CATHERINEBy Harriet Webb, Chloe Ward and Grace Wheatley

BACKGROUND

Catherine is an attractive 17 year old girl. Because she has hardly ever left Brooklyn she is very naïve She is not very good at standing up for herself She only ever wants to please Eddie, and gets upset when she feels like she’s

done something wrong In Act II she reveals that she is in fact quite intelligent when she says: ‘You

don’t know; nobody knows! I’m not a baby, I know a lot more than people think I know.’

Also, she gets told by her teacher that she’s the best student in the class – that’s why she gets offered a job

Despite this she does still rely on Eddie and Beatrice for a lot of things though, and can’t seem to grow up

However we see sometimes that maybe Eddie doesn’t want her to grow up because he wants her all to himself

RELATIONSHIPS

BEATRICE:Catherine has a strong bond with Beatrice as she is her aunt. Beatrice constantly encourages Catherine to go for the job that she has been offered, and she knows she needs to grow up and become more independent. She only wants the best for Catherine. She is a very kind and caring person, who cares about her home and family appearance. We can see this as when she hears the news of her cousins arrival, she says: ‘I was gonna wash the walls, I was gonna buy a new table cloth.’ This shows she is a very proud house wife.

Beatrice is the only one to highlight Eddie’s possible feelings for Catherine when she says: ‘You want something else, Eddie- and you can never have her!’

The relationship Catherine has with her aunt Beatrice is significant in the play because it highlights just how much Catherine needs to mature to become more independent.

RELATIONSHIPS

EDDIE:Catherine and Eddie have a very strong relationship. Sometimes it seems so strong that he is seen as her father rather than her uncle, as she has grown up with him as the ‘man of the house’. Their relationship sometimes seems a little too close however, and when Catherine is around Eddie we see her childish side come out and she acts a lot more immature. We can see that even Beatrice notices their close relationship when she says: ‘Sometimes you throw yourself at him like when you was twelve years old’, and, ‘It’s wonderful for a whole family to love each other, but you’re a grown woman and you’re in the same house as a grown man.’

At some points through out the play though we can see that maybe Catherine’s inability to grow up is down to the fact that Eddie won’t let her. He is very protective of her, which we see when she shows him her new skirt and he doesn’t like it. When he tells her he doesn’t like it we also get to see a glimpse of maybe the true feelings he has for Catherine.

Eddie’s relationship with Catherine is very significant in the play because it leads to climax’s later on in the play.

RELATIONSHIPS

RODOLPHO:When Rodolpho arrives in America, he is very enthusiastic about starting a new life, however he is some what immature because he tells exaggerated versions of experiences he’s had to make himself look better and to become the centre of attention.Catherine and Rodolpho hit it off from the very beginning. We see this because she is impressed by the colour of his hair and he welcomes her comments because he likes being the centre of attention. She also loves his singing, and again he likes to show himself off by singing for her and the rest of the family.

Through out the novel Catherine’s relationship with Rodolpho puts strain on her and Eddie's relationship because of Eddie’s jealousy.

KEY SCENES

SKIRT SCENE:

In this scene Eddie has returned from work and is unhappy with the length of Catherine’s skirt, claiming it to be ‘too short, ain’t it?’ he also says it’s ‘giving me the willies’ which suggests that he treats her like a child and is preventing her from growing up. It also highlights Catherine's naivety because she doesn’t know what it’s like to be treated like a grown. When Catherine says ‘But those guys look at all the girls’, Eddie says,’ You ain’t ‘all the girls’’, which suggests he is extremely jealous of the attention Catherine could receive.

KEY SCENES

PAPER DOLL:Catherine is very impressed by Rodolpho’s singing during the Paper Doll scene, and when he has to finish abruptly she says ‘Let him finish, it’s beautiful! He terrific, it’s terrific Rodolpho!’ This could have sparked some jealously in Eddie, suggesting he is extremely protective of her - like in the scene with Catherine’s skirt earlier on in the play. This is emphasised at the end of the scene when Eddie’s face is described as being ‘puffed with trouble’.

KEY SCENES

KISSING SCENE:This scene is extremely important in the play as this is when Eddie’s feeling’s finally come out as he kisses Catherine and Rodolpho. It also shows his jealously as seeing them alone in the house together sparks anger inside of him, and this is why he lashes out and tells Rodolpho to pack his bags and leave: ‘Get your stuff and get out of here!’

Catherine says ‘Eddie, I’m not gonna be a baby anymore!’ which would have angered Eddie even more because he wants her all to himself. In response Eddie reaches out and kisses her. He also shouts at Rodolpho and kisses him afterwards.

SONG

PAPER DOLL:The lyrics through out this song present Catherine as being the ‘doll’ who ‘doesn’t belong’ to Eddie. She is also treated as a ‘doll’ by Eddie as he tells her how to dress and behave. He is very protective of her, almost as if he owns her.

Lyrics in the song such as ‘Hey boy, what you gonna do?’ could be suggesting Rodolpho taunting Eddie just to see how he might react.

The line ‘He’s a flirty flirty guy’ could also be directed at Rodolpho’s actions towards Catherine