Beatrice

=What do I need to know about ... Beatrice?=

Brief Description
Beatrice is married to the protagonist of the play, Eddie. Beatrice and Eddie share a mutal love for Catherine, Beatrice's niece whom they have raised together as their own daughter. Their relationship changes and progresses throughout the play, at the beginning we can see that they are not as happy as they once and have been and it can be argued that the marriage has turned stale. Eddie refuses to communicate with Beatrice about personal issues; he does not accept his feelings towards Catherine, although Beatrice is aware of them.

Key Quotations

 * "//I was gonna clean the wall... wax the floors.//"** (page 13) - Shows that she cares a lot about what people think of her and her family, and that she is very caring. She is also a perfectionist.
 * "//When am I going to be a wife again?//"** (page 36) - It shows the deterioration of the relationship between Eddie and Beatrice as Eddie's need to protect Catherine grows and overshadows his relationship with Beatrice.
 * "//What's wrong with that? Be the way you are, Katie don't listen to him.//"** (page 21) - She tries to help Catherine grow up, become more independent from Eddie and be her own person, while Eddie tries to keep her tied down. This might be out of vested interest because she wants Catherine away from Eddie.
 * "//The truth is not as bad as blood//"** (page 83) - Beatrice confronts Eddie about his ambiguous feelings for Catherine and the perversely pure truth.
 * "//You want somethin' else, Eddie, and you can never have her!//"** (page 83) - Beatrice is being more and more obvious about Eddie's desires for Catherine, opposing Eddie's continuous denial of these feelings.
 * //"If you act like a baby, he be treatin' you like a baby"//** - Shows her concerns towards Catherine and that she wants Catherine to be free from Eddie's hand

Her role in the novel
Beatrice can be seen as a very passive character but she isn't really. She is limited to the domestic sphere but voices her concerns about Catherines. She also is proactive in helping Marco and Rodolpho at the beginning and is keen for Catherine to become more independent. Beatrice acts as a voice of reason. She remains loyal to Eddie throughout. In the final scene there is a sense that Eddie is aware of Beatrice's value and support. Beatrice is loving towards Catherine though reprimands her for her naiveity. She is keen that Catherine should break free from the stifling protetion of Eddie's love and the home in which she has been cloistered.