During the play "A View From the Bridge" the character of Eddie Carbone went through a series of transformations that both awed and shocked. This man went from a very caring and loving Brooklyn longshoreman to an evil despotic man consumed by hate. Clearing up the reasons for Eddie's demise is a complicated matter that has many vague explanations. They are easily discovered if you look at his fellow family members.
Eddie's relationship with his niece Catherine is very strong and as she grows up he finds himself becoming more and more distanced from her. He believes that she will be his little girl forever. When Eddie's wife Beatrice invites her cousins Marco and Rodolpho to come live with them illegally, relationships become even more strained. After a few weeks Eddie notices that Catherine is becoming more than just friends with his harbored guest Rodolpho. They go out late to see pictures together and slowly something begins to happen to the once peaceful loving father figure. He becomes spiteful and less personable as time wears on. Rodolpho works on the docks with his brother Marco and Eddie. Marco is a very hard worker and quickly earns a reputation as a dependable man. On the other hand his brother Rodolpho openly sings during work, spends his money on flashy clothes, and attracts the attention of his 17-year-old niece. To the jealous, attention needy Eddie this seems to mean that Rodolpho is "playing for the other team." As Eddie places more guidelines on his family members and resorts to drinking to escape his own personal feelings and fears he places a gap between himself and his guests. He sees them as an obstacle in his life, which he needs to eliminate. Eddie feels that either he or they must leave and puts extreme strains on family relations, which he himself is responsible for. He begins to ruin everyone else's life. This is why he must die. By the end of the production Eddie had telephoned the immigration service and informed them that there were illegal aliens living at his address.