"Big Guns, Big Money": Gallimard's Infatuation with Orientalism

Here I am again, talking about fragile male egos for the HUNDREDTH time.

We're talking about David Henry Hwang's play M. Butterfly (1988). You guys know I love a good romance, and Hwang is SERVING. We're introduced to the imperialist fantasy of prisoner Rene Gallimard and the 'Perfect Woman' Song Liling, who is revealed to be:

 

drumroll...

·       a spy for the Chinese government

·       a man masquerading as a woman

·       a man who faked a pregnancy

·       and the list goes on.

 

But that's not even the worst part. He fooled him for TWENTY years. I mean, countries fall in that amount of time.

 

But most importantly, the play explores some deeply rooted cultural stereotypes. For example, the ways in which Western media intentionally paints the 'East' as feminine and the 'West' as masculine. It's kind of like dragging down your friend to make yourself seem important. You know those toxic friendships? It's like that. But add some sauce.

Anyways, brace yourselves, because we're going straight into the theory.

1. Let's talk about Orientalism

 

Hwang is a KING, and his play does not upset. He is the voice that us marginalised Asian voices needed. Basically, Hwang exposes how rampant Orientalism is in American society. If you didn't know, Orientalism represents the Orient as inferior and subservient. On the other hand, it represents Occidental people as heroic and dominant. Kind of like this TikTok - Click HERE!

 

2. Song is a #Queen

 

This is where things get interesting. Song has to act as a woman to get information from Gallimard. But that brings the question, how exactly does one simply become a convincing woman?

  

Apparently, there IS a step-by-step method. Allow me to introduce you to Judith Butler. A revolutionary theorist who invented gender performativity, she argued that the gendered identity is not based off biological differences, but instead, is a product of culture. So by adopting traits that our culture deems to be feminine, Song achieves his goal of tricking Gallimard. 

Yes, It's conniving. Yes, it's deceitful. But honestly? #Queen. 

But enough explanation. Let's get into the good analysis stuff.

 

3. Gallimard is a thirsty old man

Yes, Gallimard is a wimp, and that's why he is so easily manipulated by Song. But it's also due to the fact that Song characterises Butterfly in the way that a Western man would see an Oriental woman. 

When Song tells Gallimard that:

 

“A small, frightened heart beats too quickly. Monsieur Gallimard, I’m a Chinese girl."

 

Obviously, we know that Song is acting. But Gallimard doesn't know that. So the characterisation of Butterfly - modest, inexperienced, obedient - fits into Gallimard's perspective of how Oriental women SHOULD act. It's called dramatic irony, by the way. I mean, it's also kind of sickening. But it makes Gallimard feel more masculine, and more empowered, so he's shamelessly eating this up. 

At the same time, Song is enabling this. I mean, PLEASE. What's even more annoying is that Song even uses this whiny, pleading tone, so to Gallimard, it looks like he's got the upper hand in this power dynamic. He's even used the power of male authority to snag Butterfly as his lover, so he THINKS he is peaking in life.

Like, come on. Butterfly is probably Gallimard's wet dream. 

            

And sadly, it is because Gallimard wants, and needs, to buy into this illusion of identifying as a dominant and influential 'Western' man that people want him to be, that he has ended up this way.

 

4. AITA for being racist, colonialist and cheating on my wife?

 

Poor Gallimard, digging a hole deeper and deeper for himself. It's like those Greek tragedies, where hamartia causes the protagonist's downfall. Gallimard's tragic flaw is that he can't see things as it is, because he's blinded by the Orientalist mentality imposed on him by Western society. Sadly, Gallimard is a product of his time and place. Like Song says:

 

“The West thinks of itself as masculine—big guns, big industry, big money—so the East is feminine—weak, delicate, poor ...”

Everything about the West is supposed to be BIG BIG BIG. But, too bad for the East, because that means that they get nothing. Like Song said, the East MUST be characterised as 'weak' and 'poor' so that the West can maintain their 'big-dick' status. A phallocentric and Eurocentric society? That's the dream. That's what's been drilled into Gallimard's mind since Day 1.

Obviously, I'm not trying to excuse Gallimard. If the word limit was 1000 more words extra, I would spend all of it dissing Gallimard. But at the same time, he's really just a minion in a powerful ideological structure that has forced him to be this way.

 

5. Men are always correct

 

You've probably heard on Instagram or TikTok the phrase, "People believe what they want to believe." It's called confirmation bias, and it's the reason that Gallimard was so quick to believe Song's persona. 

Or, in Song's words, 

"Rule One is: Men always believe what they want to hear.”

Pretty good advice, in my opinion. 

However it's equally dark. The egotistical and narcissistic representation of men that 'always believe what they want to hear' exposes some harsh truths about the superiority of men within the patriarchy. And it's ironic, because historically, women have been the victims of mansplaining. We get TOLD what rules we have to follow. But Hwang switches it around in this satirical kind of way, so it looks like a man is telling a man what to do. Although, either way, we get a man dictating things anyways, so that suggests that maybe we haven't progressed that much after all.

6. Finally, some good character development

But then, we finally see that Gallimard isn't just stupidly following the rules of society. Gallimard ACTUALLY courageously rebels against the oppressive homosexual stigmas and racial stereotypes of society, by symbolically donning Song's kimono and wig in the final scene of the play. He says:

 

“Love warped my judgment, blinded my eyes, rearranged the very lines on my face... until I could look in the mirror and see nothing but... a woman.” 

 

...A woman? Really?

Yes, really. It's a metaphor, though, because Gallimard doesn't actually identify as a woman. He hasn't actually been 'blinded,' either. But the woman in the mirror acts as a synecdoche for Gallimard's change of heart. It's a turning point in the plot, because Gallimard FINALLY acknowledges that his Orientalist perspective actually messed things up for him. So congratulations to Gallimard, for finally breaking away from the mould of the stereotypical 'Western' man.

   

7. What now?

I guess I've blabbed enough about dear Gallimard and his fantasy wife. Dear readers and queens, after reading this play, I believe that it's time to demand a re-examination of how politics, imperialism and orientalism can destroy even the closest relationships between people.

Sidney