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Madama Butterfly Character Analysis

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In the last chapter, both the Oriental man and woman, according to Edward Said, is represented by the Occident. The representation of the Oriental woman is frequently illustrated or named as the Oriental butterfly since Madama Butterfly, an iconic opera written by Giacomo Puccini. Grace Ji-Sun Kim in the Embracing the Other: The Transformative Spirit of Love stresses that Madame Butterfly “is viewed as the ideal ‘oriental woman.’ She is beautiful and subservient, small and fragile, like a butterfly” (64).
In the play Madama Butterfly, a delicate and deferential character Cio-Cio-San, named as Butterfly by her friend, falls in love with a worthless American sailor Pinkerton. Through the success of Madama Butterfly, the Occident constructs …show more content…

In American English Compendium, geisha is described as “traditional female entertainers providing singing, dancing, and conversation” (295); namely, as a geisha, Butterfly’s existence is supposed to entertain men. In Madama Butterfly, Butterfly certainly completes her duty in a marvellous way by pleasing Pinkerton, an American man, with all her devotion. At the end of the play, Butterfly even satisfies Pinkerton through sacrificing her life. As a consequence, Rene Gallimard has described Cio-Cio-San as a “heroine” since she is “a feminine ideal, beautiful and brave” (Hwang 5). Certainly, without courage, Butterfly cannot devote herself entirely to man without reservations or …show more content…

Pinkerton, according to Butterfly’s servant Suzuki, is a “loser” and “a sailor with dirty hands” (Hwang 12-13). However, Gallimard can see himself in Pinkerton. Looking back to Gallimard’s life at his early age, he is unpopular or, more precisely, invisible among girls. Therefore, Marc, Gallimard’s best friend, is trying to create a chance for Gallimard to become intimate with girls. Marc plans to have a sensual pool party at night with multiple nude girls and he invites Gallimard. By suggesting it is a blind party since everyone is in the dark, Mar has tried to convince Gallimard to join (Hwang 8). Marc believes that darkness is certainly a perfect covering for Gallimard since nor the ugly face or the timid personality he has would be noticed. Thus, the party is supposed to provide sufficient sense of security to

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