Shortly following this discussion is when Catherine tells Eddie she has got a job. At first he is inquisitive and asks her question like “where’s the job?” and “what company?” Once again this shows his protection for his family, but when he finds out she is earning “fifty dollars a week” his tone changes. Suddenly Eddie becomes against the situation and makes excuses like he “don’t like that neighbourhood.” I believe the reason Eddie had suddenly become against the situation is because he would no longer be the main provider for the family. It shows that Catherine’s income would be more during the conversation with Marco when he says they could earn maybe “thirty, forty a week.” That is a massive dent to a proud man’s pride and masculinity.
Another thing that proves Eddie to be a masculine man is when Arthur Miller writes about his ‘rocker’. This is a rocking chair, which I believe may symbolise his throne. By having this in the story strengthens the fact that Eddie is head of the house.
Finally Eddie challenged Rodolpho to some ‘friendly’ boxing. Boxing is a sport strongly associated with men due to its violence. Eddies skill at boxing is shown through Beatrice when he says, “he’s good”. This shows that
Eddie has done it many times before, hence stregnthening his masculinity. Also by striking Rodolpho in the face is a warning to him, to not get on the wrong side of Eddie.
Marco didn’t like this so he challenged Eddie to lift a chair with one hand. He couldn’t do it. Then Marco lifted it and smiled “triumphantly” showing Eddie he had won. This was the first time that Eddie’s masculinity had been challenged.
Throughout the play Eddie also loses some of his masculinity through various event.
These first come though after the arrival of Marco and Rodolpho, when Beatrice says to him “when am I going to be a wife again,” and “it’s been 3 months.” That quote tells the audience that Eddie has not had sex for a long, which would greatly dent a male image, especially if your wife is confronting you about it.
The next blow to his masculinity came when his daughter disobeyed him. Catherine tells him “no, were doing it right away.” This is in reference to Catherine and Rodolpho getting married. As head of the house he should be in control of all situations, and having your daughter not obey you is the opposite. It once again shows more masculinity Eddie has lost.
In Eddie’s view of masculinity he shows us regularly that being gay is not acceptable. This is shown to the audience by constantly by him using homophobic comments about Rodolpho i.e. “He’s like a weird” and “they callin’ him canary.” Even though he seems to have strong views against homosexuality he kisses Rodolpho. I believe he does this to challenge Rodolphos masculinity, but in doing so drastically reduces his masculine image.
The final but worse thing he does to dent his masculinity is betray his family. He rings up immagration and tells them of his family (Eddie and Rodolpho) and where they are currently staying. This goes against Eddies prior actions of masculinity of caring for his family.
Rodolpho, on the other hand, has different views of masculinity. He has no family to take care of so spends his money on clothes and CD’s. Because he has no responsibilities, this leaves Eddie to believe he is not masculine. I do not agree because everybody have different views of masculinity, and I think its down to the individual and their situation in life. It’s just because he is different that Eddie doesn’t like him.
The audience are shown that Rodolpho likes to sing. This point is extruded blaitently so its hard to miss. It is shown by him singing “paper doll.” Eddie considered this unmasculine, but different people do different things. Singing is a unisex activity so I do not consider it feminine at all.
Rodlopho has bright blonde hair. Eddie shows the audience he doesn’t like Rodolpho’s hair by saying “his wacky hair.” This is another thing that Eddie considers to be feminine about him because it is not very common for him to see it, so it is weird to him.
There are many reasons why Eddie doesn’t like Rodolpho, and him being unmasculine in his view is only part of that. He first starts to become negative about Rodlpho when Catherine begins to flirt. This is shown regularly throughout their conversations but is tipped when she asked Rodolpho “you like sugar?” Rodolpho flirts back and says “yes, il like sugar” which in Eddies eyes shows utter disrespect as Eddie is letting them live in his house.
Another but probably the ultimate reason for Eddies dislike of Rodolpho is he believes he is after his green card. He constantly shows this via arguments with Beatrice and Catherine when he repeats “he’s after his green card.” Because Roldolpho is an illegal immagrant he can be deported at any time but if he marries a citizen he can stay. In this case the citizen would be Catherine. Eddie has no proof for this conviction but he is looking out for his family.
I belive that both Eddie and Rodolpho are both masculine but are different because of their backgrounds and upbringing. As the play progresses though I think Eddie loses his masculinity as Rodolpho tries to be reasonable, and tell Eddie he love Catherine. To me this leave Rodolpho s the strongest male at the end of the play beause he is tryiong to reason, which would get you far in a modern society.
At the end of the play I do have sympathy for Eddie because he had only been trying to give his family the best and protect them. But in doing so he made some silly mistakes which led to his stabbing
