A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE - ARTHUR MILLER
AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHARACTERS
At the opening of the play, we see the Carbone family - part of a poor Italian community in
Brooklyn - excited about the imminent arrival of Beatrice's cousins from Italy. Yet the arrival
of Marco and Rodolfo fires up tensions that have been smouldering under the surface of the
family for a while, and it culminates in tragedy.
Eddie Carbone
THE PROTAGONIST
A TRAGIC HERO - where the main character falls from grace due to an intrinsic flaw in his
character
Eddie is 40 years old, an American of Sicilian descent. He is "a husky, slightly overweight
longshoreman." He is master of the house - both Beatrice and Catherine are obviously
accustomed to him laying down the law. He sees this as a 'manly' thing to do and he expects
all men to do the same - which is why he cannot accept Rodolfo's more gentle ways (Arthur
Miller explores the theme of MASCULINITY). He is generous enough to offer a home to
Beatrice's cousins, but at the same time slightly wary and selfish - he reminds Beatrice not
to let them sleep in his bed. He doesn't trust people easily. He tells Catherine, "the less you
trust, the less you be sorry." (This prepares us for his suspicion of Rodolfo.) He is concerned
about his honour and protecting his good name. He ends the tale of the informer Vinny
Bolzano, "a guy do a thing like that? How's he gonna show his face?" He is very protective
of Catherine, whom he has brought up as if she were his own daughter. He is proud of her
looks, yet concerned that she will attract the attention of men . He finds it hard to admit that
she has become a woman. "I guess I just never figured... that you would ever grow up." It
becomes apparent that Eddie is in love with Catherine. He has not made love to his wife for
three months. He quickly becomes jealous of Rodolfo because of the immediate impression
Rodolfo makes upon Catherine.(Arthur Miller explores the theme of JEALOUSY). The stage
directions tell us, "He looks at [Catherine] like a lost boy" when she tells him she loves
Rodolfo. He is unable to admit this shameful emotion to himself and is angry when Beatrice
and Alfieri dare to mention it. As his feelings for Catherine become more obsessive, he does
everything he can to prevent Rodolfo from marrying her. He tries to undermine Rodolfo. For
example:
- he mocks Rodolfo's skills at cooking, singing and sewing, claims he is homosexual
and tells Catherine that he only wants her to gain U.S. citizenship.
- he tries to involve the hand of the law and is amazed when Alfieri says that nothing
can be done.
- He tries violence: he 'teaches' Rodolfo to box as an excuse to hit him, then fights
with Rodolfo when he knows Rodolfo has slept with Catherine.
- He calls the Immigration Bureau is a last desperate attempt to stop the wedding: he
cares so much for Catherine that he is prepared to break his code of honour.
In the end, he loses everything: Catherine, his wife, his name. He has no option but
to fight Marco to the death (he has the knife). Ironically, his death restores some of
his lost honour because he does not try to escape his fate. The conflict that ends his
life recalls other conflicts we have seen:
, - Verbal conflict with all the other characters at some point or another. Even his
jokes are barbed and bitter.
- Physical conflict with Rodolfo
- Conflict within himself as he grapples with his love of Catherine
Beatrice Carbone Eddie's wife. She has never had children and cares for
Catherine as if she were her own daughter. She is excited by the imminent
arrival of her cousins and worried that everything is not ‘just so’ for them. She
defers to Eddie and lets him control things in the home. Before the arrival of
her cousins, she is anxious not to upset him: "I'm just worried about you."
There are hints right from the start (literary technique of foreshadowing) that
she is aware of Eddie's feelings for Catherine, such as when she avoids
Eddie's gaze when Catherine fetches his cigar. This becomes more obvious
when she confronts Eddie about the state of their marriage: "When am I
gonna be a wife again, Eddie?" Partly because of this, she supports
Catherine and encourages her to be independent. She helps Catherine
persuade Eddie to let Catherine go out to work and, later, tells Catherine she
must stand up for herself. "It means you gotta be your own self more." She
has a no-nonsense, pragmatic approach, makes clear observations and is
assertive. At the end, she is brave enough to tell Eddie the truth: "You want
somethin' else, Eddie, and you can never have her!" She is upset by the
conflict within the family that the relationship between Rodolfo and Catherine
causes. She continually tries to be the calming influence. At the end,
however, she remains loyal to Eddie, choosing to stay with him rather than
attend Catherine's wedding. She is rewarded for this with Eddie's dying words
- "My B!"
Catherine - 17 years old, the orphaned daughter of Beatrice's sister Nancy.
She is naive - she has never known anything of life outside the Carbone
household. She loves Eddie like a father. She wants his approval for
everything that she does: right at the start, she is desperate for him to admire
her new skirt. Later we hear that perhaps she is too familiar with Eddie now
that she has grown up: Beatrice tells her not to wander round the apartment
in her slip, which shocks and saddens Catherine - the stage directions say,
"She is at the edge of tears, as though a familiar world had shattered." She is
excited at M and R's arrival - they represent the world outside her own
sheltered life. She is attracted to Rodolfo straight away - so she is reluctant to
take off her high heels when Eddie tells her to! She is initially torn because
her love of Rodolfo is at odds with her love for Eddie. She tries to encourage
Eddie to talk to Rodolfo: "Why don't you talk to him, Eddie? He blesses you,
and you don't talk to him hardly." She is loyal to Eddie and tells Beatrice that
her marriage to Rodolfo would be wrong if Eddie is against it. However, she
is prepared to take sides: when Eddie spars with Rodolfo at the end of Act 1,
she rushes to help her lover. (This prepares us for her choosing to marry
Rodolfo in spite of Eddie's wishes in Act 2.) By the start of Act II, she has
become quieter and more withdrawn, concerned about the rift between the
two men she loves. She mourns to Rodolfo, "I mean I know him and now I'm
supposed to turn around and make a stranger out of him?" However, she is
AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHARACTERS
At the opening of the play, we see the Carbone family - part of a poor Italian community in
Brooklyn - excited about the imminent arrival of Beatrice's cousins from Italy. Yet the arrival
of Marco and Rodolfo fires up tensions that have been smouldering under the surface of the
family for a while, and it culminates in tragedy.
Eddie Carbone
THE PROTAGONIST
A TRAGIC HERO - where the main character falls from grace due to an intrinsic flaw in his
character
Eddie is 40 years old, an American of Sicilian descent. He is "a husky, slightly overweight
longshoreman." He is master of the house - both Beatrice and Catherine are obviously
accustomed to him laying down the law. He sees this as a 'manly' thing to do and he expects
all men to do the same - which is why he cannot accept Rodolfo's more gentle ways (Arthur
Miller explores the theme of MASCULINITY). He is generous enough to offer a home to
Beatrice's cousins, but at the same time slightly wary and selfish - he reminds Beatrice not
to let them sleep in his bed. He doesn't trust people easily. He tells Catherine, "the less you
trust, the less you be sorry." (This prepares us for his suspicion of Rodolfo.) He is concerned
about his honour and protecting his good name. He ends the tale of the informer Vinny
Bolzano, "a guy do a thing like that? How's he gonna show his face?" He is very protective
of Catherine, whom he has brought up as if she were his own daughter. He is proud of her
looks, yet concerned that she will attract the attention of men . He finds it hard to admit that
she has become a woman. "I guess I just never figured... that you would ever grow up." It
becomes apparent that Eddie is in love with Catherine. He has not made love to his wife for
three months. He quickly becomes jealous of Rodolfo because of the immediate impression
Rodolfo makes upon Catherine.(Arthur Miller explores the theme of JEALOUSY). The stage
directions tell us, "He looks at [Catherine] like a lost boy" when she tells him she loves
Rodolfo. He is unable to admit this shameful emotion to himself and is angry when Beatrice
and Alfieri dare to mention it. As his feelings for Catherine become more obsessive, he does
everything he can to prevent Rodolfo from marrying her. He tries to undermine Rodolfo. For
example:
- he mocks Rodolfo's skills at cooking, singing and sewing, claims he is homosexual
and tells Catherine that he only wants her to gain U.S. citizenship.
- he tries to involve the hand of the law and is amazed when Alfieri says that nothing
can be done.
- He tries violence: he 'teaches' Rodolfo to box as an excuse to hit him, then fights
with Rodolfo when he knows Rodolfo has slept with Catherine.
- He calls the Immigration Bureau is a last desperate attempt to stop the wedding: he
cares so much for Catherine that he is prepared to break his code of honour.
In the end, he loses everything: Catherine, his wife, his name. He has no option but
to fight Marco to the death (he has the knife). Ironically, his death restores some of
his lost honour because he does not try to escape his fate. The conflict that ends his
life recalls other conflicts we have seen:
, - Verbal conflict with all the other characters at some point or another. Even his
jokes are barbed and bitter.
- Physical conflict with Rodolfo
- Conflict within himself as he grapples with his love of Catherine
Beatrice Carbone Eddie's wife. She has never had children and cares for
Catherine as if she were her own daughter. She is excited by the imminent
arrival of her cousins and worried that everything is not ‘just so’ for them. She
defers to Eddie and lets him control things in the home. Before the arrival of
her cousins, she is anxious not to upset him: "I'm just worried about you."
There are hints right from the start (literary technique of foreshadowing) that
she is aware of Eddie's feelings for Catherine, such as when she avoids
Eddie's gaze when Catherine fetches his cigar. This becomes more obvious
when she confronts Eddie about the state of their marriage: "When am I
gonna be a wife again, Eddie?" Partly because of this, she supports
Catherine and encourages her to be independent. She helps Catherine
persuade Eddie to let Catherine go out to work and, later, tells Catherine she
must stand up for herself. "It means you gotta be your own self more." She
has a no-nonsense, pragmatic approach, makes clear observations and is
assertive. At the end, she is brave enough to tell Eddie the truth: "You want
somethin' else, Eddie, and you can never have her!" She is upset by the
conflict within the family that the relationship between Rodolfo and Catherine
causes. She continually tries to be the calming influence. At the end,
however, she remains loyal to Eddie, choosing to stay with him rather than
attend Catherine's wedding. She is rewarded for this with Eddie's dying words
- "My B!"
Catherine - 17 years old, the orphaned daughter of Beatrice's sister Nancy.
She is naive - she has never known anything of life outside the Carbone
household. She loves Eddie like a father. She wants his approval for
everything that she does: right at the start, she is desperate for him to admire
her new skirt. Later we hear that perhaps she is too familiar with Eddie now
that she has grown up: Beatrice tells her not to wander round the apartment
in her slip, which shocks and saddens Catherine - the stage directions say,
"She is at the edge of tears, as though a familiar world had shattered." She is
excited at M and R's arrival - they represent the world outside her own
sheltered life. She is attracted to Rodolfo straight away - so she is reluctant to
take off her high heels when Eddie tells her to! She is initially torn because
her love of Rodolfo is at odds with her love for Eddie. She tries to encourage
Eddie to talk to Rodolfo: "Why don't you talk to him, Eddie? He blesses you,
and you don't talk to him hardly." She is loyal to Eddie and tells Beatrice that
her marriage to Rodolfo would be wrong if Eddie is against it. However, she
is prepared to take sides: when Eddie spars with Rodolfo at the end of Act 1,
she rushes to help her lover. (This prepares us for her choosing to marry
Rodolfo in spite of Eddie's wishes in Act 2.) By the start of Act II, she has
become quieter and more withdrawn, concerned about the rift between the
two men she loves. She mourns to Rodolfo, "I mean I know him and now I'm
supposed to turn around and make a stranger out of him?" However, she is
