Eddie asks what he can do about Catherine and Rodolpho’s engagement, and Alfieri says that there is nothing he can do “morally and legally,” as Catherine is “a free agent.” Eddie again insists that he kissed Rodolpho to prove Rodolpho’s homosexuality, though this is not entirely convincing.

He goes to church to pray for forgiveness before he goes to attack Eddie. It is important that Marco does not have a weapon. He wants a fair fight. However, Eddie is so beyond reason at this point that he produces a knife, and this is the weapon which Marco turns against Eddie, killing him.

You squint your eyes and see the longshoremen, crawling like ants across those docks. Many critics say that Arthur Miller was referencing just this view when he titled his 1950s drama, A View from the Bridge. By far the most popular theory is that the title refers to how Arthur Miller wanted audiences to view the play.

Arthur Miller

A View from the Bridge – Themes overview

• justice and the law.
• codes of honour and respect.
• love.

The hero of a Greek tragedy is usually likeable but has one fatal flaw, or serious failing. Eddie represents this character, and his fatal flaw is his obsession with Catherine. He races towards his death and it is all of his own making. Nobody else can help or stop him.

A View from the Bridge is written in the form of a play, and is therefore intended to be watched in performance rather than just being read. A View from the Bridge has elements of a classical (or ancient Greek) tragedy although it is actually a modern tragedy.

Alfieri makes six appearances on stage throughout the play. He is a portly, good-humoured, and thoughtful lawyer who was born in Italy. He also acts as the play’s narrator, in imitation of ancient Greek tragedies where a group of actors commented on proceedings and were known as the ‘chorus’.

When he says “settle for half” he means that the community of Red Hook rarely resolves its feuds with violence anymore, like they did back when Al Capone roamed the streets. Now they compromise. They rely on the law. When Eddie first comes to him for help, Alfieri tells him, “You have no recourse in the law” (1.546).

And yet, it is better to settle for half, it must be! Alfieri isn’t condoning Eddie’s actions, but he is acknowledging that there is something pure in his unfettered pursuit of his desires. Eddie refuses to quell his inappropriate feelings, refuses to back down, refuses to change.

Eddie is unfair to Beatrice when he says this. He has always expected her to be a housewife; in fact, he thinks all women should be like her. It is just his obsession with Catherine which makes him act nastily.

Eddie does not realize his feeling for Catherine because he has constructed an imagined world where he can suppress his urges. Because he has no outlet for his feelings—even in his own conscious mind—Eddie transfers his energy to a hatred of Marco and Rodolpho and causes him to act completely irrationally.

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Overall, their relationship begins by being very close and ends up being distant and spiteful as Eddie is unable to portray his emotions. Catherine enjoys the way Eddie behaves towards her but she changes when Rodolfo arrives.

Eddie – Eddie is an 83-year-old maintenance man, who has dedicated his life to working at Ruby Pier. At the start of the story, we do not know much about Eddie, except for his age and occupation; we learn the most about Eddie when he takes his journey through heaven.

At the beginning of the play, Eddie Carbone is presented as an easygoing, average man. Miller portrays him as a tragic hero – with use of characteristics from typical Shakespearean heroes. Miller presents Eddie as masculine, by making Eddie the one who works and earns money for the family. …read more.

It is difficult to describe Eddie Carbone as a sympathetic character. For one thing, he is an extraordinarily self-centered man who expects the whole world to revolve around him. Everything he does in the play is related to his own needs and his own elevated sense of self-importance.

We learn that Eddie and Beatrice’s relationship are collapsing as a marriage couple by the lack of love to Beatrice. Also Eddie’s jealousness are shown by his quotes.

When Marco and Rodolfo come to stay with Beatrice, Eddie and Catherine, Eddies attitude begins to change. He becomes even more protective over Catherine than he already is and becomes very defensive.

The man was born poor, but he didn’t let it get him down. He didn’t resort to crime or government handouts. He got a job as a longshoreman and worked his butt off on those docks. Eddie tells Alfieri that, “In the worst times […]

Marco

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He nicknames her ‘Madonna’ which symbolises innocence and purity, but when she begins to fall in love with Beatrice’s cousin Rodolpho he starts calling her ‘Garbo’ which symbolises a sexual icon, Garbo was a celebrity with lots of sexual appeal. This shows his feelings progress and how he idealizes her.

Marco gets angry watching his brother get teased and challenges Eddie to lift a chair. Eddie fails, but Marco lifts the chair up high, gaining authority over Eddie. The boxing scene has huge dramatic importance, not only because it is the scene that ends the act.

He cannot understand how one human being would do this to another. Spitting in Eddie’s face shows his utter contempt for him. Marco believes it is his duty to right this wrong without recourse to the law. He believes that the law has nothing to do with his need for justice.