Asian Stereotypes in David Hwang's M. Butterfly

The play M. Butterfly explores various aspects of asian stereotypes and deals with the delusionist idea of ‘Oriental beauty’ adopted by westerners. David Hwang smoothly incorporates the Opera Madame Butterfly into the play to tell a similar yet highly contrasting story, examining numerous prejudices associated with asian women and crossing the border of asian subjectivity. The play is not a simple love story, but rather a portrayal of the complete misunderstanding of orients. It deals closely with the idea of Orientalism by Edward Said based on the belief that many Western writings of the east are not a depiction of reality, but rather intending to establish authority over the orient in a racist, sexist and imperialist manner. M. Butterfly subverts these binary oppositions that structure the worlds of the West and the East, and calls the audience into questioning asian subjectivity in today.

The idea of ‘oriental beauty’ is a constructed fantasy image of the east, which depicts a perfect woman whom is conservative and willing to sacrifice anything for white men. This idea is first established through the introduction of Madame Butterfly’s opera. We are introduced to Butterfly, a beautiful submissive asian heroine tricked by a westerner. This stereotype is further emphasized by Gallimard’s white friend “but something deep inside her heart...she must surrender to you. It is her destiny...they fear us, Rene.” (Act 1, Scene 9). The word ‘ destiny’ makes it seem like the idea of orients being the weak is not only a concept, but a reality that has been determined by god. Gallimard’s friend speak as if it is her natural instinct to fear them.

Although the play is intertwined with the Opera Madame Butterfly, Hwang constantly foreshadows a different ending. For example, the title of the play M. Butterfly mimics the opera Madame Butterfly, but the M. in the title makes the heroine's gender ambiguous. The M. could stand for Madame, Monsieur, Mr or Mrs. This is perhaps Hwang’s hint to the audience that Song is actually a man.

At the end of the play, the stereotype of oriental beauty is completely destroyed. The audience comes to realize Song’s submissiveness was only an act. Song repeatedly called him the ‘white devil’ to signify the asian attitude of mistrust towards white men and make Gallimard call her ‘Butterfly’, as an affirmation of their power dynamic. Furthermore, she pretended Gallimard had captured her heart through her letters “I don't deserve this cruelty..I can hide behind dignity no longer”. Song’s shyness makes him feel “for the first time that rush of power—the absolute power of a man”.

The following line is a reinforcement of his supremacy. It shows his confidence increasing everytime Butterfly submits to him. Hwang also uses stage directions to suggests their unequal power. For instance, in Act 2 Scene 1, Song is ‘curled up at his feet’.Their positioning reminds the audience of a dog at her master’s feet. By doing this, Song ensures Gallimard’s stereotype is true. Gallimard’s desire for dominance and absolute power blinds him from realizing Song’s true gender. By revealing the truth at the end, we realize Song is actually superior to Gallimard. Hwang successfully deconstructs the idea of oriental beauty by shifting the power hierarchy between the two.

It could also be interpreted that Song is a representation of eastern countries. This is suggested through Act 3, scene 2 “You expect Oriental countries to submit to your guns, and you expect orinetal women to submit to you men”. The following line relates directly to Said’s theory. Westerners feminize and depreciate the oriental culture in order to feel superior. They expect the East to be feminie and vulnerable, hence must be dominated by the maculine power of western man. The West’s conquest of the EAst is similar to the domination of men over women. Therefore, the overturn of power at the end of the play could suggest that perhaps by acting ‘weak and submissive’, oriental countries are actually claiming superiority over the westerns. The west fall into the trap of their stereotypes, and thus the power structure between the man and the woman, east and west, are reversed.

Hwang not only explores the misconception of oriental beauty but also the prejudices on asians as a whole. In act 1 scene 8, Gallimard’s comparison of the asian audience at the opera as ‘like a human toad...screaming, gawking..” show how westerners portray the orients as foreign monsters, uncivilized and repulsive. This suggests the deep rooted prejudice and lack of understanding westerners have towards the east. Hwang’s play calls into question the asian subjectivity that still exists today. Perhaps not as recognizable but evident through many hollywood films or TV series, where asian-americans are only given the supporting role of the white heroine. There are often cases where Asians are also depicted as either only prostitutes or nerds in films. Female asian are relegated to roles of sex workers, and characters described as fragile and submissive. Meanwhile, male asians are given roles of tech nerds, highly emasculated and desexualixed. It seems that films of today are still adapting past prejudices and stereotypes. Nevertheless, the increase in diversity of roles have improved much throughout the years, suggesting a gradual change in these stereotypes.

Hwang ends the play precisely the same way as it started, with Song repeating Butterfly twice. The emptiness heard after Butterfly's name is repeated symbolizes the worthlessness of the sexist, orientalist idea. Gallimard is destroyed by his ideal while song is left bereft as he realizes Gallimard did not share any substantial relationship with him. Hwang has done this to conclude how in the end, nobody can flourish amidst the power struggles to be dominant. The insidiousness of stereotyping becomes the biggest barrier for Gallimard or westerners as a whole to understand the East.

In conclusion, M. Butterfly is a deconstruction of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly Opera used to subvert Western stereotyping about the East. Through the play M.Butterfly, Hwang shifts the binary opposition between genders and colonies from its norms and trigger the readers to reconsider asian subjectivity.