Alfieri links between illusion and reality, by stepping out of the play every so often to update the audience. When Alfieri does glide from actor to friend, the lighting changes to focus directly on him, singling him out. This guides the audience’s attention towards him, and puts all focus on him. By doing this, the audience are more inclined to pay attention to what he has to say. This has the effect of letting the audience know that he has an inside view of the scenario.
Also in the opening scene, Alfieri is shown as a man who is respected:
[ the two pitchers nod to him as he passes ]
This shows that these men obviously know him, and that they have respect for him. They ‘nod’ at him, this fifty year-old, hard-working man. The opening scene also implies that Alfieri is good at his job, as we can assume that the men nodding at him may know him, due to him helping them in some legal mêlée that they may have had in the past. And because of this, we can then assume that he is good at his job, as they men nod as a sign of high judgment. This subtle hint lets the audience create positive assumptions of Alfieri. This also leads the audience to believe that Alfieri is trustworthy, which I believe to be intended by Miller. Now that the audience believe that Alfieri is indeed dependable, Miller can use Alfieri as a dramatic device to link audience and play. Alfieri is the responsible, trust-worthy, un-bias explainer of situations within the story.
The next time Alfieri speaks, he again begins by describing the latest situation, before merging back into the play. Alfieri had been ‘acquainted with Eddie’s family, in a casual way’, although he had never had to deal with Eddie in a legal matter. This suggests Alfieri knows this family more than he would a usual client, as they are friends. As Eddie stormed into the room, Alfieri remained perfectly calm, as expected:
[ Alfieri pauses, looks down at the desk, then to Eddie as though he were continuing a conversation with him ]
This dramatic effect shows that Alfieri will not be rushed, by anybody. He simply merges back into character whenever he feels. This could make the audience have more respect for him, as he is shown to be a calm, collective man.
Although Eddie fears at this point that the situation between Catherine and Rodolpho is getting too serious, Alfieri calmly reassures him that everything is, and will be, okay. Miller needed to make Alfieri appear to always be right for the benefit of the audience. If Alfieri had said something contradictory to the audience’s beliefs, then the audience would have almost certainly begun to question what he had been telling them.
In the same conversation with Eddie, Alfieri shows his professionalism and collectiveness:
Eddie: “Listen…will you listen to me a minute? My father always said you were a smart man. I want you to listen to me.”
Alfieri: “I’m only a lawyer, Eddie.”
Alfieri is prepared to listen to Eddie, but refuses to tell him exactly what to do, as direct advice is not encouraged amongst lawyers. Throughout this conversation, Alfieri listens to Eddie without interfering, letting him clear his head. This shows that Alfieri is also understanding and wise, another two positive points about him.
Alfieri addresses the audience:
“Eddie was a good man”
This sentence is very important. Although the audience may not have previously accepted this statement, the fact that Alfieri is saying it sends them into all sorts of self-doubt. The audience would probably believe that Eddie was still a good man, as they have no real reason to believe otherwise. But, after all, Alfieri has no reason to lie, and wouldn’t because he is such a great man. The audience respects what Alfieri says.
He comments on the action in a previous scene and gives hints as to the action in the next, “He works on the piers when there was work”, “After they had eaten, the cousins came.” Are just two examples. In doing this, he exercises a key role of the chorus character – they can comment but not intervene, “I could have finished the whole story that afternoon.”
I believe that Alfieri in this play has the “View From A Bridge”, and is over looking the play. He has knowledge of both the past and the present, with an example of this being when Eddie says “my father said you was a good man”. This shows that he has been around for a long time, and so knows all the stories and events that have been happening. He is also told all the characters secrets, and so seems to console in the audience, it is a means of escape for him.
I am also aware of the fact that in the play, Alfieri is very well respected by the community in general. As Alfieri is a lawyer, and has made something of himself, the other characters appear to see him as an authoritative figure in the play and look up to him.
The first scene in Alfieri’s office is where the main themes of the play come to light. Love and morality, and the way the combine. Incest:
“She can’t marry you, can she?!”
Eddie becomes enraged and surprised at this comment. It brings to light to him the situation from Alfieri’s point of view, suggesting that he was not conscious of how he felt before this. This plays with Eddie’s mind, as he now more issues to think about than before, and another perspective that had yet to cross his mind. I think that Eddie is frustrated at feeling the way that he does, yet is unable to fight his overprotection of Catherine anymore. Alfieri bluntly tells the audience:
“There’s too much love for the niece”
This makes the audience completely aware of the situation, just in case they had not picked up on previous hints.
The scene after this is where tension is built up, as Eddie challenges the masculinity of Rodolpho. Without the lawyer scene the audience wouldn’t have known why exactly Eddie was challenging Rodolpho. After watching the Lawyer scene, the subtext becomes much clearer to the audience. As well as this, the stage directions during this scene are very detailed. This is so that the most tension can be created, and sets up the battle to see who is more masculine than the other. A battle of masculine superiority.
A couple of scenes later Alfieri is seen in his office with Eddie. It is just after the 3 kisses scene, and helps to calm the building tension. This changing tempo of the play helps to make it more interesting. Again here, the audience can see what Eddie is feeling with the help of Alfieri, but this time Alfieri stresses that there is more than the law written on paper:
“When the law is wrong, its because its unnatural, but in this case it is natural”
Here Alfieri shows his great knowledge of both moral and written law, and attempts to dissuade Eddie from what he knows will happen. Alfieri hints to Eddie that if he continues to enclose Catherine than only negative results will prosper; possibly her losing all contact with Eddie whatsoever.
Alfieri tells Marco not to hurt Eddie, which suggests that Alfieri feels sorry for Eddie. He appears to understand that Eddie doesn’t know what is happening, although is finding it hard to get the message through to him without hurting him too much.
“I think that I will love him more than all my sensible client”
Alfieri implies that Eddie did have his faults, but he was still a good man. I feel that Alfieri felt pity for Eddie and his situation. Here we begin to understand why the play is classified as a tragedy, because despite the fact that Eddie has a serious problem, the audience still love him for his honesty anyway. They know that he has a good heart, and did not wish this sexual-love for his niece upon himself.
The ‘narrator’ ameliorates throughout the play. By the end of this tragedy the audience have begun to know Alfieri well. As their gradual respect for him grew he became more involved and more important to the storyline.
After Eddie’s death, Alfieri is lit up so that the audience focus on him yet again. This effect makes the audience feel at one with Alfieri, singling him out, taking him out of the play. He gives a final soliloquy, which calms the audience down after another scene of high tension. This is like an acclamation, as it looks back over Eddie’s life. A eulogy is usually a series of memories from a person’s life, rather like the play is a series of flashbacks. In the end, the conclusion is inevitable, and ends in tragedy.
