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Alexis Sanchez

Professor Batty

English 102

18 October 2017

Butterfly, The True Destroyer Of Men: Analysis of the Play M Butterfly

As children we are taught to categorize everything around us, including ourselves,

making it difficult to understand when were older that not everything and everyone fits into a

specific classification. David H. Hwangs calls into questions both gender and cultural categories

in his play M. Butterfly.The play is based off of a true story of a French Diplomat Rene

Gallimard who enters an affair for twenty years with whom he thinks to be a beautiful Chinese

women named Song. He later finds out that she is actually a male spy using him to receive

sensitive political information. Throughout their relationship Gallimard overlooks signs of

Songs gender due to his obsessed with the opera, Madame Butterfly, by Giacomo Puccini. The

opera is about a submissive Geisha named Butterfly who kills herself for the unrequited love of

an American man named Pinkerton. From a postcolonial and queer theory lens we can unpack

how Hwang uses this story to challenge how we view culture and gender. A postcolonial lens

involves viewing how European countries have influenced the way we view colonized countries

such as in this case, China or Asia in general. On the other hand, Queer theory challenges the

validity of traditional views of heteronormative gender binaries. Hwang criticizes these binaries

through intermingling two plots, one from an Italian opera and another from the true story.

Some argue Hwangs play doesnt address the female plight; however, Gallimards gender views

and imperialist mindset tragically cause his conflicted identity and him to reverse roles.
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One of the struggles that causes Gallimard's conflicted identity involves his narrow

minded view of gender binaries and what that means for him as a male. Throughout the play

Gallimards childhood friend Marc appears, but only in abstract flashback scenes. These

flashback scenes reveal Gallimard's insecurities about his male identity and sexuality due to of

his lack of looks and attention from girls. Furthermore, Marc amplifies these negative thoughts

that Gallimard has about himself by reinforcing male stereotypes, which include being sexually

aggressive and treating women as objects. Therefore, Marc represents the societal pressures that

weigh on Gallimard to be a man in the traditional sense. Literary analyst Liz Brent agrees

when she writes, Marc represents the cultural influences that encourage men to view women as

sexual objects who can be purchased for the purpose of male pleasure (Brent 1). As shown,

Marc represents the cultural influences that perpetuate these messages to men. Hence, Marcs

fluidity throughout the play signifies that his views about sexuality and masculinity continue to

impact Gallimard throughout his adult relationship with Song. Furthermore, this pressure that

Gallimard feels causes him to do things that make him unhappy, but feed into the patriarchy. For

example, Gallimard pursues what he thinks to be a docile Chinese women, but once he wins her

over he immediately ignores her. Admittedly he says, he says I had finally granted power over

a beautiful women, only to abuse it cruelly (Hwang 22). Even when Gallimard meets someone

whom he loves, he is unable to fully immerse himself in a loving relationship and instead feels

the need to establish domination over her. Thus, depicting how patriarchal expectations

negatively prevent Gallimard from being true to himself.

Gallimards imperialist mindset of Western and Eastern powers contribute to his identity

crisis later in the play. Another reason why Gallimard obsesses over Puccinis Opera is because
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of the fact that the leading man is Western. Gallimard identifies with the Western man Pinkerton

in the story and reestablishes his entitlement to conquer a woman. Moreover, Puccinis opera

further establishes the idea of Orientalism, which promotes the idea that European powers are

more superior to Eastern powers. Orientalism leads Europeans to often feel entitled to save the

poor Orientals from themselves to further justify their superiority over them. As one literary

analyst suggests, Orientalism provided a justification for continued European colonialism based

on the construction of the Orient by the Occident as particularly inferior and therefore in

need of Western intervention (Niel 26). As shown this idea of the Occident and Orient is

simply a man made construction for the sake of Europeans to stay hold power over Easterners.

Gallimard identity rests on this notion to save the Orient women because saving someone

implies that one is more equipped than another. In the end, this bigoted mindset hurts Gallimard

because it causes him to overlook Songs suspicious motives, proving that racial superiority is

damaging for the oppressor as well. Equally important, Hwang aims to prove that gender binaries

and Orientalism correspond. Since, the Occident or the Europeans must view the Orient as

inferior, they often associate the country with femininity. Songs character also acts as a vessel to

prove this notion. For example, towards the end of the play Song is before the court bearing

witness over their relationship with Gallimard. Song explains how Gallimards imperialist

mindset coincides into his idea on gender roles, The West has sort of an international rape

mentality towards the East. ...Basically, 'Her mouth says no, but her eyes say yes.' The West

thinks of itself as masculine -- big guns, big industry, big money -- so the East is feminine --

weak, delicate, poor... The West believes the East, deep down, wants to be dominated -- because

a woman can't think for herself (Hwang 82). When Song says this, they admit that Gallimards
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views on Cultural binaries are equally important as his Gender Binaries play an equal role in

Songs ability to deceive him. Equally important, equating rape mentality to colonization also

proves how Imperialism is a Patriarchal idea. Hence, the East and Women are closely associated

because they are both objectified and must be saved be saved by a powerful Western Man.

Gallimards death explains the complex struggle with his inner identity as a man and as a

Westerner. In the very end of the play, Hwang uses costuming in order to create a powerful

image. During the last scene of the play Gallimard dresses up as a Japanese woman and stabs

himself in the chest before he dies. Gallimard geisha attired represents his new role as Butterfly,

since his chances of ever being Pinkerton are shattered. He admits this when he says, My name

is Rene Gallimard- also known as Madame Butterfly (Hwang 99). Instead of accepting his own

complexity as a male he must fully immerse himself into the role of the other. This reversal of

roles happens, because of his narrow view of binaries. Gallimard cannot accept fluidity, he only

accepts clear cut binaries. Living in a world that he cannot categorize is completely foreign to

him. He feels more comfortable transitioning from one binarie to another. This action reflects a

deep rooted self hatred that he has against himself. As Morris explains, His visage resolves

itself into its Other (in terms of both gender and race) and he becomes an Oriental woman: the

very reflection of his desire (Morris 1). As implied, Gallimard's becomes the object of his

desire. Instead of being the one who conquers, he now becomes the defeated one. Hwang shows

this at the end of his play, in order to subvert cultural and gender binaries and depict how

dangerous binaries are to both men and women.

Some critics believe that M Butterfly focuses too much on Gallimard's struggle and not

enough on womens plight. One feminist argues, focusing on male pathos and male self-pity, M.
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Butterfly is intermittently anti-feminist. (Lye 1). It is true that this play explores Gallimards self

pity and emotional history; however, it does so to show how gender binaries are destructive for

everyone. In fact, this play proves that patriarchy is a form of self destruction. The patriarchy is

what ultimately kills Gallimard because of his inability to fit in a binary world. Additionally,

Hwang demonstrates the power of femininity through Song. Song held no power as man. As a

man Song had to wear a disguise as a women in order to destroy Gallimard. Song further

elaborates on this notion as they explain how a woman's word is more powerful than a mans, A

girl could tell the most obnoxious lies and a man will believe her every time (Hwang 81). This

additionally reestablishes the power that Song had as a women. Moreover, Songs power as a

women over Gallimard proves that gender binaries are destructive not only for women, but also

for men.

Overall, Hwang intermingles ideas of gender roles and imperialism in his play in order to

illustrate how closely related they are. By doing so, he shows how they both promote the idea of

superiority and inferiority and how this is simply a false narrative that not only hurts the

inferior power, but also the superior one as well. Rene Gallimard views on culture and

gender rob him of ever living as his true self. If we continue to perpetuate the same type of

binary thinking, we also run the risk of robbing ourselves of being comfortable with who we are.

Instead, we should learn from this cautionary tale and teach future generations to be proud of the

complex world they live in.

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Works Cited

Bilotta, Neil. "Orientalism and Congolese Unaccompanied Refugee Minors in the Global North."

Journal of Pan African Studies 8.2 (2015): 22-40. Ebsco Host. Web.

Brent, Liz. "Drama for Students." Critical Essay on 'M. Butterfly 11 (2011): n. pag. Gale

Literary Sources. Web.

Lye, Colleen. "M. Butterfly and the Rhetoric of Antiessentialism: Minority Discourse in an

International Frame." Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Contemporary Literary Criticism 196

(2005): n. pag. Gale Literary Sources. Web.

Morris, Rosalind. "M. Butterfly: Transvestism and Cultural Cross-Dressing in the Critique of

Empire." Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Contemporary Literary Criticism 196 (2005): n. pag.

Gale Literary Sources. Web.