In Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge", the character of Alfieri can be described as the 'hidden leading role'.
In Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge”, the character of Alfieri can be described as the ‘hidden leading role’. He bears several roles, most of them more significant than assumed by the casual reader. His dual-role onstage as a character who interacts both with other characters and the audience provides him with the responsibility of bringing about some understanding to the events of the play, while his background makes him the vital link between two conflicting cultures.
Alfieri is the symbolic bridge between American constitutional law and Italian social law. The son of a Sicilian, he was raised in America and pursued an education in American law, providing him with a suitable dose of both backgrounds. Like a bridge, Alfieri connects with both shores. Like a bridge, Alfieri leans on the solid foundations of both cultures. But also like a bridge, Alfieri is elevated above, and therefore watches more often than he interferes. Hence the title “A View from the Bridge”. The whole play is Alfieri’s perception of the events that took place. It is almost a secondary source – that is, a collection of primary sources with his personal interpretation mixed in at relevant moments – but it isn’t a complete secondary source, because there are significant times during the play when Alfieri himself is involved.
