Miller said that he wanted to make this play a modern Greek tragedy. Classical Greek tragedies included a ‘Greek Chorus’ which was a single actor or group of actors who were characters in the play but also stepped out of the action as a narrator, to comment on the action and communicate with the audience directly. Alfieri fulfils this function and is the equivalent of the chorus in several respects. Firstly he introduces the play and its themes. The audience is instilled with a sense of trust because if his use of Standard English and because he is a lawyer. Secondly he moves the play on, he retells events which have already happened. He gives details of places, dates and times, enabling the play to move on more quickly, without the characters having to give this information. His narration is also mixed with brief comments: "He was as good a man as he had to be...he brought home his pay, and he lived. And toward ten o'clock of that night, after they had eaten, the cousins came". In this quote Alfieri is setting the time which moves the play on from the previous scene and also he is explaining Eddie’s persona, “ a good man” He also explains aspects of the play, for example “his eyes were like tunnels,” suggests that Eddie can’t see the whole story, he only sees a part of it. This intimate understanding of what is going on allows him to bridge a communication gap between the middle-class audience and working-class characters, enabling the audience to form an understanding of the story and the emotions that the characters are feeling.
Fate is one of a series of inevitable or predetermined events, for example in the play Eddie’s ultimate fate is to die, this is clear from the beginning. We also know that because of the fate of Eddie Alfieri is powerless to stop the tragedy. We know this when he says “As powerless as I”, Alfieri cannot control fate, however he can alleviate suffering. In Alfieri’s opening monologue Alfieri expresses the idea that tragedy is timeless: “in some Caesar’s year, in Calabria perhaps or on the cliff of Syracuse, another lawyer.” The use of the name “Caesar” an ancient emperor shows the idea that humans don’t change, a Tragedy is timeless and can apply to an Ancient era, and it harks back to the Greek theme.
Although Alfieri is an immigrant he is an educated man. This is shown in his speech as he speaks in Received Pronunciation in comparison to Eddie who speaks in American dialect, “You was gonna”, which also shows his lack of education. As a consequence of his education, people in his community respect him and recognise him as a figure of authority. He is also seen as a figure of wisdom and perception; we know this because he is able to predict the outcome of events when he first meets Eddie. Also he is able to delve deeper into Eddie’s emotions than Eddie can himself. He is able to see how he really feels for Catherine, “she can’t marry you,” suggesting that Eddie loves Catherine too much and that this is his fatal flaw. It is for this reason that Alfieri tries to show Eddie that Catherine is a “woman” and not a child. He also tries to teach Eddie to let go and not dwell on the past.
Alfieri represents American law; this is why he is perceived to be in a position of authority in that community. Italian law differs from American law and revolves around the idea of protecting honour, should there be a traitor he should suffer. This idea of justice is shown in a story told by Beatrice and Eddie, “He had five brothers and the old father. And they grabbed him in the kitchen and pulled him down the stairs...his head was bouncin’ like a coconut.”This shows the brutality and primitiveness of justice, and also how families betrayed each other. Because Redhook consists primarily of Italian Immigrants the Italian justice system influences the way of life there. Alfieri struggles to make Eddie and Marco understand and accept this. He explains that it is only God that can ultimately give true justice, “only God, Marco.” And for this reason Alfieri suggests that it is better to settle for half, only god can be the true judge of what is right or wrong. Throughout the struggle we are reminded that it is a tragedy and death is inevitable, “want to spread an alarm, but nothing has happened.” “Alarm” suggests that there is going to be reason for alarm but it hasn’t happened yet.
In some way Alfieri acts as a mouthpiece for Miller, Alfieri expresses the feelings of Miller through role play, almost re-enacting the parts of Miller’s life where he worked as a longshoreman on the docks in New York, where he formed an intimate understanding of the working-class that sometimes possessed almost primitive vengeful desires. Although Miller understands that law only represents what is morally right, he believes sometimes it is better to “settle for half”, a recurring point in the play. If someone feels the need to seek revenge then the desire to do so must be driven by what they believe is just. However the justice system only says what it is morally right to do and not what should be just and fair. By settling for half a compromise is achieved and as close to just as can be achieved is achieved.
Alfieri’s function is to explain the play as it happens, explaining a working class scenario to a middle-class audience. The title of the play is a metaphor for what Alfieri does: He acts as “a view from a bridge” in several aspects, both in and out of the play fulfilling his function as a Greek Chorus. In the play he bridges two different culture’s justice systems creating a compromise between Italian tribal justice and American law. Alfieri out of the play explains the significance of the play and his emotional response to Eddie, acting as the mouthpiece to Miller. He is the bridge between American values and traditional customs. He has loyalties towards both and represents the difficulties of trying to reconcile the two cultures. He is a metaphor for Brooklyn Bridge, connecting the ethnic communities of Brooklyn to wealthy Manhattan.In effect Alfieri is an incarnation of Miller reacting in the way Miller would act. A view from a Bridge is Miller’s emotional response to a very real story.
