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M Butterfly Essay 3
M Butterfly Essay 3
Alexis Sanchez
Professor Batty
English 102
18 October 2017
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
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
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
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
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
Lye, Colleen. "M. Butterfly and the Rhetoric of Antiessentialism: Minority Discourse in an
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.