Analysis of David Henry Hwang’s Deconstruction of Orientalism in M. Butterfly

Luo Qing

【Abstract】David Henry Hwangs play M. Butterfly is the subversion to the opera Madame Butterfly. This paper aims to analyze Hwangs deconstruction of Orientalism in M. Butterfly.

【Key words】David Henry Hwang； deconstruction； M. Butterfly； Orientalism

1. Introduction

David Henry Hwang is the most prominent Asian-American dramatist in contemporary American literature and produces a large number of influential works on Chinese immigrant and Chinese-American themes. His play M. Butterfly is one of the representatives.

This play tells a spy trail in France concerning a French diplomat and a Chinese Peking opera singer who were involved in a love affair. The French diplomat Rene Gallimard met Song Liling in a foreign embassy party in Beijing and was captivated by the girl whom he believed to be the incarnation of the exotic and submissive Madame Butterfly. Then he began a love affair with Song. But Song was actually responsible for obtaining diplomatic secrets from Gallimard. After their departure， Song was assigned to rejoin Gallimard in Paris for some political tasks. The two lived together for many years and Song passed some sensitive government documents to the Chinese embassy from Gallimard. Later， the couple was arrested by the French government. In the court trial， Gallimard learned for the first time that his lover was a spy and a man. After being put in prison， he committed suicide.

This play is the subversion to the opera Madame Butterfly which reflects the ideology of Orientalism. This paper would explore the dismantling of the stereotypes of the Oriental women and the subversion of the Orientalist conception of East-West power relationship in M. Butterfly， thus to analyze Hwangs deconstruction of Orientalism.

2. Dismantling the entrenched stereotype of Oriental women

Oriental women have long been fashioned by the Western literature into a stereotype as being innocent， passive， submissive， and being silent under the double oppression of race and sex. The opera Madame Butterfly is widely regarded as an Orientalism text and presents the world a more concrete stereotypical image of Oriental women—Madam Butterfly. But such stereotype is completely dismantled by David Henry Hwang in M. Butterfly.

Like most Westerners， Rene Gallimard also has a strong fascination for the myth of Madame Butterfly， for it satisfies his fantasy of being a powerful man and exploiter who can abuse an Oriental woman cruelly. After seeing Songs performance in Madame Butterfly for the first time， he is attracted and fantasizes Song to be his Butterfly and himself to be Pinkerton.

However， Gallimards Butterfly Song turns out to be greatly different from his fantasy of the demure and submissive Oriental women. In M. Butterfly，Song is no longer the voiceless and submissive Butterfly and gradually speaks for herself. In Paris， when Gallimard questions her why she dodges his embracing， Song interrupts him with a reminder that “Please. Im talking” （Hwang Butterfly 59） to show that she allows no distraction while conveying her opinion. This conversation shows that Hwang shatters the Westerners fantasy about Oriental women by employing the strategy of transferring the discourse power from white males to Asian women.

Furthermore， in M. Butterfly David Hwang also adopts the strategy of reversing the role of the hero and heroine in Madame Butterfly to dismantle the myth of Madame Butterfly. The diplomat Gallimard “fantasizes that he is Pinkerton and his lover is Butterfly”. （Hwang Butterfly 95） But finally he realizes that it is he who has been Butterfly， for he has been duped by love， while Song who has exploited that love becomes the real Pinkerton.

Through fashioning a new image of Asian women and finally reversing the role， David Hwang successfully dismantles the Westerners stereotype of Oriental women.

3. Subverting Orientalist conception of East-West power relationship

To justify their conquering of Eastern people， the Western imperialists construct the East as the feminine image of Asian women and the West as the masculine image of Western men. As a woman， the East has to submit to her man， the West. However， in M. Butterfly， such power relationship is completely subverted.

Actually， the reversal of the role of hero and heroine in the original opera not only dismantle the Westerners fantasy about Oriental women， but also helps to subvert Orientalist conception of East-West power relationship. Like most Westerners， Rene Gallimard has the conception of Western Superiority and Eastern Inferiority. He has a strong fascination for Madame Butterfly， for such image also caters to his conception on the relationship between the East and the West. Judging from his relationship with his Oriental Butterfly Song， Gallimard assures Toulon that Chinese wouldnt interfere in the Vietnam War because “the Orientals simply want to be associated with whoever shows the most strength and power” （Hwang Butterfly 45）. He also says that “If the Americans demonstrate the will to win， the Vietnamese will welcome them into a mutually beneficial union” （Hwang Butterfly 46）.

However， the reality turns out to be opposite to his conception on East-West power relationship. Instead of submission， the Eastern people fight against them， as is reflected in Songs resistance to Gallimard and the action of China and Vietnam in the Vietnam War. In the end， Gallimards suicide also announces the power reversal of the Western people and the Eastern people.

Through the reversal of the hero and heroine， Hwang tactfully challenges Westerners assumption that the Orient is destined to submit to the West.

4. Conclusion

As a Chinese American， David Hwang has an emotional affinity to his ancestral homeland China. In addition， Orientalist stereotypes have been used to exclude Asian American from participating in American life. Inspired by the Civil Rights Movements， the Asian American started the Asian American Movement and many Asian writers try to construct their identity by deconstructing what is falsely constructed as Orientalist men and Orientalist women. The Chinese American group is the most powerful group. David Hwangs M. Butterfly successfully subverted the image of Madam Butterfly， also known as the stereotype of “submissive Oriental woman”. Through the deconstruction， the minority groups in the US expressed their desire to be freed from the long-last stereotypes set by the dominant group.

References：

[1]Carignani，Carlo.Madame Butterfly：A Japanese tragedy.G.Ricordi&Co.1906.

[2]Cody，Gabrielle.“David Hwangs M.Butterfly：Perpetuating the Misogynist Myth”.Theatre 20.Spring（1989）：24-27.

[3]Hwang，David Henry.M.Butterfly.New York：A Plume Book，1989.

[4]陳愛敏.‘東方主義與美國華裔文學中的男性形象建構[J].外國文學研究，2004，（6）：79-84.