this way to be a better man. Everybody has different qualities and attributes but often the man who can accept these differences is the better person overall. Eddie’s fatal flaw in this play is his lack of acceptance to anybody unlike himself and this stubborn view of a perfect male eventually leads to his downfall and his death.