Eddie becomes aware of Catherine’s interest in Rodolpho when she says ‘He’s terrific! It’s terrific’, Eddie realises this and there is then a sense of dramatic irony, when Eddie ignores Rodolpho and becomes to solely address Marco; the audience are aware of this but the characters are not. Tensions continue to rise and Eddie stops Rodolpho singing by telling him people may get suspicious. Superficially it seems he is protecting Rodolpho but the audience get the feeling there is something else. Eddie feels though he has asserted himself and so ‘rises with iron control’- from this the audience feels a growing tension.
Eddie grows more aggressive and proves that he is stronger than Rodolpho, but Marco demonstrates that he is even stronger than Eddie. As Eddie pretends to teach Rodolpho how to box, ‘he feints with his right hand and lands with his left. It mildly staggers Rodolpho.’ Eddie delivers this punch to suggest that he is able to beat Rodolpho if he so wished and endeavors to expose that Rodolpho is so weak that he cannot even fend for himself. Angered, Marco challenges Eddie to a trial of strength in the chair-lifting contest. Eddie fails to lift the chair, but Marco lifts it until he is ‘face to face with Eddie, a strained tension gripping his eyes and jaw, his neck stiff, the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie’s head and he transforms what might appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph.’ Not only is Marco physically stronger than Rodolpho and Eddie his ‘smile of triumph powerfully indicates that his clarity of vision and strength of purpose also surpass both of them. Similarly, by doing this Marco is stating that he will protect Rodolpho no matter what. The audience see this as foreshadowing from Miller, and so believe that there will be future confrontation between the pair.
Act Two starts with Catherine and Rodolpho alone in the apartment. Here the extent of Rodolpho and Catherine’s relationship becomes apparent. Catherine tells Rodolpho she’ll live in Italy with him but this is not what Rodolpho wants for Catherine. Catherine tells Rodolpho ‘I don’t know anything, teach me, Rodolpho, hold me’; this shows that Rodolpho is capable of inspiring trust and love.
Eddie enters the apartment and sees Rodolpho and Catherine emerging from the bedroom. At this point Miller builds up dramatic tension as the audience awaits Eddie’s reaction. Eddie’s ‘arm jerks slightly in shock’ showing a lack of control and disbelief. He tells Rodolpho to ‘pack it up…get your stuff and get outa here’. However, Catherine declares she’s going with him. This enrages and deeply hurts Eddie whose overprotective love for his niece has come apparent throughout the play. When Eddie kisses Catherine, Rodolpho in ‘tears of rage’ attacks Eddie, who pins him down and kisses him as well. Here Eddie is trying to prove that Rodolpho is gay.
After reading that Eddie was the one who betrayed them, Marco and Rodolpho act differently. Rodolpho acts as a mediator to prevent bloodshed as he endeavors to subdue Eddie’s infuriation by confronting Eddie and saying, ‘I kiss your hand’ in apology, although he has not done anything wrong. Rodolpho does no adhere to the Sicilian code of justice as he seeks to compromise instead of to cast blame. On the other hand, Marco shouts at Eddie vehemently in public as he is arrested. He shouts, pointing belligerently at Eddie, ‘that’s the one! I accuse that one! That one stole the food from my children!’ Marco’s accusations before the entire community illustrate his burning desire to seek vengeance because he believes Eddie has violated the Sicilian code of justice and thus Marco will take justice in his own hands by killing Eddie.
Miller aptly portrays Marco and Rodolpho both similarly and differently, whilst giving them separate roles- Marco is the Sicilian angel of justice while Rodolpho is the catalyst for the conflict and later becomes a mediator. Meanwhile, Miller brings the ideas of masculinity, Sicilian values, justice and violence to light.
