A View From The Bridge Summary

This scene is important to the progression of the play because it the first time Eddie confides in Alfieri and therefore a rare occasion where we learn about his inmost feelings. We know that Eddie believes he has to act ‘manly’ and so suppresses his feelings, to the extent that he does not even tell Beatrice, his wife what he thinks. ‘Even my to my wife I didn’t exactly say this. ‘ Because it is something he has kept secret, Eddie finds it hard to express his disapproval for Rodolpho in his typical colloquial, New Yorker accent.

It is this that helps to intensify the tension within the scene.

Alfieri highlights that the only legal thing Eddie can do to destroy Catherine and Rodolpho’s relationship is to report the young lover to the immigration. However as we know previously through the story of Vinny Bolzano there are dreadful consequences that result in Alfieri’s consideration. ‘Oh, it was terrible. He had five bothers and the old father.

And they grabbed him in the kitchen and pulled him down the stairs, and they spit on him in the street, his own father and bothers. ‘ Furthermore even Eddie, at this stage knows that it would foolish to turn to the immigration.

When Was A View From The Bridge Written

Later in the scene Alfieri hints at Eddie that he has too much love for Catherine and he must let her go. ‘There is too much love for the niece. ‘ However Eddie’s feelings are overly strong for Catherine to overcome his fate.

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Eddie becomes increasingly frustrated that he has these shameful thoughts and is furious when Alfieri points this out. ‘She can’t marry you, can she? ‘ ‘I don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about! ‘ This highlights to both Eddie and audience his major imperfection which will lead him to catastrophic consequences.

However Eddie cannot accept any one’s hand in marriage to Catherine because his is infatuated with her. Alfieri advises Eddie to wish Catherine well and let her go. Of course the embittered and prejudiced Eddie cannot do this as he loves her too much. It is because of this reason that Eddie feels threatened by Rodolpho and finds him as a rival. Eddie has known Catherine for all his life and brought her up since she was little, and over the years become possessive of her in an unhealthy way; he cannot even bear to think of loosing her to another man.

‘He’s stealing from me. ‘ The action ends with a helpless and indignant Eddie leaving the stage, after discovering he is immobilized to end Catherine and Rodolpho’s relationship in terms of the law. Alfieri then transforms into the narrator and speaks in the past tense. The audience are now certain that he is recalling an event that has already occurred. Again the idea of fate and destiny is brought about and the play has progressed too much for Eddie to change his fate. Alfieri also introduces the concept of the inevitability.

‘It wasn’t as though there was a mystery to unravel; I could have finished the whole story that afternoon. ‘ Even Alfieri eventually becomes fractious, ‘And I sat here many afternoons asking myself why, being an intelligent man, I was powerless to stop it. ‘ However Alfieri cannot intervene with the inevitable. He explains that he even tried to stop Eddie’s fate by a last resort of praying. ‘I went to a certain old lady in the neighbourhood, a very wise old woman and I told her; she only nodded and said pray for him. ‘ This is the last time we see Alfieri in Act 1.

At the start of Act 2, Alfieri makes a short speech to set the scene, time, place and situation. This speech is used to decrease the tension after the dramatic action which has just taken place at the end of Act 1. At the end of Act 1 Eddie decided to ‘teach’ Rodolpho how to box as an excuse to hit him and show his physical strength. However this turns quite hostile, although unclear to Catherine and Beatrice. Nevertheless the situation is very unambiguous to Marco, Rodolpho’s brother, who responds by displaying his strength in the form of lifting a chair high over Eddie’s head rather like a weapon.

Stage Directions – ‘Marco is face to face with Eddie, a strained tension gripping his eyes and jaw, his neck stiff, the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie’s head. ‘ The message of this menacing and cautionary event being that if Eddie wants to harm Rodolpho he will have to fight Marco first. The atmosphere created between the two men is that of apprehensive and tense one. The next instance we meet Alfieri it is the last time he speaks to Eddie before the inevitable, and therefore significant. Alfieri describes Eddie’s behaviour in a similar way to the previous visit.

The idea of repetition is used when Alfieri says: ‘His eyes were like tunnels. ‘ This also indicates that he has become more out of control since the previous visit which was of no avail. Alfieri again sets the atmosphere ‘like a dream’ which shows his disbelief of the event. Alfieri then changes from a narrator to a character participating in the action. He mentions that he wanted to call the police, even though nothing had happened. This is because the lawyer knows that Eddie has a fate and a destiny, and therefore will do something iniquitous. Both Alfieri and the audience learn of Catherine and Rodolpho’s forthcoming marriage.

As he did previously, Alfieri again tells Eddie there is nothing he can do about this, conversing in professional and legalistic terms. ‘Morally and legally you have no rights. ‘ Alfieri desperately tries to convince Eddie that he is wrong and even warns him in a bold, direct statement ‘You won’t have a friend in the world Eddie! ‘ But in a desperate ironic twist Eddie goes against his principles and the strict code of honour by reporting the immigrants, including Rodolpho, to the Immigration Bureau. This shows how much love and cannot let go of Catherine and would even break the code of honour as a last resort.

Eddie’s fate and destiny are now activated, to haunt him to bring us the tragic circumstances that lay ahead as a result of him breaking the code of honour. Later we meet Alfieri one final time before the tragic consequences, where he pleads and even makes Marco commit in the form of a promise that he will be lawful; not abide by the code of honour. ‘You won’t touch him. This is your promise. ‘ However we can see that Marco struggles to do this and is ashamed to have made such a ‘dishonourer able’ promise. Unlike Alfieri, Marco cannot settle for half and realises that there is not enough justice in the law.

Another key function of Alfieri here is to inform the both Marco and the audience that there is a clear distinction between the law and the justice of the vendetta. The law is similar to settling for half as it does not provide very harsh direct punishment but it is the only way that people do not end up killing each other. However the justice of the vendetta gives total justice but results in bloodshed and a greater increase in the number of lives lost. We know from his very beginning speech that Alfieri likes the of settling for half as he has accepted this to be the American way of living, which he feels is quite civilised.

‘And now we are quite civilised, quite American. Now we settle for half and I like it better. ‘ In contrast Marco, a firm believer in the justice of the vendetta, not only abhors the law but cannot comprehend that Eddie reporting to the immigration bureau would be seen as lawful and therefore receiving no punishment. The reason of this being that, within the Sicilian community living in Redhook, Eddie would be seen to have broken the code of honour by reporting to the immigration and therefore paying with his life. ‘He degraded my brother.

My blood. He robbed my children, he mocks my work. There is no law for that? Where is the law for that? ‘ Alfieri concludes his speech by again saying that only God makes justice, meaning that people only get fairly punished for their sins by God; not the law, hence settling for half. The audience can realise Alfieri did his absolute best to try and stop the inevitable. However it was that caused Eddie to die, at the hands of Marco, who, when provoked by Eddie could not settle for half and stayed entirely loyal to the code of honour.

Alfieri concludes the play with a dismal speech after the tensional climax. The death of Eddie complements Alfieri’s idea of justice; being lawful and settling for half. We are told that Eddie’s death was useless and there was no need for it. Alfieri then celebrates Eddie’s life, which he recalls with respect and passion. From the very beginning of the play we knew that Eddie was going to face tragic because of his fate and destiny and in a similar way to a Greek Tragedy the play ran its ‘bloody course. ‘