“He grasps the leg rises the chair one inch but it leans over to the floor. He tries again, and again fails.’’
Marco then lifts the chair and holds the chair above his head in a fretting manner, which shows a change in masculinity and power. Before Marco lifting the chair, Eddie proves his power in his home. He does this by teaching Roldopho to box. This gives Eddie a chance to prove his power and masculinity over Rodolpho and Eddie hits him. I think Eddie does this to prove to Catherine that Rodolpho is weak and not as masculine as him. Miller then leaves us with the question, was Eddie male bonding or just wanting revenge?
“I didn’t hurt him. Did I hurt you kid?’’
I think Miller is making out that the flat represents Eddie's point of view, and he proves this by Eddie not letting Beatrice be able to return to the flat it she goes to Catherine’s wedding as it is against Eddie’s will.
“Nobody from this house is going into that church today. Now if that’s more to you than I am, then go. But don’t come back.’’
I get the impression this shows that Eddie is very upset and is doing all he can to stop it going on. As the apartment is Eddie’s point of view, you never see upstairs or in the kitchen, as it isn’t what Eddie believes to be manly. He believes that the kitchen is a woman’s role hence we only see Beatrice and Catherine go in and out of the kitchen. Eddie also sees it unmanly to have sex before marriage without permission; Eddie is incompetnt that is why it infuriates him when Rodolpho has sex with Catherine.
“When am I going to be a wife again?’’
This is said by Beatrice on the streets where Beatrice can confront Eddie. Eddie believes that he should have respect and demands respect several times.
“He’s gonna come here and apologize.’’ “ I want my respect!”
He is aware that Catherine is developing into a young lady and she is becoming physically attractive.
“I could tell you things about Louis which you wouldn’t wave to him no more.”
This is ironic as Eddie goes on about how Catherine is “walking wavy”,
He does not like the idea of Catherine turning into a young woman and moving on with her life so he makes her feel like she is doing wrong, and treats her like a child. Eddie only does this in his flat where he has power over Catherine.
The street symbolises Eddie’s loss of power that is why he can be confronted on the street more than in his flat. The street also symbolises American culture and Sicilian justice mixed together. In the street he is not the important man he wants to be, he does not have control over Catherine.
Things that dared not be to mention in the flat as it represents Eddie’s point of view can be said in the street. The street is were Eddies power lacks you can see this by the questions he gets asked and the way he’s spoken to on the street.
“I don’t believe it and I wish to hell you’d stop it.”
In the flat Eddie has power his will is supreme and in the street Beatrice and Catherine question his power.
“When can I be a wife again, Eddie?’’
The street exposes Eddie’s impotence; literally, in his sex life with Beatrice and metaphorically, Eddie cannot hold back the forces of change. His old fashioned beliefs cannot stop what is accepted in Modern American society, law, and justice. The street is where the fight that results in Eddie’s death takes place. Eddie’s death does not happen in his flat which is his area of power it happens in the street where it is visible to everybody. I get the impression that Miller does this because he wants to show us his lost power and the street symbolises his lack of power.
Miller gives the impression that Alfieri’s Office represents American judicial law not family honour, revenge, or vendettas as in Sicily. In his office, Alfieri has power, not in his own right, but as the mouthpiece of the law. He links himself to other lawyers in the past.
“Another lawyer, quite differently dressed, heard the same complaint and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course.”
In his conversations with Eddie, the two concepts of law and justice clash. Alferi cannot do anything to help Eddie, as there is no law against Catherine choosing to be with Rodolpho but he still fights for what he believes. Eddie has no power in Alferi’s office so he hence his anger.
“I know what’s in his mind, Mr Alferi!”
Through Alferi is playing the chorus; Miller makes it clear to the audience what is going on. The office scenes provide a pause in the action for the audience to think about what is going on. In addition, through Alfieri we are made to think more sympathetically towards Eddie as Eddie is loosing control, I think miller does this so the audients gets emotionally involved in the play, which captures the audients attention.
Miller gives me the impression that the telephone booth is symbolic of betrayal and modern society. Miller uses the telephone booth as a theatrical device to make the audience think. It is were Eddies own impersonal betrayal takes place, as it was where Eddie phones the immigration bureau to hand in Marco and Rodolpho. American technology allows the betrayal to be impersonal.
“There is also a telephone booth. This is not used until the last scenes, but is visible throughout the play”
Eddie says he lives in the neighbourhood and does not give a name.
“I’m just around the neighbourhood, that’s all.”
The action of betrayal is the worst thing you can do, according to Sicilian culture and beliefs.
Brooklyn Bridge is the divide between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Manhattan is where Eddie has no control over Catherine he fears of losing her. Manhattan is representative of American Dream. Rodolpho wants to go to Manhattan with Catherine but Eddie does not want Catherine to go there.
“I would like to walk with her once where the theatres are and the opera. Since I was a boy I see pictures of those lights.”
In Brooklyn, Eddie has a reputation for being honourable to start with but it changes towards the end of the play. Catherine wants to escape from Brooklyn, even though her new job is in Brooklyn but she feels imprisoned by Eddie. This is ironic as Eddie wants the best for Catherine but does not want her going to Manhattan.
Rodolpho and Marco illegally come from Sicily. Sicily is a place of poverty, it is Roman Catholic, and things are different for it is old-fashioned morals.
“It’s more strict in our town.”
Marco and Rodolpho make it sound idyllic compared to Manhatten, Manhatten is everyones dream. Yet, Rodolpho would not take Catherine there.
“I will not marry you to live in Italy.”
At the end, Eddie loses all his power this is shown by Eddie dieing in the street. The street is where Eddie lacked power the most anyway so there is no surprise there. We feel sympathetic towards Eddie at the end as he died as a result of him standing up for his justice.
Over all Miller’s use of places is much defined and basically involves around Eddie. There is a place where is power is strong bur this soon changes and a place where is power is weak i.e. Office and the street, and the telephone booth where he betrays his beliefs. It’s the Greek tragedy repeating itself but with one family.
