Tension Escalates in A View from the Bridge: Act 1
A View from the Bridge: Rising Tension in Act 1
Tensions often exist in families because of arguments and disagreements between parents and their children, especially teenagers. These disagreements can be about boyfriends, the way they dress, and other generational conflicts. This is mirrored in the relationship between Eddie and Catherine Carbone in the first scene of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, when Eddie comments on Catherine’s skirt. “A View from the Bridge” is set in the 1950s in an Italian-American neighborhood under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. The area where the Carbone family lives, Red Hook, is a poor place where crime, gangsters, and the Mafia were well-known in recent history.
Rodolfo and Eddie’s Conflict
Rodolfo decides to show off his voice to impress Catherine, but Eddie does not like this. He stops Rodolfo and asks him a rhetorical question: “Look, kid; you don’t want to be picked up, do ya?” Eddie calls him a “kid,” which suggests that Eddie is trying to establish his role in the household. However, Eddie also has another intention for stopping Rodolfo: he doesn’t like that Rodolfo is getting all the attention and that Catherine seems impressed with Rodolfo’s singing skills. According to Miller’s stage directions, she is “enthralled” when Eddie tells him to stop singing.
We also sense that Eddie loathes Rodolfo; his face is “puffed with trouble.” Other stage directions show us that Eddie dislikes Rodolfo because Eddie “has risen with iron control,” which suggests again that Eddie is trying to establish his role in the house. “Iron control” suggests that Eddie is trying to suppress his anger and hatred for Rodolfo. The song “Paper Doll” was sung by the Mills Brothers in 1943. Arthur Miller likely chose this song to show that Rodolfo likes to be the center of attention and that he is a performer. Singing “Paper Doll” shows that he is already partially converted to American culture since the song is American.
Language and Dramatic Devices
Miller uses language and dramatic devices to build tension.
The Climactic Chair Scene
Arthur Miller chose to end the first act at this peak of tension because it now shows that Marco has the power in the household instead of Eddie. When Marco challenges Eddie to lift a chair by its leg with one hand, Marco raises it over Eddie’s head “like a weapon.” This suggests that Marco is warning Eddie that he will defend Rodolfo if necessary. Marco also does this to show off his own strength and to demonstrate that Eddie is obviously no match for him. This shows that Marco is very protective of his younger sibling, Rodolfo.
The end of the first act also shows that Eddie is in conflict with almost all of his family members. When Eddie punched Rodolfo while he was “teaching” Rodolfo how to box, Catherine rushes to Rodolfo’s aid. This is the first time Catherine has sided with Rodolfo over Eddie, which shows that Eddie and Catherine’s relationship isn’t as strong as before. This first act has set up a very tense atmosphere for Act 2. The audience may have an idea of what might happen to Eddie and Marco’s relationship in the last act, and this act also explains how the tension and hatred between Eddie and Marco’s relationship has led to Eddie’s tragic death.