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Song leads Rene on and conceals "her" true identity from him. There is a point at which Song fears "her" deception will be unmasked and tells Rene that she is pregnant with their child and then she runs off. It wasn't till the end of the movie that I felt some sympathy towards Rene when Song's true identity was revealed. The pain he must have felt after finding out that his "butterfly" was a man in disguise, and on top of that a spy for the Chinese government, must have been tremendously tragic and heartbreaking for him. .
It is viewed by many Chinese, as well as other Eastern cultures, that Western civilization is extremely egotistical viewing their culture superior to all others. The Westerners believe they are more civilized and more educated than the rest of the world and that it is an obligation to take other, less developed societies, under their wing. This is accurately portrayed throughout the movie by the French diplomats. Through their dinnertime conversation and casual exchange of words, they often speak of the Chinese people as a society that needs to be colonized and whose habits and customs need to be changed and converted.
New Historicism plays a part in M. Butterfly by its approach that pays particular attention to the historical situation, not merely as a decorative backdrop to the "real" work, but as an integral part of it, or even as a kind of text itself. There is heavy historical significance taking place throughout the movie. The movie is set during the time of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which was a tragic period for the Chinese people and their civilization. The Cultural Revolution was designed to destroy the culture of pre-Communist China. This is demonstrated in one scene of the film when Rene walks outside of a bar in Beijing, and sees protesters out in the street burning traditional Chinese books, costumes, etc. This plays an important role in the film, because of Rene and Song's love and involvement and love of the Chinese Theatre.