Miller intended the title of the play to have some significance other than the geography of the location. The most obvious interpretation is of the audience sharing with Alfieri an unbiased overview of the unfolding of events. It is like being able to see from a bridge over a river, our vision uncluttered by opinions as it would be by the side of the river, or perhaps even as part of the river. The swirling of currents of a river could represent the uncertain nature of life that clouds our opinion and the flow of water the rush of emotions that carry us through life. Though, even Alfieri is not completely removed from the happenings of the play, he takes an active part in the play as well as providing the ‘chorus´ character of the Greek format that Miller used although in Greek tragedy the chorus observes what is happening and doesn’t get involved. Eddie is part of the American culture, but also part of the Italian culture, he also knew the family “I had represented his father in an accident case some years before, and I was acquainted with the family in a casual way.” Perhaps this is why he is able to give a balanced opinion and to counsel Eddie (though his advice is not used). On the bridge we have time to form opinions, to judge other people, to ‘settle for half´.
As Alfieri has an active role as well as the chorus for the play the title ‘A View from the Bridge´ no longer seems to imply the safety of distance from events, but the need to realise, and perhaps revise, our morals and opinions in our judgment of others.
After Eddie’s death, Alfieri is lit up so that the audience focuses on him, and gives a final soliloquy, which calms the audience down after another scene of high tension. This is like a tribute, as it looks back over Eddie’s life. A tribute is usually a series of memories from a person’s life, rather like the play is a series of flashbacks. In the end, the conclusion is unavoidable, and ends in tragedy.
Many things contributed to Eddie’s flaw but the most important thing is his secret desire for Catherine. Alfieri and the audience could see this because they take the “view from the bridge” and have time to stop and think this idea comes from Greek tragedy but Eddie could never come to terms with the fact that he did not own her.This is also why he eventually died because he could not let go. Alfieri tried to help Eddie but he would not listen to reason he was blinded by his craving for Catherine.
Miller uses Alfieri as the narrator and also a character in the play. He appears in vital points predicting an outcome, summarizing the action and giving personal views from his characters. Alfieri is the first person the audience sees and is a dramatic device; he gives an immediate personal connection talking to the audience directly. As a lawyer we know he can be trusted, he represents the official and legal law and is well respected for this, “The two pitchers nod to him as he passes.” He talks in retrospect and even uses an extended metaphor to create an impression of the area these characters are placed. “This is the gullet of New York swallowing the tonnage of the world.” It also emphasizes greed and corruption giving the play a definite placement with threatening suggestions. He gives away that there will be a tragedy at the end, “and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course.” Alfieri gives these clues, to prepare the audience for tragedy enabling the audience to pick up on what to look for. This adds to the progress ional build up of tension. Following his prediction there is a link with the tragedy and the main character Eddie, “this ones name was Eddie Carbone.” It instantly shows us that Eddie is involved directly to what will happen in Miller’s modern tragedy.
The main tool, which is influential in Eddie’s downfall and in truth any downfall is his ‘tragic flaw’, which in Eddie’s case is his inability to accept the reality towards his feelings for Catherine. Eddies tragedy is denying him that which is true – his feelings from within – he refuses to accept them.
This secret desire for Catherine motivates him a great deal in a way that he is so protective of her that he does not want her going out or wearing revealing clothes this is shown when he says “I think it’s too short” and he didn’t like the way she walked “now don’t aggravate me Katie you are walkin wavy” he probably didn’t like the way she walked because it probably got attention from men and Eddie didn’t like that because in a way he thought Catherine was his. He also says “you ain’t all the girls” this is Eddie saying you are not all the girls you are my girl. He doesn’t like the way she walks and dresses and that she is getting a job because all these things show that she is becoming a woman and Eddie doesn’t like this, so he is motivated to protect her as much as possible. He was so strict with her as she was growing up, as soon as she saw a boy (Rodolfo) she literally jumped at him. Eddie’s secret desire for Catherine is also incorporated in his self interest because all he could think about was himself and he didn’t look at how happy Catherine was with Rodolfo, all he cared about was trying to break them up and he tried to do this by phoning the Immigration Bureau but all this caused was Catherine and himself to grow apart and for Catherine to finally see what type of man he was. He was so interested in himself that he kept on demanding respect from Marco. wipin’ the neighbourhood with my name like a dirty rag!”
Eddie came from a Sicilian background which made him feel very macho so he felt he wanted control of what happens to the members of his household. By this he wanted to know all that went on and you can see Catherine and Beatrice seem even to beg him sometimes “Eddie, please!” just to do something simple. When Catherine gets the job as a stenographer he wants her to ask for consent, he says ‘‘why didn’t you ask me before you took a job? he needs to feel like he is the person in charge and because he wasn’t consulted first he feels vulnerable.This is one article that guided his disgrace since he was trying to be so masculine he could not demonstrate any emotions, so he kept back the whole thing inside.
As Miller intended to write a modern tragedy with the intention of creating cathartic experience for the audience he has done so very successfully without using the unpleasant ideas of the traditional Greek tragedy. Miller has used the chorus figure to express the protagonist’s flaw to the audience extraordinarily fruitfully, therefore making the play the modern tragedy that it should be.
