The family seems to be functioning well and even though there is a few problems with Eddie not letting Catherine grow up it didn’t really seem to be that much of a surfacing issue. However this all changed when Beatrice’s cousins Marco and Rodolpho (nick named the submarines because they came to America on a boat). As soon as Rodolpho arrived Catherine was drawn towards him, which aggravated Eddie. Later when Eddie is speaking to Beatrice, we can see that he has developed a profound distaste for Rodolfo “he gives me the heeby-jeebies”. Because of Eddie’s over protectiveness of Catherine and his urge to keep her from her independence, it makes him increasingly sensitive and threatened by Rodolfo’s presence.
To find out who or what killed Eddie we have to look at all the possibilities. We know it was Marco’s hand that finally killed him, however is that the whole story, who was in the wrong? Did he deserve to die? Why did he die? All of these things come into it.
When we look at Beatrice as evidence for Eddie’s death it looks very primitive because she doesn’t really come into the frame. However she is still connected to the event and the build up to the event. There is only a few parts in which she could have been connected to the build up to the event. When Beatrice says “you want something else, Eddie, and you can never have her!” this aggravates Eddie and makes him want to prove a point by fighting Marco. By her saying that, which is technically true and Eddie knows it, it is saying that Eddie likes a family member which has been like a daughter to him. If he fights Marco and makes him say sorry it gives him a chance to prove everyone wrong. Beatrice is really the victim of the play because she is the one that louses out all the time and has a really hard time “Look, I’m sick and tired of it”. We see at the end of the play when Eddie was dieing he shows his love for Beatrice and that deep down he loved her all along “Oh, B.!” and “My B.!”.
The irony of Eddie being killed by his own knife is that it is his own actions that have resulted in his death. Eddie didn’t let Catherine live her own life he was too over-protective. When Rodolpho says “If I take into my hand a little bird. And she grows and wishes to fly. But I will not let her out of my hands because I love her so much is that right for me to do?” this a good example of what Eddie is doing and has done to Catherine and that he is not letting her get the best life can give. When Eddie kissed Catherine and then Rodolpho he did it to spite Rodolpho and to show Catherine that Rodolpho was gay which she didn’t believe anyway. Another example of Eddie trying to upset Rodolpho was when he calls him gay “he aint right” and “even if he’s a punk”. Eddie called immigration which was a big shame to do to your family “give me the number to immigration bureau” which results in the immigration officers coming round to the apartment and taking Marco and Rodolpho away for trial. Eddie couldn’t stand Rodolpho being with Catherine which is why he did it, he must have known it would have caused an uproar.
The attitudes to the law are somewhat different from today. Marco doesn't really believe that the law can help you in certain situations and we see that Marco is confused with there being no law against being dishonourable. This is shown when Marco says to Alfieri “All the law is not in a book”. Marco shows us his beliefs when he kills Eddie, which tells us that he thinks the law can’t be relied on and you should take matters into your own hands. People in that area didn’t really trust the law “A lawyer meant the law, and in Sicily, from where their fathers came, the law has not been a friendly idea since the Greeks were beaten”. Eddie tries to use the law to find a way to stop Rodolpho and Catherine when infact he breaks the law when he steals a few bottles of whiskey and harbors illegal immigrants. The law is a big factor in the cause of Eddie’s death, it is their inability to intervene which leads to the attitudes in which people believe they can take the law into there own hands.
If you look at the question any minor factor may have prevented the death of Eddie. For instance if Catherine would have been a little more assertive she may have stood up to Eddie and stopped him controlling her. Catherine who can’t really be blamed for Eddies death as with Beatrice and Rodolpho, they may have been involved but they didn’t cause the death, the only people that can be considered is Marco and Eddie himself.
Marco is really to blame for Eddie’s death because it was by his hands that he died and he could have stopped the knife from going up into Eddie. However there is a case that it was self defense because Eddie pulled out a knife and came at him and if Marco didn’t stop him he would have killed him. Marco thought he was defending his honour as he has been betrayed and not able to make any more money for his family.
In conclusion I think that it is both Marco’s and Eddies own fault for his death. However the evidence to show that it was Eddies own fault really wasn’t enough even though he may have betrayed his family and been over-protective of Catherine. I think that Eddie may have been wrong but he didn’t deserve to die for his actions even if he was dishonourable.
