Look at the opening scene between Eddie and Catherine (pages 5-12) and the scene in which Catherine has just returned from the picture house (pages 26-29).How do these scenes foreshadow the breakdown in Eddie and Catherine's relationship?

Hena Mir- 10 Palmer- 10G1- Miss Gill- English

“Look at the opening scene between Eddie and Catherine (pages 5-12) and the scene in which Catherine has just returned from the picture house (pages 26-29).How do these scenes foreshadow the breakdown in Eddie and Catherine’s relationship?

A young girl disobeying her father? That would have been unheard of in the 1950’s, about the time that Arthur Miller wrote ‘A View from the Bridge’. That’s why an audience of that day and age, would have immediately become aware that the relationship between Eddie Carbone, and his niece Catherine was destined to end in tears and tragedy. The constant display of sexual inequality between Eddie and Catherine throughout the play would have been the norm in those days, as men were thought of as extremely superior than females. Miller has introduced the audience to a family that seems normal; the father figure being the breadwinner and provider, caring for his family. This has two effects on the audience. It encourages the audience to approve of the Carbone family, as they seem regular and would fit the stereotype of a perfect family, of that time, but it also builds tension among the audience. The audience becomes eager to see what problems will arise for this ‘perfect’ family, and already the tension has started to mount. Miller intentionally set the opening scene in this way, to promote the audience to stay interested and intrigued by the play.

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From the opening scene, it inevitable to the audience, that the relationship shared between Eddie and Catherine Carbone, will not end on a positive note. Although the audience take into account that Eddie is the only father figure Catherine has ever known, and for this reason she shows ample respect and gratitude towards him, they cannot turn a blind eye to the desperate requirement of approval that Catherine seeks from her uncle. “I styled it different. You like it?” Her thirst to be accepted by him seems unnatural, and Eddies thirst to be needed by his niece seems to be a violation of her privacy and own social life. Eddie seems to enjoy Catherine acting vulnerable and in need of his attention, as he continuously draws the topic of conversation back to her. The conversation turns from “...He’s here B.!” from Catherine, to “Beautiful…Lemme see in the back” from Eddie. Miller has shown us that

Eddie is an insecure man, who has a craving to be wanted. This would increase the tension and suspense for an audience of the 1950s, as a grown man would naturally be the dominant, most respected person in the family, often very haughty and proud, not in a state of desperation to be yearned for by someone who looked up to him as a father. When Catherine announces that she has a job, the audience witness a slightly more aggressive side of Eddie as he over-protectively debates the matter of his attractive niece working alongside “…a lotta plumbers and sailors”. Eddie selects multiple reasons as to why Catherine shouldn’t take the job, including “I know that neighbourhood…I don’t like it,” but here it seems that Eddie may be too protective of his niece. The audience are now certain that Eddie has the wrong outlook towards his relationship with Catherine. Miller has built and strengthened the growing tension, so the audience is completely drawn into the play, and can hardly wait for the rest of the story line to unfold. By this time, Miller has enabled the audience to realize that Eddie cannot bring himself to let go of his niece, he obviously feels frustration upon realizing that Catherine has grown up and is no longer dependant on him. The audience can already detect a breakdown in the relationship between Eddie and Catherine, as he wants to keep her caged up, but she wants her freedom.

Alfeiri’s role in the play also emphasizes the breakdown in the relationship between Eddie and Catherine, as he plays an all-knowing character, constantly lurking around the opening and closing scenes, acting as the chorus. Miller chose to have the chorus told by a mysterious figure, to add mystery and suspense to the play, and to ensure that the audience focused on the main breakdown, instead of coming to their own conclusions about what may have happened. Miller intentionally guided the audience to their beliefs about the play, by making Alfeiri focus on certain aspects of the play. Without Alfeiri, the idea of tragedy within the play, between Catherine and Eddie would not have been expressed as effectively as it was. By trying to banish Catherine’s only happiness, Eddie actually broadened the distance between himself and his niece. The idea of tragedy is expressed mainly on Catherine’s behalf. She has lost her only father figure, and has been scarred with an ever lasting impression of what men are like; how controlling they are, and how they selfishly only consider their own needs. It is obvious to the audience that Catherine looked up to Eddie, but now believes that he was only taking advantage of her. She believes that her uncle is a cold- hearted, useless “…rat” who should stay away from her. She no longer respects his authority, “Who the hell do you think you are? You got no more right to tell nobody nothin” expresses Catherine’s anger, and allows the audience to feel sorrow for this naïve girl, who has lost the only family member that she loved and completely trusted.

The audience have now witnessed a complete breakdown in the relationship between Eddie and Catherine Carbone, and nothing can be done to resolve the situation between them, as the damage has been done. It is clear that between pages 5-12 and 26-29 the relationship between Catherine and Eddie is shown to come to a dramatic end, and finally does. From witnessing the first scene involving Catherine and Eddie, the audience can conclude that the relationship is bound to end with hatred, bitter hostility and tears…which of course it does. By portraying Eddie as a confused, insecure male, and Catherine as a naïve young girl, the breakdown between their relationship is foreshadowed as being inevitable from the beginning.

Received English Grade -51 A*