Burning Bridges: Failures of Biblical Hospitality in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge

Abstract

Abstract In his 1955 essay “On Social Plays,” Arthur Miller wrote of the “subjective forces that made [Eddie Carbone, the central figure in A View From the Bridge] what he evidently is” by referring to the “incestuous motif [and the] homosexuality” in the play (81). Critics have since disputed Eddie's psychological motivation for betraying the immigrants under his care in light of both incestuous and queer interpretations of the text. In this essay, I return to Myles Hurd's comparative readings of the biblical narrative of Lot and Bridge in order to frame the play not as a critique of sexual repression but as a critique of Eddie's misplaced sexual authority. By reconsidering the story of Lot as a criticism of sexual violence rather than homosexuality, I argue that Miller demonstrates how sexual oppression is never unilateral, but ultimately systemic and cyclical. This means that while Eddie initially asserts his abusive authority only over his niece, he must eventually extend that authority over his wife, Beatrice, his wife's relatives, and his own neighbors.