Beatrice is first seen to be slightly concerned about Eddie and Catherine’s relationship when she asks ‘when am I going to be your wife again, Eddie? This obviously means that there is no sexual relationship between them. Though we don’t realise it has got something to do with Catherine until Eddie says ‘I’m worried about her’ and Beatrice replies ‘ the girl is gonna be eighteen years old, it’s time already’ and she tells Eddie he has ‘to cut it out, now’. This is the second warning that Beatrice has given Eddie to he ‘has to get used to it, she’s no baby no more’.
The next course of action that Beatrice takes is to confront Catherine. She is very forceful telling Catherine ‘ don’t tell me you don’t; you’re not a baby anymore, what are you going to do with yourself’. She is concerned about making Catherine realise she must grow up and leave, this maybe because she can tell something bad may happen. She respectively tells Catherine ‘he’s not your father’ and then says she can’t ‘walk around in front of him in her slip’ or ‘talk to him when he’s shavin’ in his underwear. All of these are Beatrice’s desperate attempts to make Catherine understand she not a ‘baby’ and Eddie realise he has to ‘let go’.
Beatrice is clearly pleased when Catherine takes a liking to Rodolfo and defends them to Eddie. She says Rodolfo ‘didn’t drag her off’ and that ‘well, you said the movie ended late, didn’t you’ when Eddie is very inquisitive over Catherine and Rodolfo going to the cinema. He tries to find excuses for them not to go out again but Beatrice continuously takes Rodolfo and Catherine’s side.
Beatrice does not realise at first why Eddie wants to box Rodolfo and encourages him saying ‘go ahead, he’s a good boxer he could teach you’, when she senses there is something wrong she tries to cover it by commenting on how ‘very good’ Rodolfo is. However, she is very concerned when Rodolfo feints and tells Eddie ’that’s enough’.
By the second act Beatrice is very despaired and she warily tells Eddie she has’ moved them upstairs’ meaning Catherine and Rodolfo this is yet again another attempt to break the inexorable events. Beatrice tells Eddie she ‘ wish’s she’d drop dead before she told them to come’ this is her trying to make Eddie understand how she feels and she wishes she had never asked her cousins to come because that is what mainly started all of the problems or made them evident.
Beatrice stands up for herself very powerfully telling Eddie ‘ what more do you want? You got your house now, you got your respect’. Eddie uses many excuses to disguise his behaviour he says Beatrice ‘is different’ and that ‘ the guy is gay’, but Beatrice can see what he is doing and agrees with him to maintain the peace. She then tries to make Eddie realise that it is his fault that Catherine fell for Rodolfo because he ‘wouldn’t let her go out’.
Beatrice asks Eddie to give Catherine ‘a good word’ and pressurises him saying ‘she still loves you’ but he can’t go to the wedding because he is too guilty about his feelings and actions towards Catherine and Rodolfo. When the immigration come Beatrice immediately knows it is linked with eddied by his ‘terror’ she can’t believe what he has done because this is her worst fear and the consequence which she has been trying to prevent. She is ‘weakened’ and cries ‘oh, Jesus’ and ‘oh, my god, my god’ and he is defensive saying ‘ what are you accusing me of?’ Beatrice helps Catherine protect Rodolfo and Marco to the officers.
Beatrice is full of ‘fear’ when she changes to go to the wedding and Eddie forcefully tells her ‘ you walk out that door to that wedding you ain’t comin’ back hear’ but she shouts back asking ‘what do you want?’ Eddie ‘wants his respect’ however Beatrice continues to argue she should go for her sister. Eddie says Beatrice should ‘be on my side or their side’. When Catherine intervenes Beatrice contradicts herself by then sticking up for Eddie, saying if Eddie is ‘a rat’ ‘then we all are’ and what happened was everyone’s fault.
Beatrice tries to get Eddie to leave the house before Marco comes and tries to make Eddie agree to Rodolfo’s apology. In a last ditch attempt to end the events Beatrice says’ you want something else and you’ll never have her’. Everyone is shocked and in horror by the statement but Beatrice insists ‘ I’m telling you the truth’. When Marco arrives Beatrice quickly tells Eddie to go inside and when the argument is started both Beatrice and Catherine plead for Eddie to stop. However before he dies, eddies last words are ‘My B’.
All of these actions prove that Beatrice tried everything to prevent the inevitable. This included being persuasive, talking to and confronting both Catherine and Eddie, pushing Catherine and Rodolfo to leave and most importantly she is always used as a peacemaker and go-between Catherine and Eddie. Beatrice is a very strong woman who would not have stayed with Eddie if she did not love him. It is immediately noticeable that Beatrice is aware of the deep and disturbing protectiveness that Eddie has over Catherine, she is unhappy with this and it later becomes know that there are much more intense problems in her relationship with Eddie. Beatrice has ‘other worries’ about ‘when she is going to be a wife again’ which suggest the breakdown of their sexual relationship. Beatrice is a strong woman who attempted all things to try and end the unavoidable conclusion of the play.
