Eddie in J.B. Priestley's A View From the Bridge

718 Words2 Pages

Eddie in J.B. Priestley's A View From the Bridge

Eddie Carbone is a working class Longshoreman who lives in Red Hook

Brooklyn and is a bitter man.

Eddie is the focal point, everything rests on Eddie’s reaction to

events.

At first this is relatively minor, for example will he or wont he

allow Catherine (Eddie and Beatrice’s niece) to take the job at the

plumbing company? This soon becomes critical, will he or won’t he

understand that he cannot keep Catherine to him self, he must allow

her to live her own life.

Eddie is the centre around which all the conflict in the play revolves

around.

He takes care of his wife Beatrice and looks after a girl called

Catherine who’s father died when she was younger.

Eddie lusts for Catherine but manages to keep his feelings suppressed

and turns it into hate towards Beatrice’s cousins Marco and Rodolpho

which makes him act irrationally. This ends up making Eddie loose his

good name.

Eddie felt that Revenging against Marco will regain his pride and good

name in the community.

There are a lot of moments through out the play where the audience is

given clues that Eddie’s love for Catherine wasn’t normal. For example

when Catherine light’s Eddie’s cigar in the living room, this gives

Eddie unusual pleasure.

Eddie pays great attention to his niece and less attention to his own

relationship which makes this clear.

The summery of plot and themes start off as Beatrice (The wife of

Eddie and the aunt to Catherine) telling Eddie that her cousins would

be arriving around 10pm that nigh and Catherine tells him that she now

has a job that was given to her by her school. Eddie is angry that she

is going to work but is talked around by Beatrice and Catherine. Eddie

harbours a secret lust for his niece Catherine, he is very protective

of her. He is proud of her looks but is concerned that it will attract

the attention of men and covers it up with being concerned about her

Open Document