M butterfly

M butterfly portrays western attitudes towards eastern cultures on a political and social level. In the story, Gallimard believes he is the dominant figure in his relationship with Song when in fact it was the other way around. Song played the submissive and shy Chinese girl only to manipulate Gallimard into giving up secret information on western governments. By the end of the book, he dresses up as a woman and commits suicide. Before he does, he tells the audience, “My name is Rene Gallimard – also known as Madame Butterfly (93).” At first glance, most people would believe that the title of the book refers to Song when in fact it was Gallimard. It was Gallimard who had all the characteristics that were ultimately deemed effeminate despite the fact that it was Song who dressed up as a woman. In a traditional sense, it would be the woman who falls head over heels over a man and it is the woman who eventually kills herself because the man she loved probably betrayed her in some way. But M butterfly defies this tradition and turns the tables around. Through the relationship between Song and Gallimard, the novel portrays the ignorance of western culture and shows us that the belief that eastern cultures are weak and submissive towards a greater force is clearly wrong.

            Though M Butterfly portrays some obvious differences in both eastern and western culture, it also shows us the similarities between the two cultures. For instance, the issue of gender inequality is universal and is found throughout the world, even in societies as progressive as the west. All cultures have an idea what they consider feminine and masculine and western culture is no different. In one of the scenes, Gallimard tries to undress Song after ignoring her for three weeks and Song tries to keep her/his clothes on by saying “please…it all frightens me. I’m a modest Chinese girl (40).” Gallimard believed that Song was a woman based on the false assumptions that weakness, vulnerability, passiveness, and servility are all characteristics of females. Because Song is a man, Song is able to understand what men have come to expect from women and she/he plays on those expectations to make Gallimand fall in love.