Ignorance In David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly

Is Ignorance Bliss? The Fault in Being Ignorant of Real and Fake Famous French diplomat Bernard Boursicot, in David Henry Hwang’s M.Butterfly was portrayed as Rene Gallimard. The story and the novel written included the protagonist falling in love with a female Chinese Opera singer who was incognito a Chinese male spy. The play opens with Gallimard in his jail cell, contemplating his life with Song Liling for twenty years, the past and the present. His dialogue even in the first scene depicts what he thinks of himself and of the situation, a beautiful lie exposed to the horrid truth, and a moderately humorous one to him. But in context, Gallimard only used his humor to hide not only his pain of how the situation turned out, but the betrayal

But how can someone overlook the truth when its staring you in the eyes, even in a piece of fiction? Was it “simple ignorance” (page 2) as said by Man 2 in a chic-looking parlor? In my opinion, no it was not. Ignorance was a part of Gallimard's destruction, but not necessarily the main part. Gallimards character always seemed to have underscored the truth, but then ignored it for his own sake. Which he thought was Songs sake, she was the one he was taking care of after all. In his mind she was his dream living within reality, a submissive oriental woman all to himself in her full devotion, his own Butterfly. Even the nickname Butterfly from the Italian Opera Madame Butterfly gives a lot of meaning into the way Gallimard thought about Song, and why he overlooked the fact that she was lying all this time, even in the end. Butterfly, a nickname usually given to women in the East of the Orient refers to them often being beautiful to see, but never to touch. They are as attractive and fair as they are fragile, both mentally and physically. This suggests why Song acted so. She touched Gallimard, yet he never actually touched her. Song played submissive towards Gallimard, but the

Boursicot believed they were in love, and that their romantic and subtly forbidden past was a something out of a fairytale. Two people from two different aspects of the world, from two cultures meeting each other and falling in love. This is what Gallimard was based on, almost this hopeless romanic stereotype who need the woman that confirms to the oriental submissive stereotype. He relies on Song while believing that she relies on him, for he can not see the truth. Gallimard had a way of ignoring his doubts, and this affected both his relationship with Song. His intentions and actions in the book suggest that subconsciously he did notice a problem in his relationship with Song, that he wasn’t just a “cad” or “foreign devil.” Take the situation with Renee for example, Gallimards affair of an affair, which lead him to ignore Song for several months even though Renee was too masculine for him. He explained this by stating “I kept up our affair..Why? I believe because of Butterfly…Unlike a Western woman, she didn't confront me, threaten, even pout” (Page 56). He thought Butterfly was different than Western women, and even generalized her with Pinkertons version of Butterfly. The type of woman that would silently cry if her husband had an affair, but not leave