Arthur Miller
All page
references
are from the
copy
published by
Penguin
By : Samia Merchant , Basil Roumie , Zayd
Warah , Ahmad Abdulhadi, Vladislav Fomin

“you are walkin’ wavy! I don’t like the looks they’re givin’ you in the
candy store. And with them new heels on the sidewalk … The heads
are turnin’ like windmills”. Eddie is very protective of Catherine. Though he is
proud of her looks and admires them, he is concerned that she will attract men’s
attention. Pg14

“Katie don’t break my heart” , The undertone/subtext almost resembles how
lovers talk to each other which implies that Eddie might think of his relationship
with Catherine as more than an uncle and niece.

“Katie, I promised your mother on her deathbed. I’m responsible for
you.” , “Katie…if you wasn’t an orphan, wouldn’t he ask your fathers
permission before he run around with you like this.” Eddie thinks he is
Catherine's father so he tends to look at the bad side of every man that approaches
her.

“I want you to be in a nice office, Maybe a lawyer’s office someplace
in New York in one of them nice buildings.” Eddie wants Catherine to have
a good life probably because he never had the opportunity to get an education and
get somewhere in life (shown with the repetition of ‘nice’)
Pg19

“What are you crying about? [he is affected by her , but
smiles his emotion away]” Eddie is in awe of Catherine's beauty but it is
suggestive of the love of an admirer rather than a father figure.

Pg21
“[He reaches out suddenly, draws her to him, and as she
strives to free herself he kisses her on the mouth.]” This shows
Eddie’s true desire for her, this was shown in an aggressive way because he was
under the influence of alcohol.
Pg64

Beatrice: “When am I gonna be a wife again?” This imposes a sense of
jealousy and insecurity in Beatrice as it reflects the state of Eddies' and
Beatrice's marriage.

Beatrice:“you want some thing else Eddie, and you can never have
her!” Beatrice is aware of Eddie’s secret desire for Catherine but he is in denial
about it. However, Beatrice openly articulates his desires in the conclusion of the
play.

“My B!” This is at the end of the play when Eddie is dying in Beatrice's arms
which shows Eddies’ realization of the love for his wife and possibly breaking free
from his denial- his fatal flaw being his inappropriate desire for his niece.

“He marries you he’s got the right to be an American citizen”. “The
guy ain’t right” Eddie is suspicious of Rodolpho and feels that he wants to marry
Catherine for a green card rather than out of love. He confronts Catherine, to which
she disagrees.

“If you came in the house and you didn’t know who was singin’ you
wouldn’t be lookin for him you be lookin for her.” This shows that Eddie is
trying to make Rodolpho seem more like a female rather than an alpha male.

“his face puffed with trouble” This reflects Eddie’s dislike of Rodolpho. Pg33

“I’m ashamed! Paper Doll they call him. Blondie now”. Eddie believes
that men should be strong and hard-working, not singers. Alpha-male is what he
believes, what everyman should be. He is indirectly mocking Rodolpho.

“It ain’t so free here either…I seen greenhorns sometimes get in
trouble in that way – they think just because a girl don’t go around
with a shawl over her head that she ain’t strict, y’know? Girl don’t
have to wear black dress to be strict… in your town you wouldn’t just
drag off some girl without permission… It ain’t that much different
here”. Eddie is furious, firstly because Rodolpho didn’t ask for Eddie’s permission
to take Catherine on a date and secondly because he thinks Rodolpho is taking
advantage of Catherine. Pg52-53

“The less you trust people, the less you be sorry”. Eddie does not trust
people easily.

“[Marco’s] gonna take that back or I’ll kill him!”
“Eddie Carbone. Eddie Carbone. Eddie Carbone.”
“A guy do a thing like that? How’s he gonna show his face”
Eddie is very concerned about his honour and protecting his name. He repeated his
name again and again as if he was trying to reclaim his name and he would do
anything to get his good name back.

Beatrice: “Eddie, I wish there was one guy you couldn’t tell me things
about!” Eddie is the master of the house – everyone is seeking for his approval as
he is the one who lays down the rules.

“In the worst times … I didn’t stand around lookin’ for relief – I
hustled. When there was empty piers in Brooklyn I went to Hoboken,
Staten Island, the West Side, Jersey, all over … I took out of my own
mouth to give to her … I walked hungry plenty days in this city!” This
reflects Eddie’s hardworking character. He worked day and night, trying to at least
feed his family, especially his young niece whom he adopted out of kindness.