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.
