At the beginning of the play
At the beginning of the play, we can see just how close Catherine’s relationship with Eddie is. From the beginning scenes, We can tell how keeping Eddie happy and satisfied is extremely important to Catherine. Her obedient and submissive attitude is further proved when she ‘sits on her heels’ beside Eddie. Eddie does not seem to be happy with her wishes to get a job, claiming that it was at a bad part of town. Catherine’s naivety and child-like behaviour seems to be the main reason why Eddie is able to control her actions as much as he does.
However, it does not seem like Catherine is bothered by this fact. In fact, it doesn’t even seem like she realizes. She takes Eddie’s approval very seriously, seeming ‘almost in tears because he disapproves’ her clothing choices. Eddie doesn’t like men looking at Catherine and we get the impression that he thinks they will take advantage of her. Eddie tries to justify his reluctance to let Catherine into the real world by claiming that had promised her mother to take care of Catherine.
