Pride in A View from the Bridge Play

Pride plays a great role in the play, “A View from the Bridge”. The biggest victim of pride is Eddie, who loses both his pride and respect throughout the play. And this gradual loss heavily affects the characters’ behaviors. However pride does not seem to be the only factor that dictates the progress of the play. In the beginning of the play, Eddie is full of pride. He is respected by both Marco and Rodolfo as well as the community. The quote, “I want to tell you now Eddie – when you say go, we will go,” shows that Marco and Rodolfo respect Eddie.

The quote in other words means that Marco and Rodolfo will be doing whatever Eddie tells them to do. The fact that this is Marco’s first significant line in the play shows how important Marco thinks of Eddie. Also the hyphen in the middle of the sentence gives effect, which emphasizes the message Marco is trying to send to Eddie.

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The pride Marco and Rodolfo give Eddie in the family allows Eddie to lower his guard and gives him a chance to respect Marco as well. This perspective can be seen from the following line. Eddie says, “You’re welcome, Marco, we got plenty of room here. ” He addresses Marco, which shows that Eddie is in favor of him.

Then the second part of the line, “we got plenty of room here. ”, not only shows the Eddie is welcoming Marco, but it also shows that Eddie has given Marco his respect.

A “Room” in their house symbolizes respect. At first, Eddie and Marco both have each other’s trust and respect, giving them both pride which brings the two to a peaceful relationship. Later as the play progresses Eddie begins to lose his pride. Marco says, “Here. (the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie’s head – and he transforms what might appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph)” The simplicity of the sentence emphasizes Marco’s loss of respect for Eddie.

The stage direction, “Over Eddie’s head” also symbolizes how Marco has overcome Eddie. Also the “glare of warning” shows that Marco no longer thinks of Eddie as someone he should respect. The story continues as Eddie loses his pride. Pride is very important to Eddie. He says “Yeah Marco! Eddie Carbone. Eddie Carbone. Eddie Carbone. ” His name symbolizes his pride and the repetition of it shows the importance of his name in Eddie’s heart. Also he does not just say his first name but also his last name, which also emphasizes his name – his pride. The community’s reaction is another event that comes from pride.

“(Lipari and wife exits… Louis barely turns, then walks off the stage and exits down right with Mike. )” is a stage direction that shows the community’s reaction to what Eddie had done to Marco and Rodolfo. Lipari and his wife, Louis, and Mike represent the community. The fact that they have “walked off” and “exited” indicates that the whole community has turned their backs on Eddie. From there, we can see that Eddie has lost his pride in his community as well as his family. Although pride is a main factor behind the progression of the play, loyalty and family relationships, also play a very important role.

Family relationships play a very important role. This could be seen from Beatrice’s line, “Eddie, listen to me. Who could give you your name? Listen to me, I love you, I’m talking to you. I love you. ” The short sentences make the sentence feel real and have a real impact, as if Beatrice is really trying to talk to Eddie. Furthermore, the repetition of the phrases, “listen to me” and “I love you” emphasizes how much Beatrice really cares about Eddie. Pride and family relationships play a huge rule in the progression of the play.