How Does Arthur Miller Present Family Relationships in the Carbone Household in This Section of Act 1?

How does Arthur Miller present family relationships in the Carbone household

in this section of Act 1?

In a View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, one of the central and main themes of the play is love and family relationships. There are various types of relationships explored in the play including the relationship between Catherine and Eddie and Eddie and Beatrice. In this section of Act 1, Eddie is responding to Catherine getting a job, is reaction is certainly not the most positive one, however the audience know that Eddie is very protective over Catherine and that they have a close relationship. Catherine loves her uncle, like anyone else would, though unlike Beatrice, Catherin can’t see how obsessive he is about her. Beatrice is becoming aware of this relationship and we can infer that she is becoming a little jealous of it, the audience can also suggest that this major relationship is causing their marriage to fall apart. As Beatrice is aware of Catherine and Eddie’s relationship, later on she confronts Eddie about their own relationship and about in unhealthy and unnatural interest in Catherine, this raises the level of tension in the play.

 At the beginning of Act 1 the audience immediately discover that there is a lively and intimate relationship between Catherine and Eddie. Eddie’s pride in Catherine’s appearance is obvious when she appears in her new clothes, ‘’ Beautiful. Turn around, lemme see in the back. (She turns for him) Oh, if your mother was alive to see you now! She wouldn’t believe it.” However, because he is delighted at her beauty, he fears what other men will see, making the audience believe that Eddie wants Catherine to be his and only his.  Catherine is desperate to be independent and eager to start her new job, however tells the news and seeks approval of her uncle.  Nevertheless Eddie immediately raises objections when he hears that Catherine wants to go to work in the office in Navy Yard, however Eddie wants Catherine to complete her education. The audience is becoming aware of Eddie’s reluctance to let Catherine go, we know that he is becoming caught up in her leaving and can’t stand the thought of it, ‘I guess I just never figured on one thing… That you would ever grow up and she is not fully aware of Eddie’s sense of loss but she does feel for him and he tries to reassure him when he says, ‘you sound like I’m goin’ a million miles!’ This shows that Eddie’s protectiveness over Catherine is becoming obsessive and unnatural, the subtext provide us with an inappropriate and incestuous view of the relation between Eddie and Catherine. A bit further on in the text there is a moment of intimacy, when she light his cigar for him, which shows her innocence and naivety.  The close relation of Eddie and Catherine is shown throughout Act 1, shown using stage directions and language and emotion of both the characters; however the audience are able to see an underlying subtext proving that their relationship is becoming more than just a uncle-niece relationship but more incestuous and unnatural.

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