A View from the Bridge - Arthur Miller > Reviews (10)

Manliness, Hostility and Aggression in 'A View From the Bridge'

'A View From the Bridge' is a play set in Brooklyn in the 1950's, written by Arthur Miller. Manliness, hostility and aggression are very important throughout 'A View From the Bridge'. The play clearly shows how manliness can easily lead to hostility and progress to aggression. The play centers around the Carbone family, who live in Brooklyn, and the arrival of their cousins Marco and Rodolpho, from Italy. Marco and Rodolpho are illegal immigrants seeking the 'American dream', which sets out that wherever you come from in the world, no matter how rich or poor you are, you can always work and make a good living in the industrial boom, in Western America. Unfortunately the 'American dream' only turned out to be true for a small minority of people, and many were left without jobs and food.

Manliness in particular is a major feature in 'A View From The Bridge', and if this was not so, the play would be entirely different. Eddie Carbone, the play's main character is of a low social class, and coupled with his use of language in the play, shows he is not well educated. He has a very strict and particular opinion of what makes a man, and how men should act, look and behave. Any man that does not conform to Eddie's view becomes almost an enemy, and conflict can erupt easily. At times conflict also occurs when a very masculine character, namely Marco, begins to threaten Eddie very slightly, which leads to hostility and aggression.

Eddie has very strong views on what characteristics men should have. He believes that men should be strong, the breadwinner in the household and someone who cares for their family. Eddie also feels that men should protect their family, tell them when they are doing wrong, and guide family members back on to the right path. This view of Eddie's is clearly visible in his dislike of Rodolpho, whom he believes is marrying Catherine not due to love, but as a means of staying legally in America. Eddie likes to feel that he is in control of his family, even if he is not. One example of this is when Eddie says to Catherine: "what's the heels for?". This quote shows that he likes to be Catherine's 'Father figure', although he is not her father, but also shows the audience that in Eddie's eyes Catherine is still a young girl and should not need to be in these shoes. Eddie's protectiveness and ownership of Catherine are viewed as manly qualities.

Rodolpho clearly does not match up with Eddie's image of what makes a man. Eddie picks at the point that Rodolpho has blonde hair, cooks, sings, is weak at fighting and makes dresses, which in Eddie's eyes are characteristics of a typical woman, or maybe even a homosexual. One of the main moments of dramatic tension that shows Eddie's view to the audience is when Eddie suddenly kisses Rodolpho. The stage directions say: "Eddie pins his arms, laughing, and suddenly kisses him". What Eddie has done seems to be a test of whether Rodolpho is really a homosexual, and if so Eddie would be waiting to see a look of indifference on Rodolpho's face, and maybe even a kiss back.

After Eddie lets Rodolpho go though, Rodolpho is said to be "rigid" which implies to the audience that Eddie's accusation that Rodolpho was a homosexual was wrong, and it seems that Rodolpho was genuinely shocked and taken aback by the event that had just happened to him. Many in the audience would say that Eddie has overstepped the mark here and should not have done this.

Rodolpho's character has a big impact on the whole Carbone family. Catherine and Beatrice seem to see him as funny, lively and attractive with Beatrice saying: "He's a nice fella, hard workin', he's a good lookin' fella", Eddie, however, believes the complete opposite. Eddie saw the girl's reaction to Rodolpho, and as such begins to become jealous of Rodolpho. One of the main reasons Eddie becomes jealous is due to the relationship between himself and his wife, Beatrice. The lines from Beatrice: "When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie?" and "It's almost three months", imply that their sex life has been non-existent recently, and that Beatrice is not sure that Eddie still love's her. As his relationship with Beatrice is poor at this time and he is not seeing eye to eye with her, Eddie starts to become angered slightly over Beatrice's positive comments about another man.

Another reason Eddie feels threatened by Rodolpho is the fact that Eddie might have some feelings for Catherine. The stage direction: "he reaches out… and… kisses her on the mouth", gives the feeling to the audience that Eddie might have some feelings for Catherine. This is because family members don't usually kiss each other on the mouth, especially uncles and nieces, so what Eddie has just done seems to the audience to be uncomfortably intimate, and is touching on the view of incest. Eddie's view of Rodolpho gets even worse when he hears the news from Beatrice that Rodolpho and Catherine are seeing each other. His bad feelings for Rodolpho rise at this point in the play, and Eddie feels even more threatened and jealous after this point.

Eddie tries to get back at Rodolpho after feeling threatened by him and begins to change everything Rodolpho does into something different, and more typical of a woman. Eddie ridicules Rodolpho's blonde hair, which he believes is feminine, but it is obviously not to the audience. Eddie is continuously saying to Beatrice such things as: "wacky hair", "he's like a weird", "blondie" and "he's like a chorus girl". All these mocking comments are trying to persuade Beatrice that he's an unusual and effeminate man, but Beatrice is having none of it and replies to Eddie in such ways as: "so he's blond, so-" and "you never seen a blond guy in your life?" Many audience members will be thinking this too, showing Beatrice to be the most stable character at this point in the play.

Eddie also tries to pick away at Rodolpho by saying that he is a singer and that people ridicule him for singing on the boats, where Rodolpho used to work. Eddie says: "he sings. Right on the deck, all of a sudden, a whole song comes out of his mouth" and "Paper Doll, they're callin' him".

Eddie is trying to make out that he's feminine, again, and that many people know that too, with the long shore men calling him "Paper Doll" on the ships. This name for Rodolpho is showing him to be weak, childish and very feminine. Eddie also talks to Catherine saying that, in his eyes, Rodolpho is not going out with her, and potentially marrying her for what she is, but to be legally allowed to stay in America. Eddie says to Catherine: "He marries you, he's got the right to be an American citizen", "A hit-and-run guy" "You marry him and the next time you'll see him it'll be for divorce!" Eddie is saying all this to try and stop Catherine going out with Rodolpho, maybe for the real reason of trying to protect Catherine from what might happen to Rodolpho and her, if Rodolpho was ever found out to be an illegal immigrant. It is more likely though that Eddie is telling her this because he is feeling jealous towards Rodolpho, and is feeling threatened by him and also to get Rodolpho hopefully out of his life, if Catherine splits up with him. Catherine though shrugs off Eddie's scare tactics by blatantly saying: "No, I don't believe it".

Another way Eddie tries to portray Rodolpho as being weak and effeminate is with the chair incident. It starts off with Eddie teaching Rodolpho some basic, soft boxing but this quickly turns into a situation of great tension and aggression. All of a sudden after doing some seemingly harmless boxing the stage directions say: "He feints with his left hand and lands with his right. It mildly staggers Rodolpho. Marco rises". The audience can tell that this punch Eddie gave Rodolpho was obviously stronger than needed. The fact that Marco, Rodolpho's stronger brother, suddenly rises, coupled with what Catherine does: "(rushing to Rodolpho): Eddie!", shows that everyone in the room was taken aback by what Eddie had done and that Eddie obviously took things one step too far. Eddie tries to make out that he did nothing intentionally wrong and he accidentally punched Rodolpho too hard, by saying: "I didn't hurt him. Did I hurt you, kid?"; but really everyone in the room, and the audience knows that Eddie intentionally did it. The audience can also see the reason why Eddie might have done such a thing, with him feeling threatened and jealous of Rodolpho, he was trying to get back at him. Eddie responding to this situation with physical aggression shows he has difficulty expressing his feelings in any other manner, which may be due to his background and lack of education. Eddie was telling Rodolpho that he is boss of the house and his family members. Rodolpho tries to shrug the whole situation off by saying: No, no, he didn't hurt me…I was only surprised", and by asking Catherine to dance he changes the mood in the room away from aggression and dramatic tension.

Marco, Rodolpho's brother, on the other hand, has the qualities which in Eddie's view, belong to a 'real man'. He is referred to as having dark hair, being a caring person for his family and being a very strong and determined man; all of which conform to Eddie's view of what makes up a very masculine man.

Though it is not just Eddie who believes Marco is very masculine. Louis and Mike, some Long shore men from the local Brooklyn docks, refer to Marco as being such things as: "a regular bull", "a strong guy" and "a regular slave". These quotes are showing Marco to be very strong, aggressive and masculine. Eddie, at this point in the play, does not seem to have a problem with Marco, and in his eyes sees him as a similar person to himself, very masculine.

At times though, Marco's masculinity leads to heightened amounts of hostility and aggression. One example of this is the chair incident at the ending of act 1, which takes place straight after the boxing incident. Marco starts it off by asking Eddie if he can lift a chair when it's in a particular position. Eddie fails this and then Marco successfully lifts the chair way above his head, shadowing over a frightened Eddie. The stage directions describe Marco as: "he kneels, grasps and with strain slowly raises the chair higher and higher, getting to his feet now", then the stage directions continue: "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-and he transforms what might appear to be a glare of warning into a smile of triumph". Marco is clearly giving a warning to Eddie to not continue to mess around, and make fun of his brother, Rodolpho. Some of the ways the audience can tell this, is the fact that Marco doesn't have to just beat Eddie by lifting the chair, but he has to exceed what Eddie could achieve, by lifting the chair almost to the ceiling, and by holding it like a weapon over Eddie's head. The audience can also tell this is a very dramatic point in the play by the fact that when Marco begins to do this, Catherine and Rodolpho immediately stop dancing. The stage direction: "Rodolpho and Catherine have stopped dancing", in the middle of this very hostile situation, evokes that the characters can also tell Marco is going too far. Also the stage directions describe Eddie, when Marco is glaring at him, as: "His grin vanishes as he absorbs his look". This action by Eddie is showing Marco, and the audience, that Marco has achieved what he set out to do, which was to give Eddie a warning. This is backed up by the fact that as soon as Eddie's expression turns to a scared look, Marco transforms his own expression into a smile of triumph. This hostile, and almost aggressive situation, has definitely given Eddie a warning.

Another clear moment of Marco's strong, masculine qualities is at the ending of the play, with Eddie's death. Marco comes to the Carbone's house, whilst on bail. Marco shouts from the street for Eddie to come out, which he does, something the pleading and begging Catherine and Beatrice don't want him to do. Eddie wants an apology from Marco, and Marco seems to want revenge for telling immigration. Both men act very masculine and don't back down on what they believe in, turning the situation very hostile, with a lot of dramatic tension.

The fact that Catherine and Beatrice are trying so hard to persuade and beg Eddie not to go out, shows that they can tell that nothing good is going to come out of the almost inevitable following events. Beatrice and Catherine are both heard saying such things as: "Go in the house! Eddie, go in the house!" and "Eddie! Eddie, don't! Eddie!" These words are showing the audience once again that Catherine and Beatrice are trying to cool the very hostile situation down.

Eddie ignores both Beatrice's and Catherine's advice by walking out of the house, straight towards an angered Marco. Both men won't budge an inch then Eddie becomes increasingly aggressive, taking a lunge at Marco, but Marco is too quick for the older Eddie, and as the stage directions say: "Marco strikes Eddie beside the neck". At this point in the play, from the audience's point of view Marco is the more masculine character by landing the first punch, and as fighting is typical of men, the person who wins is considered to be manlier. Then Marco is about to stomp on Eddie when Eddie suddenly springs out a knife, into his hand. As Eddie had somehow predicted or expected their to be a situation today, he had brought along a deadly weapon, maybe wanting to kill Marco, or at least injure him. The audience would see Eddie as being the weaker and less masculine of the two, as they can see that Eddie knows he can not beat Marco one on one, maybe after the chair incident, and therefore needs a weapon to beat Marco, a sign of weakness and the ability not to beat Marco with an even playing field.

The way that everyone suddenly backs away when Eddie springs out the knife, is showing a sense of surprise and shock from the other characters. The stage directions describe Eddie and Louis as: "Louis halts and steps back" and "Marco steps back". This is also showing that the other characters thought Eddie was stronger and more masculine than to need a weapon to beat another man, revealing a weakness in Eddie. Eddie's actions at this time are irrational and show that he is not thinking sanely. Marco, the more masculine character at this point in the play, is not too phased or afraid by Eddie's sudden move, and continues to wind Eddie up further by calling him: "Anima-a-a-l!" Maybe Marco wants Eddie to attack him because he knows he can beat him, even with a knife in his hand, this shows his more masculine qualities over Eddie once again.

The audience is shown that Eddie was a coward in needing to use a weapon, and that Marco is obviously the more masculine of the two, by the stage directions: "Eddie lunges with the knife. Marco grabs his arm, turning the blade inward and pressing it home". Once again Marco's quick and strong reactions have defeated Eddie's. It is not shown in the play whether Marco stabbed Eddie in self-defence, as an initial instinct, or in revenge, but whichever reason he made this move, the audience and other characters can clearly see who is the stronger and more masculine out of these two individuals.

Beatrice and Catherine also played a role in the aggression and hostility in 'A View From The Bridge'. It could be said that if Catherine had not gone out with Rodolpho then Eddie would not have got so annoyed with Rodolpho, and none of the main areas of hostility and aggression would have occurred. Beatrice and Catherine could also have lessened the amount of hostility and aggression by persuading Eddie not to go ahead with such things as the boxing and the climatic fight to the death at the end of the play. In all, everyone had a role to play in the hostility and aggression in 'A View From The Bridge'. As Beatrice rightly said: "Whatever happened we all done it, and don't you ever forget it, Catherine".

Alfieri, the play's narrator and lawyer, also has a part to play on the hostility and aggression in 'A View From The Bridge'. Alfieri is quite a manly character, and someone who would match up with Eddie's ideas of what makes a man. This is due to him being a lawyer, someone who is considered very powerful and strong in American society, and the fact that he's also someone who will stand up to Eddie and tell him when he is doing wrong. Alfieri sometimes gives good advice, for example when he persistently told Eddie that there is nothing he can do to split Catherine and Rodolpho apart, and that Eddie should just let her go. Alfieri said to Eddie: "Let her go", here Alfieri is just plainly and clearly telling Eddie what to do. At other times Alfieri gives bad advice in the play and creates hostility and aggression by doing this. One example, is when he allowed Marco and Rodolpho on bail after being caught by immigration. By doing this Alfieri has allowed Marco an opportunity to get revenge on Eddie, something Alfieri could easily have predicted with a very clever, lawyer mind.

In conclusion, Arthur Miller's words and stage directions work together to enhance the dramatic affect of the play and in particular the themes of manliness, hostility and aggression. Every character in 'A View From The Bridge' has contributed their own part to make the manliness, hostility and aggression such a major focus of the play. Most of the hostility and conflict is caused by Eddie, who has fixed views on manliness and has difficulty expressing his feelings due to his lack of education. Eddie's reaction to hostile and threatening situations often leads to verbal and physical aggression and violence, as this is his only known way to deal with such situations. It is because of this that aggression is such a critical factor in the play. Importantly if none of this had happened, their never would have been so much anger, love, and in the end, death.