There are similarities and differences in Hwang’s M Butterfly and Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly. They are both expressing the ideas of racist stereotypes about Western men and Eastern women. Puccini’s opera is about the Japanese girl falling in love with Pinkerton of the U.S. Navy, who dominates and possesses a beautiful Asian woman. Her name is Cio-Cio-San, also known as Butterfly. Despite the fact that in M Butterfly Song merely plays the role of a passive oriental woman. Both of the characters, Rene Gallimard and Pinkerton fall in love, not only with a person, but also with a fantasy stereotype about Asian woman, the stereotyped view of Asian women as demure and submissive. They are willing to die for their love. One of the differences is Hwang’s M Butterfly takes place in China, and Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly takes place in Japan. Hwang’s M Butterfly and Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly do have similar endings but the roles are reversed. In Madame Butterfl

In Rene Gallimard’s search for self-identity he ignorantly chooses illusion over reality. Obviously Gallimard is not happy with himself or his life so he goes in search for his Butterfly or more importantly a new identity. Gallimard thinks he has found his Butterfly when he meets Song. Unaware of Song’s real gender he shows interest in her.

Finally Rene kills himself, and he does it for his fantasy of the Perfect Woman. He is blinded by the love of the Perfect Woman, and blinded by his desire. His love permits himself to see all the evidences, deep in his subconscious he knows the truth. He has to know Song’s true identity after all that time he spends with her and must have been in great denial and repressed it in the back of his mind for all those years just to hide the fact.

them all out, for her man to do with as he pleases

forever. My little Butterfly, there should be no more

Rene is in love with the “woman” of his dreams, and permits no reality to interfere. Rene is blinded by his white Western fantasies about the submissive Asian woman. Rene and Song stay with each other for twenty-year, they both get what they need from each other. Rene Gallimard, all his life has been searching for a woman, a perfect woman. He wants to be like Pinkerton, to love and to be loved by an Asian woman. He has never been loved by any woman because of his physical appearance. Rene carries on the relationship with Song because after a lifetime of rejection Rene finally meets a beautiful woman who is willing to submit to him.

head, always searching for a new ending,

Some topics in this essay:
Rene Gallimard, Rene Song, Madame Butterfly, Hwang’s Butterfly, Perfect Woman”2, Unaware Song’s, Perfect Woman, Butterfly Rene, Gallimard Pinkerton, Rene Rene, perfect woman, oriental woman, puccini’s opera, madame butterfly, opera madame butterfly, hwang’s butterfly, asian woman, opera madame, rene song, white male, rene gallimard, puccini’s opera madame, butterfly puccini’s opera, perfect woman blinded, loved perfect woman,