This impression of the public life can also be shown through the use of distant sound effects such as cars, horns beeping, shouting and other such noises that would be heard on the streets of New York, the noises must be kept very subtle though as not to drown out the more important lines that are being read out by the actors.
In the front of the stage to the right there is a chair and desk to represent Mr. Alfeiri’s law office, through the use of expert lighting this is thrown into shadow when not in use.
There are no scenes in this play, just 2 acts, so I am starting from where Eddie first enters in act 2 on the bottom of page 46.
Eddie walks up the stairs off the street. A spotlight follows him up the stairs. His walk is unsteady showing that he had consumed one too many scotch whiskeys while working at the docks.
As he enters the dimly lit dining/living room he goes to flick the nearest light switch, but stumbles and misses on his first attempt. He finally succeeds and the room is suddenly lit up.
Then he walks to the round table in the centre of the room, he looks to the left and then to the right to make sure that there are no witnesses and then produces two bottles of scotch whiskey from his outside pocket. He then looks up a third time and then produces an even larger bottle from his inside pocket. He places the bottles on the dining room table.
While he is standing by the table he notices Catherine’s pattern and cloth and touches it.
He then turns his back to the audience and walks to the back of the room, opens the kitchen door and looks through, all this time he is calling Beatrice’s name. His speech is slurred. Beatrice is nowhere to be found.
Eddie looks round at the sound of the bedroom door opening and Catherine appears in the doorway looking as if she was just finishing putting on her dress. Eddie turns his focus to Catherine. She was obviously not expecting him back so soon and has a guilty expression on her face as she adjusts her dress.
She then quickly tries to take the awkwardness out of the moment by saying “You got home early” in a false happy tone.
He responds to this by pointing at the pattern and saying sneeringly: “Has Rodolfo been makin’ you a dress?” His sneering tone is due to the fact that he suspects Rodolfo to be “not quite right.” By this he means gay but he cannot bring himself to say it.
Catherine replies in an unconvincing tone “No. I’m makin’ a blouse.” Eddie does not notice her tone though because of the drunken state that he is in.
A few awkward moments later Rodolfo appears in the same bedroom doorway that Catherine made her entrance from. When Eddie sees Rodolfo he jumps slightly in shock, at this point the shock and anger in his face must be the main focus, this is achieved by the use of a spotlight directly on to Eddie’s face.
Rodolfo, apparently unaware of Eddie’s state, makes an innocent remark about where Beatrice is. Eddie ignores Rodolfo’s comment and is filled with a sudden burst of rage. “Pack it up. Go ahead. Get your stuff and get outa here.”
At this point Catherine believing Eddie is talking to her, goes to leave, but Eddie grabs her arm and says; “Where are you goin’?”
To show how scared Catherine is of Eddie and how upset she is by the situation, she is physically trembling and tears are welling in her eyes. This is when she says to Eddie “I think I have to get outa here Eddie” in a meaningful upset tone.
Eddie replies to this completely dismissing her words in a persistent and firm manner; “No you ain’t goin’ nowheres, he’s the one.”
There then follows a speech from Catherine about how she has to leave during which the tears which had been welling in her eyes become full-blown sobs and her composure is broken. All this shows the pity and love she has for Eddie.
During this speech is Rodolfo is standing quietly to one side, watching and listening to the proceedings. His expression is blank. And the focus of attention is not on him at this point. He just has a subtle but significant presence.
What happens next is very shocking and dramatic. Eddie forgets about his respectable place in the community and with one hasty action, partly due to his drunkenness, but mainly to do with the fact that he would do anything to keep Catherine, he reaches out and lustfully grabs Catherine, embraces her whole body, and kisses her on the mouth.
She is struggling to get free of his strong manly hold, but her efforts are in vain because she is no match for his superior strength.
Rodolfo can see that his love, Catherine, is in a situation that she cannot deal with her self and he intervenes; “Don’t!”. He tries to restrain Eddie, “Stop that! Have respect for her!”
To highlight the drama of this last piece of action, a siren can be heard in the distance, then approaching , then fading. Also, the lighting changes from a golden colour to a bright white spotlight just on Eddie and Catherine. Everything else is in darkness.
As Eddie is spun round by Rodolfo, the spotlight is replaced by strobe lighting creating a surreal and dramatic effect which fits the action that is taking place.
Rodolfo and Eddie argue a little and Rodolfo is very offended by what Eddie has said to him. So offended that he throws himself at Eddie in attack. But Eddie is obviously prepared and just holds his arms and pins him against the nearby wall.
The whole time that Rodolfo and Eddie are arguing the sounds of the city outside become louder and they are shouting over the noise.
At the point where Eddie has Rodolfo pinned against the wall, the strobe lights stop, and a spotlight is focussed on them as Eddie tries to kiss Rodolfo. This last action takes place in complete silence which lasts for a couple of moments before Catherine gets involved and starts screaming and tearing at Eddie’s face and telling him; “Eddie! Let go, ya hear me! I’ll kill you! Leggo of him!”
Eddie and Rodolfo come apart. The light is growing dimmer and the sounds of the street have faded into a quiet murmur. The men stand limp and dazed and frozen.
There is some more talk from Eddie telling Rodolfo to leave and Catherine saying that she will leave with him.
With this the scene ends, the lights go down and the room fades into darkness.
I hope in this extract I have managed to clearly illustrate through the use of stagecraft how I personally interpreted A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller.
