Odajyan 1

Diana Odajyan
Professor Batty
English 102
10/16/2017

Sex, Sexuality and Spying

David Henry Hwangs play M. Butterfly is a play that delves into the relationship between

two men. Gallimard is the heterosexual male in the play, who can be deemed the representation

of the Western ideologies on the premise of relationships. On the other hand, Song plays the role

of a female in the narrative and deemed to represent the notions of the East. At face value, many

would argue that Hwangs intention is to portray the image of a opressive Western culture that

domineers over the Oriental culture, which is the represented by how the two protagonist relate

in the play (Lin, Role-playing Games). The writer uses various symbols and metaphors

throughout the play to present the disparity between East and West. However, Hwangs rationale

in depicting the play is indicative of the issues in the gender roles, which questions the status quo

of society. Status quo, a current standard of the most popular ways of doing, thinking, and living,

which was exactly what Song feared while being in an affair with an heterosexual man.

The starting point of the play aligns with the predominant perception of gender in society.

Gallimard provides a monologue coinciding with the domineering approach by men in society.

He narrates the catalyst for the plays title as it is based on Madame Butterfly, an opera created

by Puccini. The narrative goes on to expound on how an American man marries an Oriental

woman he met when she was 15 (Hwang, Romantic Illusions). She gives birth to his child, he
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then leaves for three years, and returns to announce that he married an American woman. The

Oriental woman commits suicide leaving her child with the American family. Subsequently, the

opening monologue is the representation of Western ideas trumping the Eastern culture.

Furthermore, the idea is centered on insinuating that the males had the preference of

choosing companions at leisure while undermining the freedoms of women (Wen, The

Subversion). Furthermore, the idea of suicide is the enforced to suggest that the West can

suppress or overpower the Oriental counterparts.

This transitions into the relation between Gallimard and Song, where (like the American

Man), the former falls in love with the latter after seeing her perform in an Asian Theater.

Hwang uses the scene to enlighten the viewer on how Song is a spy disguised as a woman to

obtain information for the communist party (Lin, Role-playing Games). The disparity is

important to question the ideologies of power dynamics because of the unique twist that links

Madame Butterfly to Hwangs play. Gallimard justifies the Oriental womans death by stating,

Death with honor, is better than life, life with dishonor (Hwang, Romantic Illusions). The

quote relates to Gallimards situation because he perceives the idea of homosexuality as

dishonor, and he commits suicide after discovering Songs situation. Many believe what caused

Gallimard to commit suicide is the feeling of betrayal, rather than the idea of homosexuality. He

felt abandoned that he was deceived for 20 years by a person he fell deeply in love with, that

Song was liar.

The main problem with the context of the narrative is the tunnel vision concerning how

one will perceive Gallimard while ignoring the context that he may be a homosexual. Hwang

provides a smart approach that would allow the viewer to assess the play in that Madame
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Butterfly is meant to be the central construct of the Western perspective of gender roles. His

depiction stains the Western aspect of the play by questioning Gallimards sexual orientation. In

the Madame Butterfly, the Oriental woman is the symbol of weaknesses, as she cannot contend

with the actions of her American counterpart leading to her death. Her end is promoted by the

actions of her companion, which are beyond her control. On the other hand, the catalyst of

Gallimards suicide is based on his own actions and choices in the play. He is infatuated by the

Asian woman as he is attracted to her in a love at first sight scenario (Lin, Role-playing

Games). The protagonist feels dishonored by the revelation that he is attracted to an oriental

man; however, the viewer should be able to see beyond this by realizing that there is the prospect

that Gallimard could have been a homosexual. A further analysis of the play validates the idea of

him having an interest in men.

Specifically, Gallimards time in a prison cell is a good metaphor or symbol of the idea. It is

a representation of his sexuality in that the heterosexual world is unwilling to accept the idea of

homosexuality in the community. The same idea can be applied to Song in that he has to live in

an enclosed idea by having to live as a woman (Wen, The Subversion). One can also argue that

both are forced to hide the notion of homosexuality in that Song can only live the idea as a

woman while Gallimard must conceal it by committing suicide when his interest in men is no

longer a secret or that Gallimard can not simply accept that Song would keep it a secret from him

because he thought the love that they had for each other was much more than that. We can never

find out the real truth about why Gallimard would take his own life. The contrast in perspective

is essential to understanding the divide in that the East is open to the idea of homosexuality but it

is not a steady or acceptable idea in society. On the other hand, the Western culture does not
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choose to accept or agree with the idea because it is not a development that people want to

embrace. The West is willing to take extreme measures such as suicide to hide or reject

homosexuality.

Furthermore, Hwang reverses the gender role in his play by giving Song the power.

Essentially, Song is a man; however, she has a power over Gallimard because he is obsessed

over her. It can be argued that the context of the play is a change in nature of the East-West

relation where the West dominates the East. However, Song dominates any situations involving

Gallimard to the point that he cannot hide his affection for her (Wen, The Subversion).

Moreover, the East-West relation returns to normalcy when Gallimard finds Song without the

make-up or the outfit that she wears and begins to ridicule her after returning to the theater

after a long. However, Song returns the aspect of power by revealing that he is the

Frenchmans fantasy (Wen, The Subversion). As a result, Hwang structured the play to

represent a different outlook on the notion of power between East and West by reversing the

roles between the two protagonists.

In hindsight, Hwangs play is a representation of how the East would be classified as a

progressive community in the modern era. The main reason is that Song depicts an individual

that is comfortable being a woman, while enjoying the process of enticing another man (Lin,

Role-playing Games). Furthermore, Song (being a man) is aware of what a man would expect

from a woman and puts on a performance that achieves this objective. However, Gallimard is the

symbol of the Western that is upheld to abide by specific ideologies that emanate from the

community and undermine other cultures. As a result, the audience witnesses the difference in

the two cultures through the play (Wen, The Subversion). Subsequently, the presentation
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makes the East more progressive because Song is accepting of homosexuality, while his western

counterpart is defiant of embracing the idea.

Therefore, Hwang uses the play to question the norm when it comes to East-West relations

and cultural ideas. Homosexuality is the focal point of the play and it applies in emphasizing the

differences. The presentation questions that audience mindset when generating an opinion on the

protagonists. At face value, Song reflects the accepting perspective of the sexual orientation,

while the French counterpart is the opposite. Though the circumstances may support Gallimard,

but the context towards the later stage of the play indicate he did not want to accept the idea of

homosexuality. Thus, Hwang manages to present a point or subject of interest that questions the

norms of the East-West social construct.

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Works Cited

Hwang, David. Romantic Illusions: Cultural Contexts for a Play. N.p.,

https://vitruvianman.wikispaces.com/file/view/Hwang.pdf. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.

Lin, Shih-Chun. Role-playing Games in David Henry Hwangs M. Butterfly. National

Hsinchu University of Education, 2011,

http://aca.web2.nhcue.edu.tw/ezfiles/6/1006/img/198/435334696.pdf. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.

Wen, Songfeng. The Subversion of the Oriental Stereotype in M. Butterfly. University of

Light Industry, 2013.

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.838.6330&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.