David Henry Hwang M. Butterfly

Introduction

Riddled with cultural misunderstandings and gender confusion, David Henry Hwang's “M. Butterfly” is a tragic tale to say the least. Rene Gallimard, the protagonist of the story, seems to fall for Liling all too easily. His stereotypical views of the East appear to hinder his character. As the plot unfolds, it becomes apparent that Rene's new infatuation with a culture in which he knew nothing about was his ultimate sin. Asian-American author Hwang depicts the westerner as a desperate character, having almost no inhibitions and a complete lack of judgment as he falls head over heels for his “butterfly”.

Analysis

All cultures have their own particular understanding of what constitutes gender and sexuality. In the process of creating these definitions, every culture arrives at an understanding of what is acceptable and what is problematic. Butterfly covers various issues that might not agree or follow our traditional notions about gender and sexuality. Director Yukihiro Goto, a director at SFSU comments on the play, says "M. Butterfly is an important and fascinating play. Butterfly shows the problems of relying on unchallenged stereotypes and cultural misconceptions. It forces us to critically examine everything we believe, including our own notions of sexuality and love (Deeney, pp. 21-37).

The cultural misunderstandings that give way to this tragedy seem, in my opinion as an audience member, completely overemphasized and, in most cases, simply avoidable. Rene falls for a female opera singer. That alone is a contradictory statement. The roles of women in the Beijing Opera were always played by men. Rene is portrayed as a somewhat tasteful man that has some previous knowledge about opera. I feel that it is unrealistic and very unlikely that he would not have known such an elementary fact. Though the actor does play a deceivingly good female role, the chances of flawless execution, day in and day out, also seem very slim. The fact that this is based on a true story is what astonishes me (David, pp 10-30). I cannot understand how one man can be with another man, dressed as a woman, for 20 years, and not know that he is in fact a man.

Upon research of the story in which this play is based, the trickery still remains a mystery to me. It also bewilders me that in 20 years of intimacy, the secret was never discovered. According to Liling, it was ...