Stereotypes In David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly

The characters Gallimard and Song, in David Henry Hwang’s play, M. Butterfly, depend on the influence of regional stereotypes, to fulfil their individual needs. Gallimard keeps “Butterfly” as “Oriental” and female as possible to fulfill his fantasy, while Song strategically manipulates Gallimard by portraying the submissive Eastern woman to gain secret war information. Gallimard’s masculinity and sexuality depend on Songs performance as the submissive Eastern woman. However, Song betrays Gallimard and destroys the illusion, leaving Gallimard in disarray. Enveloped in his fantasy, Gallimard takes on the role of Butterfly and kills himself to fulfil his allusion.

Gallimard desires the “Perfect Woman” who fits the submissive Oriental stereotype.

Gallimard feels confident in his manhood and explains “Of course I didn’t go. What man would?” (Page 41). While in an affair with Renee, she outright tells Gallimard that he has a “nice weenie” (Page 43). He disregards her interpretation of a penis as a “weenie” or a “little flap of flesh” (Page 44) because these both describe the essence of his manhood as small, and feminine. He informs the audience that it “was simply unacceptable” (Page 44) to regard his penis in that sense. Renee acts as a foil character to Butterfly; she examines Gallimard’s penis, and discuses this without any shame or humility. Yet he continues with the affair for several months, only because of Butterfly’s suffering. She “knew the secret” … “But, unlike a Western woman, she didn’t confront me, threaten me, or even pout” (Page 43). He is reminded of the quiet suffering Butterfly endures in the play. Gallimard’s reason for continuing the affair, as he describes, is “her tears and her silence excited me, every time I visited Renee” (Page 44). It is Song’s portrayal of the Butterfly within Gallimard’s fantasy that allows him to continue an affair with an assertive woman Gallimard understands that the torment and sadness Song is going through cements her role as the submissive woman who would never have the courage to

But when Song challenges Gallimard in the final scenes of the play, he is removed from their fantasy. Gallimard takes on the role as the submissive oriental woman, because he has become so invested in his fantasy that he is willing to die for it to continue. He explains “I once loved, and was loved, by the Perfect Woman” (Page 66). When Song begins dominating Gallimard he tries to convince her, “You have to do what I say! I’m conjuring you up in my mind!” (Page 58). But, their relationship was merely a fantasy, in which Gallimard was “a man who loved a woman created by a man” (Page 66). Song accurately describes the Western mindset as “Her mouth says no, but her eyes say yes” (Page 62) and “The West thinks of itself as masculine- big guns, big industry, big money- so the East is feminine- weak, delicate, poor…” (Page 62). These stereotypes allow each character to attain a certain level of satisfaction. When Song provokes Gallimard into believing everything can continue, Song becomes upset and explains he will “never put on those robes again” (Page 67) and that he will be sorry. Gallimard’s response is indicative of his transformation into Butterfly. He expresses he is “Exactly sorry…as a Butterfly” (Page 67). He reveals he has searched for an alternative ending, but he has “looked in the wrong place” (Page 68). He has a vision of the Orient woman, slender, clothed in kimonos, and most importantly would “die for