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The play continues with the arrival of Marco and Rodolpho

Marco and Rodolpho arrive. They all spend a pleasant evening getting to know one another. Marco is dark-haired, quieter and more withdrawn than his brother. He is married with three children, one of whom is sick so he wants to work and save money for a few years.

Rodolpho, who is blond, wants to become an American citizen. Catherine is evidently attracted to him straightaway. The family chat about the brothers’ lives back in Sicily. They ask Eddie about the likelihood of finding enough work and he laughingly says But as long as you owe them money, they’ll get you plenty of work.

It becomes clear that Rodolpho enjoys the limelight. We hear anecdotes about his singing, although Marco seems more realistic about his ability than Rodolpho is! However, Catherine is impressed. They discuss music and find that they both love the song Paper Doll.

Rodolpho begins to sing it at the top of his voice and Eddie tries to quieten him, saying that they don’t want to draw attention to themselves. Marco tells him to stop singing. Eddie embarrasses Catherine, telling her to take off her high heels. There is tension between Eddie and Rodolpho, who does not attempt to hide his attraction to Catherine, and when she asks him if he likes sugar, he replies that he likes it very much.

Eddie begins to find Rodolpho unbearable

The action shifts to some weeks later. Alfieri comments on how Eddie is beginning to see Rodolpho as a problem. Out in the street, Eddie and Beatrice argue about how often Catherine and Rodolpho are going out. Beatrice tries to defend Rodolpho, saying he is a nice kid, but Eddie starts to list all the things that he thinks are weird about him.

They also argue about their own relationship. Beatrice says that they haven’t had sex for three months and wonders if Eddie has gone off her. She asks When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie? He refuses to discuss it.

As she goes indoors he chats with Mike and Louis, who find Rodolpho amusing. At that moment Rodolpho and Catherine return from the cinema. Eddie asks to speak to Catherine alone and explains how he feels that he never sees her anymore.

She admits that she has strong feelings for Rodolpho. Eddie tells her that Rodolpho is only with her so that he can get his American citizenship. There is a big argument, resulting in Catherine crying and Beatrice being angry.

Once Eddie leaves, Beatrice advises Catherine to behave more maturely and to start making her own decisions. She says that she is now a grown woman and that it is not appropriate for her to walk around in her slip or talk to Eddie while he is shaving. Beatrice can barely hide her sadness that her husband Eddie has feelings for Catherine which are only obvious to her.

Eddie turns to Alfieri for help

Eddie visits Alfieri, in his role as a lawyer. He complains about Rodolpho and his motives, and implies that he is gay, saying The guy ain’t right, Mr. Alfieri. He uses the fact that Rodolpho has unusually blond hair, sings and sews, as evidence. Alfieri says that Eddie has no recourse in the law, and subtly warns Eddie not to do anything foolish. He advises him to let Catherine go.

After Eddie leaves, Alfieri, speaking as the chorus, addresses the audience to explain that he knew from that point that Eddie was heading for disaster. He even visited a wise woman to consult her, but she could only advise him to pray for Eddie. Just as in a Greek tragedy, fate cannot be changed.

The test of strength

The family chat about the differences between life in America and Italy. The discussion becomes heated and Catherine defiantly asks Rodolpho to dance with her.

Eddie invites the brothers to go to a boxing match with him sometime. He appears to be giving Rodolpho a lesson in how to box but it is just an excuse to hit him without warning, making him stagger.

Marco watches silently, then challenges Eddie to a test of strength. This involves lifting a heavy dining chair by the leg with just one hand. Marco wins. The stage directions say Marco transforms what might appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph,