Fantasy and Reality in D.H. Hwang’s, M. Butterfly

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Fantasy and Reality in D.H. Hwang’s, M. Butterfly

A person may search their whole life for love. Some are lucky enough to find the perfect someone, and some are not. The one’s who are not as lucky can sometimes create their own idea of their ideal partner, but never actually find them. In D.H. Hwang’s play M. Butterfly, a man by the name of Gallimard creates his own idea of the perfect partner. He falls in love with a woman by the name of Song, who turns out to be not what he expected. Song is actuality a Chinese spy disguised as a woman. Hwang illustrates in the play M. Butterfly, people are not always who they perceive to be. Through Gallimards love for song, his portrayal for the East and West, and Gallimards obsession with power, M. Butterfly, demonstrates the different views of power and weakness that symbolized masculinity and femininity.

Gallimard does not find out that Song is indeed a man until the end of the play. By this time, Gallimard is already completely in love with Song, yet he knows that his love is too good to be true. In Gallimards mind, he creates this image of what he believes to be his “perfect woman.” Song portrays this image in Gallimards’ mind. He declares that he was “once loved, and was loved by very simply, the Perfect Woman” (77). In spite of knowing that Song is actually a man, Gallimard continues to fantasize about his once “perfect woman.” After learning that Song is a man,

“Song covers Gallimard’s eyes with one hand. With th...

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