Stereotypes In M. Butterfly, By David Henry Hwang

M. Butterfly, by David Henry Hwang, is the story of a French diplomat, Rene Gallimard, living in China (then later Paris) circa 1970-1986. He falls in love with a China opera star, Song Liling, after seeing her perform in a production of Madame Butterfly, the Puccini opera. They have a romantic love affair for more than twenty years. Gallimard never realizes that his lover is a man and a spy. This is a true story is about sexual and racial stereotyping, Western imperialism, and reality vs. fantasy. In this case, Gallimard is hurt by his stereotypical beliefs and pays the ultimate price for those beliefs at the end. His illusions cost him his marriage, his career, and ultimately his life. (Enotes) Song, on the other hand, uses those stereotypes to her advantage. As Song tells the judge in the Paris courtroom, Act 3, “..because when he finally met his fantasy woman, he wanted more than anything to believe that she was, in fact, a woman. And second, I am an Oriental.” …“That’s why you’ll

Gallimard is a French diplomat advising on the Vietnam War. He uses Song’s opinion (the opinion of one Chinese woman who is a spy and a man) as a basis for judging all Asian people. He bases foreign diplomacy decisions on what she does and says. For example, he advises the American diplomats “The Orientals simply want to be associated with whoever shows the most strength and power.’’ (Hwang 37) This information is wrong, and he gets fired from the Embassy. As Song describes to the judge at the Paris trial, one of the reasons why Gallimard may have failed to see he was a man is because of the cultural stereotypes placed on West by the East. “The West thinks of itself as masculine — big guns, big industry, big money — so the East is feminine — weak, delicate, poor .. but good at art, and full of inscrutable wisdom — the feminine mystique.” (Hwang