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10/10/17
English 102
Some might say M. Butterfly is known for its east versus west dynamic. Western man
comes to Asia finds unsung oriental woman and falls in love so to speak. For what purpose?
Well because he is a western man, a conquer, he is Gallimard the one who rules in the natural
order of the world. He gets what he wants, but it is not all what it seems. As the woman Song
was everything he wanted and more. I agree this play depicts politics regarding Eastern and
Western cultures; however, the real story of the play is in how it handles gender norms and
subverts these norms. Therefore, making East versus West a dynamic rather than plot device, as I
believe Hwang calls into question the traditional dynamics of power between masculinity and
femininity.
M. Butterfly was penned and inspired after a news story in the late 80s about a French
diplomat who was giving government secrets to his wife whom was actually a spy for
communist China. Written to be a tragic comedy it was widely praised for its characters
dynamics regarding the now LGBTQ community. Our lead R. Gallimard falls in love with
antagonist Song after seeing a production of Madame Butterfly cheating on his wife with him
and having a marriage for the next twenty years from 1960-1980. Unfortunately for Gallimard,
his fantasy is broken at the end of the play when it is revealed to all that Song is a spy and was
using him for secrets, however this doesnt appear to be why Gallimard is broken. He ultimately
was towards Song. Gallimard is portrayed as passive and gentle in Act 1 Scene 4. It can be
inferred do to his lines, Marc I cant ... Im afraid theyll say nothe girls. So I never ask. He
was respectful and honest in his decision here due to being fearful, and powerless to the opinions
and actions the girls may show towards him. Being fearful, can be seen as something effeminate
to other men as in most cases they will continue to lean into them. In this case it comes from his
friend Marc whom calls him a wimp. So, how did Gallimard turn from fearful, respectful,
wimp to this power seeker? Well another quality of being masculine is being easily influenced
upon and whom better to influence Gallimard then Marc himself. Act 1 Scene 9 shows Gallimard
and Marc discussing his encounter with Song. To which Marc professes, We dont have to be
respectful. Were foreign devils. (P.29, Hwang) As foreign devils they have power in any
country they are in so to speak. Again, the idea comes from that of a conqueror, They fear us,
Rene. Their women fear us. (P.29, Hwang). Gallimard is influenced by this and thus feels like
Act 1 Scene 13 shows, this new-found power in which he attempts to dominate Song, by
reciting her letter, Ive already given you my shame. (P.37, Hwang) Using this to elicit a
response from Song he now has power over her and gives into his masculinity in having passion,
while cheating on his wife. Typically, men do cheat on their wives its not uncommon for this
behavior and is more fulfillment for those to secure other women then their marital partners. It is
However, by the end of the play, Gallimard can be considered gender-queer as Song
Butterfly? Butterfly?. He is lost in his disbelief that he chooses fantasy, however this is still
Song, meaning hes still choosing him with the idea of her. According to Shimakawa, Song is
successful in seducing Gallimard precisely because she understands what the Oriental (woman)
looks like to his Western, essentializing eye and can reproduce it for him. So, Gallimard is only
looking for his ideals within Song, and because zhe plays the role so eloquently it confuses into
not knowing exactly what he wants. As Gallimard feels like he has an identity crisis with himself
throughout the play going from passive effeminate male, to masculine player to revaluation, it
can be inferred that this leads to his demise as the power of masculinity has left him and gone
As for Song, he is a man under the guise of a woman. However, Hwang handles this
character very well as in Act 3 scene 1 when Song establishes whats wrong with the western
male. Stating The West has sort of an international rape mentality towards the East. (p.67,
Hwang) and believes the East, deep down, wants to be dominatedbecause a woman cant
think for herself. (p.67, Hwang) Whats ironic about these statements is that it holds true for all
males not just western/eastern males. As noted by Chong-Suk and Ayers "The sexually
marginalized Asian man who has grown up in the West or is Western in his thinking is often
invisible in his own fantasies. Song himself does appear to have fantasy about Gallimard in the
final act of the play, however this was not something zhe had planned to have and was ultimately
rejected by Gallimard. I believe this is because zhe had dominion over Gallimard for so long that
he became blind to it, missing an opportunity for Song to have Gallimard as a life-long partner as
can be implied by Songs final line, Butterfly? Butterfly? exactly the same line as Gallimard.
Why? Either this was done to affirm Songs victory over the western foreign devil or perhaps it
was Song calling out for his Butterfly falling in love with Gallimard.
So how does Song subvert this balance of power? By dominating over her western
oppressor. Song uses his feminine side to his advantage winning over Gallimard disproving the
example of how femininity has more power over masculinity as is said in one of his lines, Men
always believe what they want to hear. So a girl can tell the most obnoxious lies and the guys
will believe them every time (p.66, Hwang) Song, did exactly this to Gallimard and was thus
able to avoid his advances while still keeping his interests. According to Balaev, Song, the man-
as-woman Opera singer, embodies the Perfect Woman for Gallimard because Song knows what
kind of woman he wants: passive, sexually timid, weak. Song supports these myths. Because of
this Song is able to fill Gallimards mind with wish fulfillment shifting the power to Song, and
Fulfilling Gallimards fantasy of finding his dream woman in a man is also quite
interesting, as if Hwang is saying that men dont know what they want and what they want may
be found in another man. As throughout the play Gallimard was happy being with Song, enough
to leave his wife and start another marriage to him for twenty plus years as well as having a
child. This seems especially smart for Hwang to have written these external details into Songs
character in giving him a more effeminate backstory, however Song is actually the real
masculine character in this story. Again, he has Gallimard wrapped in his fantasy and bending to
his will, with this he has conquered over the western male as an eastern woman. In fact, Song
had hoped that Gallimard had learned something over the course of their marriage and
experience with him as is said in his line, I thought youd become something more. More like ...
a woman. Why would Hwang state such a remark like this? I believe his idea was to show that
women are not weak or as docile as they may seem, in fact they can be quite ruthless or rather
cruelly. Well according to Butler & Balaev, "women must become, must 'be' precisely what
men are not and, in their very lack, establish the essential function of men" Men do not always
have the strength to do what is right nor to act accordingly they are flawed just as Gallimard is.
Putting this into perspective, being considered a real man means to be truthful to themselves as
well as embrace the hardships that women also endure; we cant spell woman without man
as each accommodate their strengths and weaknesses. This is why Song is so successful in his
taking control of every situation, every move Gallimard had made; But also giving him the
opportunity to experience twenty years of being a woman, gave Song more power than he could
M. Butterfly should be known mostly for its political take on the traditional powers of
masculinity and femininity rather than it being an East v. West story. As it happens the story is
more grounded in the fact that Masculine males seem to have all the power in this world,
however all men are incomplete. Therefore, the only way to be a real man is to embrace ones
feminine side just as Song had done. Power is not for the men, it is for the women that control
everything a man does, for the women who open them to new found power; regardless of which
side of the world they are from. This is a mans world no longer, it is open to all who will one
Ayers, Tony Quote in Gay Asian-American male seeks home "The sexually marginalized Asian man
who has grown up in the West or is Western in his thinking is often invisible in his own fantasies.
Balaev, Michelle. "Performing gender and fictions of the nation in David Hwang's M. Butterfly."
Butler, Judith. "Gender Trouble", "Performing gender and fictions of the nation in David Hwang's M.
Butterfly." Quote women must become, must 'be' precisely what men are not and, in their very
Han, Chong-suk. "Gay Asian-American male seeks home." The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide,
vol. 12, no. 5, 2005, p. 35+..
Shimakawa, Karen. "'Who's to say?' or, making space for gender and ethnicity in 'M. Butterfly.'."