‘There
are many different ways of being a man.’ Choose two or more male characters and
write about them to show how far you agree with this statement.
This statement appears to be superficially true to the extent
that Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” has a number of male characters
that are markedly unlike another. The three major male characters in the play;
Eddie, Marco and Rodolpho are all different however Miller
uses these differences as well as some similarities between them to create the
impression that, although there are many different men, there is (in Red Hook
at least) a much more narrowly defined set of expectations about how a man
should behave.
Firstly, the three different characters are all similar in
the respect that they all work. Indeed, the sole purpose for which Marco came to
American was to find work to provide for his family who he described as being
in such poverty that they “eat the sunshine” accentuating this further when he
explains that his wife “fed [his children] from her own mouth”. The fact that
the three of them work portrays them as men as in the time in which the play is
set the gender roles in society dictated that only the men were to work and the
women would remain at home. In addition, the three are all longshoremen and so
it is implied that all three of them have considerable strength which once
again accentuates the typical gender roles of the time and to portray them all
as men.
However, there is a great contrast between the reasons for
which the men work. On the one hand both Eddie and Marco are working to
“support” their respective families while Rodolpho is
shown to be working so that he can purchase new things such as “records” and a
“snappy new jacket” and enjoy a better life that he previously had in
Further differences become apparent between the men when we
consider their humility. Miller creates the impression that Marco is a humble
and honorable man when he first arrives by making him repeatedly say “Thank
you” to Eddie while telling him that “when you say we will go” demonstrating
how he is appreciative of what Eddie is doing for him. Miller emphasises
Marco’s sense of honor to us when Marco tells Alfieri that to promise not to
kill Eddie is “dishonorable” as he believes that Eddie must be killed as
retribution for his betrayal. Eddie, on the other hand is shown to be
dishonorable as he “springs a knife into his hand” while fighting an unarmed
opponent and also is shown to be petty and unable to accept that he has lost by
forcing Beatrice to not attend Catherine’s wedding by presenting her the
ultimatum, “you’re either on my side of theirs” which he knows she cannot go
against. Although Eddie’s death is tragic we do not, perhaps, sympathise with
him in the same way that we do for Marco because of his less than honourable
behaviour and this once again suggests that, although there may be different
ways of being a man, there is really only a limited set of behaviours
that it is acceptable for a man to display.
The importance of masculine honour
is further emphasied by the fact that all three of
the characters engage in fights but they do so for different reasons. Marco and
Rodolpho’s motives for fighting are shown as being
more honorable as Rodolpho ‘attacks’ Eddie in order
to be with to be with Catherine and Marco fights Eddie as he believed that he
was honor-bound to bring about retribution for Eddie’s betrayal. In contrast Eddie’s
motives were shown to be dishonorable as he fights with Rodolpho
in order to try and prove to Catherine that Rodolpho
was “a weird” and “ain’t right” and he fought with
Marco in order to try and reclaim a “name” and reputation that he did not
deserve.
Another trait that the three men share is that Miller
portrays them as being knowledgeable in comparison to the female characters in
the play. Miller makes this very clear when Eddie snaps at Beatrice that she
had “never worked” and Beatrice is fascinated at the thought of “sardines in
the sea!” This creates a strong contrast to Marco and Rodolpho
who have “travelled the world”.
Yet, once again, there is a clear contrast between the
characters in their treatment towards woman. Miller portrays both Marco and Rodolpho as being highly respectful to woman as when Marco
is asked about his wife he explains that “she understands everything” which
shows that Marco respects his wife’s intellect and knowledge. Rodolpho is also shown to respect woman as Catherine state
to Eddie that Rodolpho “respects” her and when Eddie
kisses her he demands that Eddie “respect her”. In contrast Eddie is shown to
be disrespectful towards woman, as he kisses Catherine despite her decision to
be with Rodolpho.
Ultimately, it may be argued that Miller shows that there
are many different ways of being a man by portraying Rodolpho
as a male character that “sings, dances and can make dresses” as these are all
stereotypical female characteristics which contrast greatly with the established
male gender roles of the time. However, because, upon closer examination, it
becomes clear that it is precisely these behaviours
which call Rodlopho’s masculinity into question which
suggests in turn that although individual men may be different to one another
there is really only one way to be a ‘real’ man.