Conclusion

From the discussions in the previous parts, it can be seen that there are many critics on Orientalism and concept of masculinity/patriarchy in M. Butterfly: from Gallimard’s stereotype toward Western women and Eastern women to the use of Orientalism and concept of ‘the feminine ideal’ by Song Liling in order to trick Gallimard; from the seemingly obvious plot to the unexpected ending. In fact, the twisted ending of the story is something that clearly presents Hwang’s critics.

M. Butterfly ends with the death of Gallimard. It is a total reversal to the ending of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly: the death of Cio-Cio-San. There are two things that are reversed in the two play. First, the difference is the sex and gender of the two people who commit suicide. In Madama Butterfly, Cio-Cio-San is a woman. Her gender is also a woman. On the other hand, Gallimard in M. Butterfly is a man whose gender is also man.  The next difference is the race of the two people. Gallimard is a French diplomat, so it is clear that he belongs to the Western race. Meanwhile, Cio-Cio-San is a Japanese woman, an Oriental.

This reversal means a lot to the position of the text. Madama Butterfly is one of the most famous play in the West, and it is considered very beautiful by many people. From how the characters are portrayed and how the story ends, we can assume that this play is a representation of Orientalism. In contrast, Hwang’s M. Butterfly presents things from another side. The submissive Oriental woman is still there, but it is nothing more than a disguise. The white man is not really cruel; in fact, he is the one enslaved by love. They are the opposite of Madama Butterfly main theme. The opposition, then, changes the position of the text toward Orientalism. Needless to say, M. Butterfly is against Orientalism.

As you might well notice, Orientalism is not the only one that is criticised. The fact that Song Liling is not actually a woman also criticizes gender dichotomy. At first, the gender difference between Gallimard and Song Liling seems so clear. Song is very delicate, passive and submissive, while Gallimard is all manly and dominating. However, in the end Song Liling turns out to be a man; thus proves that gender is something performative.

Judith Butler (1988) states that “As a public action and performative act, gender is not a radical choice or project that reflects a merely individual choice, but neither is it imposed or inscribed upon the individual, as some post-structuralist displacements of the subject would contend”. In other words, gender is something that is socially constructed. It is a ‘performative act’. Furthermore, Butler explains that “Gender is an act which has been rehearsed, much as a script survives the particular actors who make use of it, but which requires individual actors in order to be actualized and reproduced as reality once again.”

In what senses, then, is gender an act? Anthropologhist Victor Turner, in his studies of ritual social drama, suggests that social action requires a repeated performance which is a reenactment and reexperiencing of a set of meanings that are already established by the society. In “M. Butterfly”, Song Liling performs a socially established meaning of ‘the feminine ideal’ and Gallimard’s meaning of ‘the Perfect Woman’. Thus, we can conclude that

“The performance is effected with the strategic aim of maintaining gender within its binary frame” says Butler. It talks about the gender dichotomy mentioned above. In the society, there is this dichotomy between the male and female. It is similar to the stereotype created by the West in Said’s Orientalism. Gender performativity is a way to maintain this gender dichotomy, to separate between male and female. Thus, in relation to M. Butterfly, it is clear that Song Liling maintains the gender dichotomy to separate himself as a woman from Gallimard as a man. He creates this false figure of an actress in Chinese opera.

Overall, M. Butterfly is a play that criticizes many aspects: Orientalism, patriarchy, and gender dichotomy. Most of this criticism is something that is not blatantly shown. Hwang reversed many things from the play Madama Butterfly, and finds his own way to criticize those things.