him. Her naivety is further explored when she “light[s]” Eddie's cigar for him. Lighting a man's cigar is seen as a romantic gesture, done between husband and wife, so the fact that Catherine fails to recognise the significance behind her actions goes to demonstrate her ignorance towards adult situations, further cementing in the audience's mind that she acts like a child. Miller uses Catherine's interactions with Beatrice to show how childlike she is despite her age. A notable example of this is when Beatrice says to her “go baby, set the table”. In this line the word “baby” could be seen as a term of affection that Beatrice has for Catherine - a likely assumption as she is Catherine's mother figure. However it could be seen as having a hidden meaning; it could to show how Beatrice unknowingly views Catherine, as a baby. This is evidenced by the fact that Beatrice is commanding Catherine by telling her to “set the table”.
After Marco and Rodolpho arrive Miller begins to show the first signs of Catherine's increasing independence. Through her relationship with Eddie we start to see her break away from his control and start to gain some authority. This is shown when she tells Rodolpho to “go ahead [and] sing it”. This is a significant moment as it is the first instance in the play where Catherine takes a role of authority and commands someone else. Additionally slightly further on she tells Eddie to “leave him finish”. This goes directly against what Eddie was just telling Rodolpho and is the first instance in which Catherine challenges Eddie's authority. This goes along with the first quote go to show just how much she has changed from when we first met her; she has gone from completely dependent on Eddie and has begun to start to challenge him. Catherine's interactions with Beatrice begin to show how she has started to drift away from what's expected of her as a stereotypical woman. Miller develops this idea through the fact that throughout the scene Catherine has been ignoring the duty given to her by Eddie, to get the guests coffee, and has forced Beatrice to take the job and “get the coffee” herself. This moment signifies the point where Catherine starts to no longer act as a wife towards Eddie, and allows Beatrice to take that role once again. Miller uses Catherine's and Rodolpho's relationship to show how she is maturing sexually. From the start Miller makes it very clear from the start that Catherine is interested in Rodolpho when he describes her as “wondrously” asking him about his complexion. Catherine's intentions are given away here, as wonder is a strong feeling to have for someone she has just met. This is further emphasized when she exclaims once again about his appearance, saying “He’s a real blonde!” showing that she is so captivated with his appearance that she cannot believe what she is seeing. Another point that reinforced this idea is when she describes his singing by saying “he's terrific, it's terrific”. This switch from “he” to “it” could imply that Catherine might be so infatuated with Rodolpho she can not help complimenting him and must correct herself in order to hide the fact that she does feel love attraction towards him. Finally she later goes onto ask Rodolpho if he “like[s] sugar” this is a sexual comment veiled as a question and goes to show Catherine's growing sense of sexual maturity.
By the end of Act 1 Miller has shown Catherine to become more independent, this is first demonstrated through how her relationship with Eddie has changed. Firstly, Miller portrays Catherine to be far more forward with Eddie as shown when Catherine is described as talking to Eddie with “an edge of anger”. Her now being “anger[ed]” is a big change from how the audience originally viewed Catherine’s thoughts on Eddie- a childlike figure who relied heavily him. Furthermore, the change in her behaviour is emphasized by the fact that she can now assert some form of dominance over Eddie, as shown by the fact the he “retreat[s] before the threat of her anger”. Secondly Eddie himself starts to see that Catherine is maturing and growing up as shown when he says, “ you're a big girl”. However the use of the words “big girl” suggest while he may acknowledge that she is growing up he still does not view her as an adult as many others are starting to do. Beatrice is one of those who recognises that Catherine is maturing, and helps her in doing so. She tells Catherine throughout their conversation that she's “not a baby anymore”. “Baby” was the term of affection originally used by Beatrice to refer to Catherine, so her telling Catherine that she is no longer a “baby”, implies that Beatrice no longer sees her as a child and that she is trying to convince Catherine that she is growing up to be a woman. Finally, Miller uses her relationship with Rodolpho to show how she has now gained independence and is able to defy Eddie. The most notable example of this is when she asks Rodolpho if he “wanna dance”. This comes right after when Eddie starts questioning Rodolpho on the way he behaves while he is out. Catherine asking Rodolpho to dance serves to act as a gesture of rebellion whose purpose is to show to Eddie that Catherine is now able to think for herself and goes to demonstrate that she no longer needs his approval on what she can and cannot do.
Miller uses Catherine to explore the developing theme of womanhood and the struggle for female independence and by doing so he also uses her to challenge the traditional stereotypes that females in Red Hook, and by extensions the world, face.
