A View from the Bridge

[edit] Guide Note

A View from the Bridge tells the story of an Italian-American immigrant Eddie Carbone living in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

[edit] Fast Facts

1. Written by Arthur Miller
2. First published in 1955 and revised in 1957
3. Published by Penguin Books
4. Set in Red Hook in Brooklyn, New York
5. Major symbol is Brooklyn Bridge
6. Major theme is allegiance to community
7. Originally a one act play that is now a two act play
8. Film adaptation in 1961 titled Vu du pont
9. Adapted into an opera in 1999 by William Bolcom
10. 1998 Broadway revival won Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
11. A response to the House Unamerican Activities Committee

Eddie Carbone lives with his wife Beatrice and orphaned teenage niece Catherine. After agreeing to Beatrice's request to house Catherine's illegal immigrant cousins Rodolpho and Marco Eddie becomes unhealthily protective of Catherine. When Rodolpho and Catherine express an interest in each other Eddie becomes irrational in his anger at having to share Catherine with another man.

When Eddie learns about the planned marriage between Rodolpho and Catherine he turns Marco and Rodolpho into the immigration authorities. The arrest of the two men causes Eddie to lose the respect of both his family and community. Marco and Rodolpho are released after bail is paid. Rodolpho can stay in America as Catherine's husband, but Marco must return to Italy. During a confrontation between Eddie and Marco Eddie tries to attack Marco, but Marco uses Eddie's knife to kill him.

[edit] Quotations

1. "His eyes were like tunnels; my first thought was that he had committed a crime, but soon I saw it was only a passion that had moved into his body, like a stranger." — Alferi
2. "Most of the time we settle for half and I like it better. Even as I know how wrong he was, and his death useless, I tremble, for I confess that something perversely pure calls to me from his memory—not purely good, but himself purely And yet, it is better to settle for half, it must be! And so I mourn him—I admit it—with a certain alarm." — Alferi