Importance of Alfieri in the Play, A View from the Bridge

How is the Character of Alfieri important to the play as a whole?

The character of Alfieri appears at the very beginning of the play being the first character the audience is introduced to. As the narrator of the play, Alfieri introduces the audience to himself, the other characters and also, within his opening speech, links to many ideas which foreshadow the events throughout the play.
Alfieri as the narrator of the play could also be linked to the chorus within the Greek tragedy play structure. Through this he stands apart from the drama that engulfs the other characters and is a trustworthy observer as he comments on what is happening with the other characters. By talking directly to the audience he gives an insight to the other characters from his view, ‘This ones name was Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman…’ ultimately allowing the audience to gain a quicker view of the characters. Throughout the play the audience can see that Alfieri does not want anything from anyone else in the story, only getting involved to help and give advice to those such as Eddie and Marco. This is showing the importance of being a detached observer but also part of the community. The details the audience learns about Alfieri in his opening speech, ‘I am a lawyer.’ are not to present his personal character to the audience but to give the setting of the play and his important position within it in relation to the other characters.
Through Alfieri’s opening speech the audience becomes aware of his profession as a lawyer but also that between him and the rest of the community there lies ‘years of distrust.’ This may be due to the fact he is a higher rank to them with his wife and friends telling him that the people he works for ‘lack elegance, glamour.’ However, the relationship Eddie has with Alfieri goes beyond the lawyer/client relationship. This suggests the fact that even though Alfieri told Eddie there was ‘no recourse in law’ he could use to stop Catherine marrying Rodolfo, Eddie still went back to him a second time. Alfieri seems to be the one person Eddie can share his emotional feelings with, ‘and he puts his hands on her like a goddamn thief!’ In this way Alfieri links to the idea of a priest. This being because of the fact that Eddie feels as if he can go to him for moral advice as well as legal advice. Thus making him an important character for the audience to use to see Eddies true emotions.
Whenever Alfieri speaks directly to the audience he uses the past tense, linking back to the events that happened. He seems to foreshadow much of what happened in the play allowing the audience to believe the fact that this play is a tragedy, ‘I watched it run its bloody course.’ Through the use of foreshadowing, Alfieri created the feeling of timelessness especially when referring to the themes of justice straight away, ‘justice is very important here’ linking this to Eddie. He also subtly foreshadows to the audience what justice means to people like Marco stating ‘now we settle for half’ implying that whatever justice means for the Americans it means more to the Italians, linking to Marcos thirst for revenge and the lead up to eddies tragic death at the end of the play.
In conclusion, it is Alfieri who right from the first encounter with Eddie foresaw the tragic end to Eddie, which he was ‘powerless’ to prevent, despite his best efforts in telling Eddie that there ‘is nothing you can do.’ Also with Alfieri identifying Eddie as the hero in this particular tragedy and the audiences’ view of Eddie being the villain, it creates an important comparison of how the characters are viewed. Some can also argue that it was Alfieri who suggested the idea that lead to Eddies downfall, ‘the manner in which they entered the country. But I don’t think you want to do anything about that, do you?’ Through this and also the way his role as a narrator helps him achieve the exploration of more universal and timeless themes is Alfieri a very important and needed character in A View from the Bridge.