The Role Of Tension In Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge

Throughout the play, tension is built in the atmosphere to develop the audience’s knowledge of Eddie’s character. Eddie’s protective attitude towards Catherine and ignorance of Beatrice’s presence allows the audience to discover Eddie’s blinded love for Catherine. Arthur Miller cleverly structures the play in a way that insignificant events build up to reveal Eddie’s duplicitousness; the ultimate reason for the tragic ending of “A View from the Bridge”.
The use of rhetorical questions in this scene builds tension in the atmosphere as Eddie’s excessive sarcasm and apprehension towards Catherine and Rodolpho’s relationship alarms Beatrice about her relationship with Eddie. “You mean it’s alright for you? That’s gonna be her husband?” Eddie asking …show more content…
Beatrice warns Catherine about Eddie’s feelings “Catherine, sensing now an imperious demand, turns with some fear, with a discovery, to Beatrice. She is at the edge of tears, as though a familiar world has shattered.” This stage direction displays Catherine as a naïve young lady who has been struck with the thought of her uncle having unnatural feelings for her; she had thought of him as a father and admired him for her entire life. Catherine has come to a realisation which is extremely shocking to her as she now does not look at her uncle the same way she did before. ‘Shattered’ can refer to her childhood memories being destroyed by the thought of her uncle being in love with her. This has not only disturbed her but she is “at the edge of tears”. The audience can understand Catherine’s feelings as Catherine’s daughter-like love towards Eddie is presented throughout the play. The stage direction illustrates the tension and suspense in the atmosphere when Catherine recognises her aunt’s …show more content…
His relationship with his wife, Catherine’s realisation of his unnatural feelings and Marco’s passive aggression towards Eddie all build indisputable tension in the atmosphere. Arthur Miller’s use of stage directions and dialogue build the tension in the atmosphere, it is maintained through the structure of the play. Tension is introduced between Beatrice and Eddie, this leads onto Beatrice warning Catherine, further enhancing the tension in the atmosphere. Marco’s coherent warning at the end of Act One rapidly raises the tension in the scene. The timing of this scene is essential for the play as this is the most tension filled scene and thus allows the audience to contemplate about the upcoming events of the