This is also one of the first times there is an implication of an unnatural relationship between Eddie and Catherine. Eddie loves her greatly, and Catherine sees him as a father figure, but Beatrice can see a different side to Eddie’s love, and implies that he loves her in the wrong way. This is only implied all the way through the play, until right at the end.
Before the cousins arrive there is an air of expectancy and anticipation. Naïve Catherine asks what happens if someone asks about the cousins, and Eddie is quick to tell her ‘If you said you knew it, if you didn’t say it you didn’t know it.” There is a code of conduct to be obeyed, and that code is that you never talk about the immigrants or admit knowledge of them- you simply feign ignorance. No one would dare tell the Immigration Bureau for fear of being ostracized from the society. The irony of this code of conduct can be seen later on when Eddie rings the Bureau and snitches on Marco and Rodolpho.
When the cousins finally arrive, there is some chemistry between Catherine and Rodolpho, and the audience can see something may develop between them. Eddie senses this, and when talking to the cousins, focuses his attention on Marco. Catherine and Beatrice appreciate Rodolpho’s good humour and enthusiasm, and this makes Eddie uncomfortable. Eddie attempts to prevent Rodolpho from forming a relationship with Catherine. Beatrice feels he should not be interfering, but only implies this. The cousin’s arrival is a turning point in Eddie’s life, as Catherine starts to gain independence and discover the fact she can love someone who is not Eddie.
The next crucial point is when Eddie implies that Rodolpho is gay. Rodolpho and Marco go to work on the piers, and whilst working Rodolpho sings. Rodolpho sings the first night he is with the Carbones and Eddie is quick to tell him to stop, saying he will get “picked up.” After this, he has “a campaign solidified in him” and Eddie believes Rodolpho is gay. Rodolpho’s qualities- singing, cooking and dress making, are seen as signs of weakness by Eddie and this campaign sees Eddie start to believe that Rodolpho is only after Catherine so he can get legal papers into the USA. At one point, Eddie goes to see Alfieri- lawyer and narrator in the play, to see if there is any law against what he thinks Rodolpho is doing. Alfieri is the first person to tell Eddie what is implied throughout the play- that he has more than a fatherly love for Catherine.
ALFIERI: She wants to get married, Eddie. She can’t marry you, can she?”
EDDIE [Furiously]: What’re you talking about, marry me! I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!
Eddie’s desperation for something to change what is inevitable is ominous. Beatrice and Eddie have grown apart throughout this whole episode, because Beatrice is perfectly happy to let Catherine grow up and gain independence, whereas Eddie is determined to come between Catherine and Rodolpho.
As the play develops into Act 2, there is a turning point in Catherine’s life- she loses her virginity. Then follow a series of events that lead up to the climax of the play. Eddie catches Rodolpho and Catherine, and throws the cousins out. The cousins then move upstairs to a vacant apartment with two other ‘submarines’ after talking to Alfieri, Eddie phones immigration and turns Marco and Rodolpho in. Eddie and Beatrice talk about Catherine and the whole situation, and this is when Eddie says “I want my respect!” he feels that Beatrice has not been the wife to him she should have been, and has not supported him in his choices. He wants her to support him, and feels she is not doing that. This conversation signifies the sway the pair have grown apart. At the beginning of the play Beatrice stood by Eddie, but as the play has developed she hasn’t backed him up as much as he would have liked. However, Beatrice feels she has not changed, and it is Eddie who has made things different. Eddie’s love for Catherine has driven them apart because he has been too consumed in splitting Rodolpho and Catherine up to worry about Beatrice. He feels he is being victimized and is not treated the way he should be- “It’s a shooting gallery in here and I’m the pigeon.”
The climax of the play is the fight between Marco and Eddie, which results in Eddie being stabbed. This event occurs because immigration come and take Marco, Rodolpho and the two submarines away, and Marco realizes that it is Eddie who has snitched on them. The realization hits Catherine and Beatrice, and Catherine turns against Eddie. Marco spits in Eddie’s face, a significant event that shows Marco’s hatred for Eddie. It is this event that enrages Eddie and makes him determined to seek revenge- Marco spitting in his face and accusing him has turned everyone against and he has lost his ‘name.’
Marco and Rodolpho are released until their trial, and Catherine and Rodolpho press ahead with their wedding plans in order for Rodolpho to gain legal access to stay in America. Marco comes after Eddie as revenge for turning them in and `killing his children` and Eddie is ready for a fight to regain his `name.` This fight results in Eddie being stabbed and dying in Beatrice’s arms.
Eddie’s last line “My B.!” indicates his love for Beatrice, although he feels he has been wronged by all of the protagonists and was, in fact, in the right throughout the play. Eddie has deluded himself throughout the play, and this delusional behaviour continues to his very end. He still believes he was in the right throughout, and will not compromise this view for anyone, not even Beatrice- his wife.