M. Butterfly Essay Questions

Discuss the contradictions in the relationship between Song and Gallimard.

The relationship between Song and Gallimard is one that is built on stark contradictions. Gallimard is a man at once obsessed with the East and repelled by it. He perpetuates the colonialist perspective that the East "wants" to be dominated and subjugated by the West. Song, in turn, is a human embodiment of this vision of the East: a feminine, submissive, sensual entity that wants to be dominated by the bold and rational masculinity of the West. Gallimard's fantasy of the submissive, perfect "Madame Butterfly" consumes him and Song assumes the postures and identities that she knows will make Gallimard feel more powerful. Throughout their affair, it is unclear just how attached either of them actually is to one another, and whether their relationship is based solely on the roles that they are allowed to play with one another. Another major contradiction in the relationship is the fact that Gallimard believes that Song is a woman throughout their affair, only to realize that she is in fact a man, a spy for the Communist party.

What are the play's parallels with Puccini's opera?

While the play's plot is based on real events—an affair between French diplomat Bernard Bouriscot and Shi Pei Pu, a Peking opera singer—David Henry Hwang also interpolates images and characters from Madama Butterfly with the events of the play. In Madama Butterfly, a wimpy man, Pinkerton, falls in love with the ideal submissive woman, Cio-Cio-san, or "Madame Butterfly," has a child with her, then abandons her. Gallimard often conceives of himself as a stand-in for Pinkerton throughout the play, and imagines that Song is his "Butterfly," a woman who is ready and willing to be abused by him.

Why does Gallimard kill himself at the end?

While it is left somewhat ambiguous, Gallimard's decision to perform seppuku, or ritual suicide, can be summated in his line, "Death with honor is better than life, life with dishonor." Faced with the reality of his homosexual affair, his desire for the "perfect woman," Gallimard assumes the role of the woman he has so longed to find, Madame Butterfly. He is so humiliated and appalled that he ever became romantically entangled with "just a man," and by the fact that their affair was exposed to the world, that he feels he has no choice but to kill himself.

Does Song love Gallimard?

Song's desire is left very ambiguous throughout the play. We know that he is actually an actor working as a spy for the Communist Party in China, which is what prompted the affair in the first place. However, there is also a sense that Song is getting something out of the romance with Gallimard that is more personal than strategic. He insists that being sexually submissive just makes him that much better at his job, but it is suggested that he has a romantic investment in the French civil servant as well. At the end, Song becomes intent on showing Gallimard that he is a man, while also insisting that nothing has changed. He tells Gallimard, "...you can't live without me. Not after 20 years...I'm your fantasy." While Song does not explicitly express his desire for Gallimard, we can see that he is attached to the roles they play, and wants to continue their relationship.

How did playwright David Henry Hwang change the play for the 2017 revival on Broadway?

In interviews, Hwang has said that when he first wrote the play, he did not have access to many research materials and so had to rely on his imagination more. In 2017, when the play was being revived, Hwang turned to the internet, a resource he had not had while writing the play in its original incarnation. Using the internet, he was able to clarify some of the historical points and make the story more understandable. Additionally, he used the revival as an opportunity to expand on the play's depiction of gender and sexuality, to make more room for gender non-normativity and a more sensitive depiction of trans identity and non-binary gender.