An Analysis on Hwang’s M. Butterfly
Introduction
The play M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang has been consistently reviewed by literary critics as a play that is about a relationship between two men in a society that is dominated by heterosexuals. The play begins by introducing Gallimard who work for the French embassy in China; he falls in love with a beautiful oriental woman named Song who happens to be a man. Gallimard never knew that Song is a communist spy who makes him fall in love with her so that she can extract information from him about the ongoing war of Vietnam. Author Kekla Magoon wrote, “People make mistakes. They look at the surface of things and see what they want to”, this explains why Gallimard never wanted to admit to have knowledge of Song’s real identity. The book deeply addresses the issue of stereotypes in relationships and sexually identity in different cultures. There are two different stereotypes oriental female and the western male. The western male is known to be deeply masculine which makes him to be very powerful and dominates in the society. On the other hand, the oriental female is known to be both exotic and eager to be dominated. Gallimard completely believes in stereotypes by which he chooses a Chinese woman to be his mistress because he felt that he was sexually inferior in his mind. In the play, Gallimard thinks that he knows everything and anything about the East and West but in reality Song, the woman who is actually a man knows more than he could ever understand. M. Butterfly explores the impact of cultural and sexual stereotypes between people from two different cultures.
- Butterfly gives a demonstration about the dangers that come about in living a life satisfied with shallow stereotypes and mythical life. Gallimard has a desire of having a submissive Oriental woman but this was only a mental imagination that was only fulfilled in his mind. This closed his eyes not to see every truth about his mistress. He even refused to accept that Song was a man until he came and stood naked before him. This ignorance of Gallimard on the stereotype cost him all he had including his wife, his career and also his dignity. Later on most importantly he lost his life. Gallimard’s expectation to withdraw from the relationship was turned down when he said that he has “known, and been loved by, the perfect woman” (Hwang 23). This declaration shows that Gallimard is in this relationship intentionally.
At this point, Hwang’s setting of the play articulates the stand of the western belief which is contrary to that of the Eastern customs and they way of life. He also takes this chance to evaluate sexual dominance between the two civilized cultures. The eastern culture is dominated by heterosexual couples whereby people have married those of the opposite sex. This is not the case in the Western culture because a good number of couples comprised people of the same gender. The two stereotypes are clearly seen with their differences highlighted.
Gallimard and Song carry on with their relationship that ended up in jail after twenty years. Gallimard gets infatuated with Song hence showing her all his love. He uttered very powerful love messages like “All ecstatic with love, the heavens are filled with laughter,” (Hwang 33). He told her beautiful love messages that show indeed he loved her. This affair came to last for twenty years before Gallimard’s realization of the truth. At this point, Gallimard’s conduct towards Song his dear wife gives a background knowledge that the audience ought to grasp. Gallimard sexual demand from Song brings the issue of modesty which is a condition Song puts. Gallimard insists on seeing her nakedness but Song is unwilling to let her nakedness to be seen. This leaves the sexual identity unverified. Soon after the context, Song pronounces her pregnancy whereby Gallimard decides to marry her. This relationship continues until both are arrested by the French government after they were caught for espionage. The outward nature of this homosexual is seen because they have been a disturbance even to the government.
The critical problem of this play is the people’s perception of whether Gallimard was a homosexual. Furthermore the study and analysis of this play narrows its points to a political realm that has a limited view point to the readers. With regard to these concerns, Hwang has been interviewed severally so that he can clearly explain various aspects of the stereotypes and matters concerning heterosexuality. In 1989, Hwang was interviewed by Don Digaetani concerning Gallimard being homosexual; he gave an open ended question. He goes on to discuss the issue of homosexual which was cropping up in various cultures majorly those of the East (Hwang & Digaetani, 145). It is interesting that the play was released during the time when homosexuality was becoming accepted in the society. It is during 1980s that it was done openly but no one could come up to question this because it was a controversial topic. Right from the beginning of the play, Hwang has used this type of stereotype to condemn it.
Going deep into Gallimard and Song’s inner sexuality perspectives, the wise audience would definitely know that both are gays. Their mode of presentation also communicates a symbolic message about the larger sphere of the western countries and their sexual extent. For instance, Song’s makeup while making the presentation is stark white which represents the beauty standards of the west. It also conveys the theme of homosexuality despite him hiding this identity by masking himself with a white heterosexual body (Eng 139).
Focusing on Gallimard’s homosexual nature, Hwang has used several symbols that prove that he is a gay. When was taken to the small prison cell, a symbolic significant deductions can be made. The small prison symbolizes Gallimard’s rejection from his home place after being known to be a homosexual. The act of imprisonment represents how the homosexual acts and thoughts were locked out of the heterosexual world. The theme of coldness is also developed throughout the play. Song talks of Gallimard being cold sexually during their first romantic experience which they had had (Hwang 34). This represents the moral coldness that comes out of shame of being a homosexual in a heterosexual world. This coldness drives Gallimard in a pit of guilt and blemish making him to commit suicide. When Gillard is about to commit suicide, he sounds the words again about dying an honorable death of being a heterosexual.
Hwang’s theme of comparison between the Western and Eastern cultures shows the privilege of being in a heterosexual world. Many people both the audience fail to see the importance of the two main characters of the play, Gallimard and Song. The struggle between the two comes as a result of being in a homosexual setup in a society that is dominated by heterosexual couples. Hwang develops this section of the play to show the difficult lives homosexuals undergo and more particularly those in the western countries. This tends to discourage those who wish to be homosexual to stick in heterosexuality. Morals standards can also be deducted from the play whereby homosexuality is as a source of immorality which led the two gays into prison.
Hwang has perfectly used the aspect of dominance, masculinity and submissiveness of the two cultures in an amazing way. At the beginning of the play, he talks of dominance and them being powerful which is literally true because the Western dominance resulted to the colonization of the Eastern countries. Similarly in the sexual world, the heterosexual dominance has squeezed the homosexuality by making it proving it wrong and unacceptable by the community. “Death with honor is better than life life with dishonor,” (Hwang 27). This is a statement made by Gallimard just before his death. It confirms that it is honorable to be in a heterosexual engagement. His kind of death is a death with dishonor to the society because the homosexual nature is not part of the society. The kind of death that both gays died was a representation of how low and unacceptable the homosexuals should be in the community. Hwang’s message to the society is not to let homosexuals dominate because it would bring massive destruction on morals of the society. The play is an outstanding one and many should draw lessons from it.
Works Cited
Eng, David L. Racial Castration: Managing Masculinity in Asian America. Durham [N.C.]: Duke, 2001. Print.
Glover, David, and Cora Kaplan . Genders. 2nd. New York: Routledge, 2009. Print.
Hwang, David Henry. M. Butterfly. New York, N.Y.: New American Library, 1989. Print.
Hwang, David, and John Digaetani. ‘M Butterfly’: An Interview with David Henry
