What different types of tension exist within Arthur Miller's 'A View From The Bridge' and how does the playwright create these tensions?

What different types of tension exist within Arthur Miller’s

‘A View From The Bridge’ and how does the playwright

create these tensions?

In the very title of the play, there is some tension and suspense emerging already. The name ‘A View From The Bridge’ suggests that it is not a physical view, more a metaphor for Alfieri’s (Miller’s engaged narrator) role in the play. It suggests to me that he has an overview of what happens and absolutely no control over the events that occur throughout the duration of the play, which creates a kind of tension that has a fairly clear outcome, but the means, pace and devices used to construct the end is unknown. This is very similar to the type of tension used in Greek mythology, whereby many people were aware of the end, but did not have any knowledge of the play’s climax.

This play, written by Arthur Miller was first performed circa 1956 as a two-act performance. In this production, there are many types of tension; climatic tension, tension of discovery, the inevitable end, the stipulations of the Sicilian Code of Conduct, Eddie as a sympathetic character and the triangular relationship between Eddie, Catherine and Rodolfo, and Beatrice.

There is a significant amount of climatic tension in this play with some even in the title, as previously shown. The first notable point in the play comes in Alfieri’s introduction of the play: “This ones name was Eddie Carbone…” Here Alfieri speaks in an oracular tone of voice and also refers to Eddie in the past tense suggesting he does not exist anymore.

The next notable point is when Alfieri says: “…watched it run its bloody course.” Which implies that there is going to be bloodshed somewhere in the play, and to the main character as is usually the case in most tragedies.

More tension is inserted into the play about halfway through act-one, after the cousins who enter illegally (Marco & Rodolfo) have finished speaking, and Alfieri speaks, especially when he says: “Now, as the weeks passed away, there was a future, there was a trouble that wouldn’t go away.” This makes the element of tragedy in the play blatantly obvious, but the means to reach the end unknown except for the involvement of Eddie and the cousins.

With regard to the method of the cousins’ arrival, the reason why they entered illegally was because in the 1950s, the US tightened immigration laws. This meant that people from countries like Italy, Romania and other countries in Eastern Europe found it harder to emigrate and settle there. The US made it difficult for Jewish, Italian, Irish and Gypsy peoples to enter but people from countries like Britain, France and Germany found it easier, as the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) favoured those who came from a wealthier country, with a higher standard of education and more practical skills, which could lead to a more prosperous America. With regard as to how Italian immigrants made it across, the relatives of those concerned, would ask the Mafioso in New York to bring them across. This would be made possible as the Mafia would bribe the captains of ships headed from Italy to New York to allow those concerned to stow away, hence they earned the nickname ‘submarines’. Upon arrival, they would stay with relatives and the Mafia would provide them with menial jobs so that they could repay their debt. Once the debt was repaid, they were out of a job

‘Tension of Discovery’ also features in the play. It is quite frequently used in the play, and is perhaps the most important feature that helps to sculpt the ending. This is because when the characters uncover something, their opinion changes. This often happens to Eddie, and either his opinion changes of other people, or other people’s opinions change of him. The first notable incident is where Eddie confronts Catherine when she returns late from the theatre and he informs her of why he thinks Rodolfo wants to marry her solely for citizenship:

Catherine: ….he almost bows to me!..

Eddie:……….Katie, he’s only bowing to his passport

Eddie can justify this statement because he believes that Rodolfo could perhaps be homosexual and he thinks that Catherine is naïve, but he has no evidence to support his statement, and Catherine’s opinion of him starts to change. I think she considers him to be overprotective, but I think it is because he feels displaced because Catherine used to bestow all her affection on Eddie, but since the arrival of Rodolfo, that has changed, and I think that Eddie is subconsciously jealous of him.

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Catherine: ….he almost bows to me!..

Eddie:……….Katie, he’s only bowing to his passport

The next occurrence is with Alfieri & Eddie during their first meeting. Eddie claims that Rodolfo is ‘stealing from him’;

Alfieri: Eddie. She can’t marry you can she?

Eddie: What’re you talking about? I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about

{Pause}

There is a silence there, which indicates that Alfieri has caught on to what Eddie was thinking. I am not suggesting marriage, just exercising his authoritive privileges over her. Alfieri, I think, starts to understand what is going through Eddie’s mind. I also think Eddie knows that Alfieri is aware of what he is thinking. Alfieri even said Eddie had ‘eyes like tunnels’ which informs the reader of Eddie’s trance like state and how there is no going back, and he also says that Eddie had ‘ a passion that had moved into his body like a stranger’ which implies that he is consumed by his emotions and has lost control, and shouldn’t be liable for his actions, and also ties in with Eddie being a sympathetic character.

There are many examples available for me to use, however there is a very relevant point where Catherine and Beatrice realise it was Eddie who contacted the immigration. Immediately after Eddie opens the door and answers immigration, he turns to Beatrice who ‘sees his terror’ and then says ‘Oh Jesus Eddie’. She knows exactly what he has done and her opinion of him changes permanently as does Catherine’s opinion. This creates tension because the reader is not aware of Catherine of Beatrice’s intentions at this point, although the ending is very clear.

The tension that illustrates the end is scattered throughout the play, quite a lot of it when Alfieri speaks. Plenty of figurative speech is said by Alfieri from his primary speech e.g. “This one’s name was Eddie Carbone,” and “…powerless as I and watched it run its bloody course” These two examples, as previously mentioned, inform the reader that perhaps Eddie is non-existent and the second that the ending is most likely going to be bloody.

Another important incident is where Beatrice and Eddie inform Catherine about Vinnie Bolzano which acts as a prefiguration for the end, indicates that the play may revolve around Sicilian traditions and beliefs, notably the Sicilian Code of Conduct.

The next event is where Louis and Mike first speak and their conversational topic is Marco’s physicality. Either Louis or Mike says “…he’s a regular bull.” I think that is another prefiguration as maybe the end involves Marco’s extreme physical strength as later demonstrated at the end of Act 1.

The first meeting between Alfieri and Eddie creates a sense of realisation in the audience with regards to the ending, due mostly on the basis of Alfieri’s speech:

“His eyes were like tunnels, my first thought that he had committed a crime, but then I soon saw it was only a passion that had moved into his body like a stranger.”

That simile ‘His eyes were like tunnels’ indicates metaphorically, that there is no way back, and that his actions will serve as a shortcut to the now inevitable end, and the physical purpose or tunnels is to act as a shortcut by changing direction (critical plot event), taking a different path which quickens the journey time (play duration) to the destination (the final curtain). The section about the passion connects Eddie with being sympathetic, because it points out Eddie’s personality flaws, like him being emotionally unstable and easily overpowered by strong surges of his most powerful human emotions, like rage and love, which could perhaps lead to his rational side ‘taking a back seat’ and letting his emotions consume him, just like in films like ‘American Beauty’ and ‘LA Confidential’ whereby the main characters are overcome by love and rage, and in both these cases, the characters who exhibit said behaviour all look quite similar to Eddie Carbone in this play.

The end of their (Alfieri and Eddie’s) conversation, brings about some more ‘Alfieri Speech’ which is crucial to the plot, and point the audience in the direction of the end, has now made the ending fairly obvious, and to a conscious audience, the ending should be within sight. The text that does is the following, all spoken by Alfieri:

“I could see every step coming, step after step, take a dark figure walking down a hall to a certain door. I knew where he was heading for, I knew where he was going to end. And I sat here many afternoons asking myself why, being an intelligent man, I was so powerless to stop it. I even went to a certain old lady in the neighbourhood, a very wise old woman, and I told her, and she only nodded, and said, ‘Pray for him…’

That text suggest that Alfieri is perhaps going to repent for Eddie, knowing that his actions are driven by his emotions, and suggests that Eddie’s actions are not going to help him in any way. I think this is because people quite often associate prayer with death, especially since Eddie is most likely Catholic, and so is Alfieri and everyone in Eddie’s vicinity, and since it has been known for Catholics to pray in times of need, here it may also be the case.

A very significant occurrence is when after the second meeting with Alfieri. Eddie exits the office and is looking suspicious and nervous. The stage directions cause the audience to have their attention focused on the phone, which then begins to glow, suggesting it’s imminent use. By this time, it is clear that Eddie is about to use the phone to contact the immigration. The ending has now become very clear, and may also remove the mystery of Eddie’s demise, for breaking the Sicilian Code of Conduct.

The Sicilian Code of Conduct was and still is a principle that Italians around the world still use, especially in organised crime. It can be seen in many films such as ‘The Godfather’, ‘Goodfellas’, ‘Scarface’, ‘Mean Streets’, ‘Casino’ and ‘Analyze This’. It is a basic principle that bonds Sicilian communities together, especially the traditional ones. It states that if someone trespasses against you, you have the right to exact revenge, regardless of other laws in western countries. Since Sicily is a Catholic state, this is based on the Biblical quote, ‘An eye for and eye, and a tooth for a tooth’. This was also considered to be righteous in any shape or form, and therefore could be exacted whether the law in foreign countries said it could or not. To summarise it, it is basically a law that says ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ comes before ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ In ‘A View From The Bridge’, Arthur Miller makes enough references in the play to reinforce the idea of the Sicilian Code of Conduct being a foundation for the play.

The first point I noted was when Alfieri said:

“A lawyer means the law, and in Sicily, from where their fathers came, the law has not been a friendly idea since the Greeks were beaten”

This suggests that before Christ and Christianity, the law was quite sloppy, and people could get away with crimes, but since the spread of Catholicism and ‘An eye for an eye…’, people have been scared to cross the law since people have the right to exact revenge, without scorn from the community, and it worked because people knew that felonies could result in death, they stop committing them.

A very important point is where Alfieri is talking about men in the Mafia who were shot by thugs from other ‘families’, and refers to those men as ‘justly shot by unjust men’ which means that those men deserved to die, yet they shouldn’t, in the eyes of the American Judicial System, be killed without trial, that being one of the Amendments of The Constitution.

Perhaps the most important occurrence when dealing with this category is the prefiguration about Vinnie Bolzano (which has been previously mentioned), because it serves as a prefiguration about what happens when someone breaks the Code of Conduct, with regards to immigrants.

The next type of tension is about Eddie as a sympathetic character. Miller wanted the audience to feel sympathetic for Eddie and does this by creating a sense of emotional involvement with Eddie, which forms a certain sense of empathy with Eddie, and a sorrow which implants a sorrow due to Eddie’s fate. This type of tension is similar to climatic tension except it creates an apprehensive mood in the audience’s mind. Because this is in place early on, it is easier for the reader to justify Eddie’s actions and then empathise with him.

In Arthur Miller’s view, Eddie “posses or exemplifies the wondrous and human fact that he too can be driven to what in the last analysis is a sacrifice of himself for his conception, however misguided or right, dignity and justice.” This to me provokes real empathy because it is very difficult to sacrifice for your beliefs, and for what behaviour he displays, he deserves so much more respect that he is given.

Alfieri, upon meeting Eddie, described Eddie as having ‘eyes like tunnels’ which suggests that he is in a trance like state, and he has probably given way to his emotions, which is not necessarily his fault, it may be that he is emotionally unstable, and insecure, it may be that he is suffering from stress, which makes him less mentally adept, but whatever he is, he should not, in this situation, be held accountable for his actions.

Early on in the play, with Eddie’s conversation between Catherine & Beatrice, a lot of Eddie’s gentle and more compassionate side is exposed when Catherine wants to work, Eddie wants her to stay in school, but she protests:

Eddie: You wanna go to work, heh, Madonna?

Catherine: Yeah

Eddie: Alright, go to work.

This shows Eddie’s compassionate side, because he gives in to Catherine’s demands, even though it is against his will, he does it because it is in Catherine’s interest.

Another moment where Miller shows Eddie’s consideration for Catherine is the moment where she lights the cigar, and almost burns herself:

Catherine: Here! I’ll light it for you! Don’t worry about me Eddie, heh?

Eddie: Don’t burn yourself. (Just in time she blows out match)

This shows Catherine’s naivety, and perhaps her inability to function independently without Eddie, and how much he cares for her. She soon forgets this when she encounters Rodolfo, and Eddie feels displaced by him, like he is no longer needed, and for this reason, I think his goal becomes to have Rodolfo deported. But only because Catherine completely ignores him, and feels she is independent, when clearly, she is not.

The last kind of tension is emotional tension. This is the disarray that begins due to the introduction of a stranger into this family, and continues due to Rodolfo’s unusual behaviour, Eddie’s emotional insecurities, Catherine’s naivety and Beatrice’s selfishness plunge them into. Due to analysis, I have come to realise that there is a vicious emotional cycle in place that erodes the already fragile relationship these characters share. Here is a diagram and an explanation:

Catherine and Rodolfo take Beatrice’s advice. They become closer, get more intimate. They start to ignore Eddie’s opinion more. Catherine starts to become less naïve, more aware, much to Eddie’s disapproval.

Next Catherine and Rodolfo’s actions make Eddie more irate. He becomes more hypnotised by rage. He is more desperate to separate Catherine and Rodolfo. He feels displaced, like Catherine is bestowing all her affection on Rodolfo. He starts to ignore Beatrice and begins to focus solely on Rodolfo’s expulsion.

Then Beatrice is annoyed by Eddie. She feels he is not attentive enough. She feels displace by Catherine and becomes even more jealous of the attention she receives. She encourages Catherine to become more independent and intimate with Rodolfo in the hope that she, with Rodolfo, moves out leaving Eddie to pay Beatrice more attention.

This continues to occur, and destabilises this very dysfunctional family, with each party becoming more bitter and resentful to the others. It changes slightly so that Beatrice almost sides with Catherine and Rodolfo, I think purely for selfish reasons, as she has the most to gain from Catherine’s absence. In the end, I think is no one person’s fault. I think it is the fault of all three parties. Catherine, because she is to naïve to know what she is doing, and cannot see through Beatrice’s advice, Eddie for being too overprotective and getting too involved, and Beatrice, for wanting Catherine gone for all the wrong reasons. With all this, I think it is all the deceit and selfish motivation that accompanies a dysfunctional family that sees the Carbone family on their knees.

In conclusion, Arthur Miller uses many types of tension in his play ‘A View From The Bridge’: climatic tension, dedicated to keeping the middle unknown; tension of discovery, to keep the play fresh with plenty of plot twists, and to keep the character’s personas mysterious, the Sicilian Code of Conduct to keep the play within the same era, and to put his knowledge to good use, Eddie as a sympathetic character to keep the audience engrossed and to exploit one of the most fascinating human traits, and the triangular relationship between Eddie, Catherine and Rodolfo and Beatrice to show how easily a nuclear family can be dissolved by the introduction of a stranger who is welcomed with mixed opinions, much like a specie from a different ecosystem being introduced to a new one. Interestingly, with regard to the opinions, each member of the family represents a different opinion; Eddie represents the negative extremity (by wanting Rodolfo gone), Catherine the positive extremity (wanting to marry Rodolfo), and Beatrice who is neutral (doesn’t mind, just wants Catherine gone). All these kinds of tension help to portray what happens when strangers enter a close-knit family which has mixed opinions, and that when pushed hard enough, people will forgo almost anything to protect their loved ones; their beliefs, their life, even if it really is all for the sake of self justified pride and dignity. To summarise it in one sentence, it basically says, “Welcome to the human condition.”