M. Butterfly

A detailed Summary of M. Butterfly

The play M. Butterfly, by David Hwang is a study in human weakness, psychosis, and insecurity. The lead character in the play, Rene Gallimard acts the same as a borderline schizophrenic. When the story begins he is in prison reflecting on his life, and loves. He is given to fantasy, and talking, or having conversations with the figments of his imagination. His insecurities, combined with his vivid fantasies, drive him to power trips, where he is master of his world. Dominance is his desire, where he is in total control. These illusions take him further and further from reality. Where he is weak and ineffectual, he starves for acceptance and attention. This is a story of a man who gets into a situation that perpetuates his illness. If there's worse condition for a person with a mental illness, it would stretch the imagination to contrive it.

When he is sent to the Orient he becomes a person of power, as all westerners did at the time. " The West has [a] rape mentality towards the East" (Hwang 1253). The cultures are so different and conflicting, that values greatly vary. The Western culture looks on the Eastern people as, " feminine-weak, delicate, poor" (Hwang 1253). Gallimard is beside himself w

ith the possibilities, so different from his homeland where he has been voted, " least likely to be invited to a party" (Hwang 1214). Now he is someone by virtue of his heritage. Quickly his imaginings become possibilities, where before he'd line up pornographic magazines, hearing voices about what he'd do with the women and, " his body shook... not with lust, but power" (Hwang 1214). Now he'd make those desires become real. At the time and in their culture, Chinese women are considered "less than" a man. In the East, life is much cheaper than in the West. Women are considered so insignificant in China that even today, female children are sometimes killed at birth only because of their gender, (Con 100). The thought that women were almost worthless in China appealed to him greatly, he could make them grovel at his feet, and no one was there to say he was depraved, or just a weak little man. Heady potentials for a warped individual like Gallimard.

To a man such as Gallimard, who has limited sexual and social experience, the Chinese concubine is a must, with no consequence. He can control a woman like never before, be totally dominating. Women often frightened him. His first sexual experience where he was terrified by the dominanance of a woman scarred him for life. It helped develop his aversion to strong women/people. In describing the encounter to his friend Gallimard says, "she screamed...[and was] breaking branches" (Hwang 1230). His biggest worry was getting hurt by her. It made him question his own sexuality and masculinity. His friends liked sex like that, why did it frighten him so? Gallimard is so insecure that he subscribes to group-think (Anderson 125). What his peers think is what he thinks also, be it right or wrong. He needs to fit in and win their acceptance. Adding to his turmoil is a letter from Song, his fantasy girl. In it he reads the implication of being, "[an] eunuch or homosexual" (Hwang 1230). The stage has been set for his breakdown.

In his sick mind to prove himself not a

Some common words found in the essay are:
Gallimard Gallimard, Poor Gallimard, Rene Gallimard, East Hwang, West Women, David Hwang, hwang 1230, , hwang 1214, hwang 1257, Butterfly Hwang, hwang 1253, rene gallimard, hwang 1251, obsessed song, mental illness, hwang 1242, women considered,

Approximate Word count = 1371
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English