Why 'Butterfly' Needs to Die

Daniel Kong

             From left: Madama Butterfly, Austin Powers, and The World of Suzie Wong

串焼き (Kushiyaki) 

Not too long ago I visited Singapore. My uncle was getting married and I had gone back to “show face” at his wedding and to play some Bach at the dinner. The next day, I decided to go to a Japanese kushiyaki restaurant. I was there, studying maths, sipping tea, and wondering how big the hole in my wallet was going to be; when a man walked in. He was a white, rotund, and brash man on the wrong side of 60. The only thing worse than his body odour was that he sat on the table next to me, accompanied by a young Filipino girl less than half his age.

He sat on the table next to me, accompanied by a young Filipino girl.

These Madama Butterfly relationships, as explained to me later by my grand-aunt (the happy mother of the groom), are not unheard of in Singapore, where a sense of racial hierarchy has been normalised through colonisation. Though Singapore is considered one of the more progressive cities of the world; colonial values still define much of the collective worldview, establishing a clear sense of socioeconomic status based on race. However, for me, as an egalitarian Australian, I was furious at the man’s obnoxious sense of entitlement as he whistled loudly as if he owned the restaurant and mansplained to both his apathetic Filipino ‘geisha’ and the waiters who were ordered to get him, “the spiciest food” and to bring out, “my ice cream” once he finished his meal… I kid you not.

“Her mouth says no, but her eyes say yes.”

(Song Liling, M. Butterfly, Hwang, pg. 83).

梁山伯与祝英台 (Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai; or The Butterfly Lovers)

“The West thinks of itself as masculine—big guns, big industry, big money—so the East is feminine—weak, delicate, poor… The West believes the East, deep down, wants to be dominated.” 

(Song Liling, in M. Butterfly, Hwang, 1988 p. 83)

“Orientalism,” a term coined by Edward Said, best describes East-West interactions in contemporary society. We in the West claim to have abandoned the 19th century imperialist values, but are still surprised when greeted with an extroverted Japanese woman. These views aren’t just upheld by the “butterfly lover” Western countries; but have been internalised by Singaporeans themselves. Internalised racism, or the ‘White gaze,’ is the acceptance of negative stereotypes by the stigmatised group about their own race, and for many Asian countries, this is the product of Orientalist values being imposed upon them by Western media and society. The dichotomy of the coloniser and colonised is a dance for two; a waltz where the Western masculine leads the Eastern feminine around the floor. Truthfully, in places such as Singapore, the White gaze is now so assimilated that it creates a society of butterflies who pin themselves onto boards in the Smithsonian.

The White gaze creates a society of butterflies who pin themselves onto boards.

Monsieur Butterfly

“There is a vision of the Orient that I have. Of slender women in chong sams and kimonos who die for the love of unworth foreign devils. Who are born and raised to be the perfect women. Who take whatever punishment we give them, and bounce back, strengthened by love, unconditionally.”

(Rene Gallimard, M. Butterfly, 1988, p. 91)

David Henry Hwang’s play M. Butterfly challenges the romanticisation of the East; deconstructing the ideologies behind the stereotypes of ‘china dolls,’ lotus blossoms,’ and ‘butterflies’ (which define much of Western media’s representation of the East) through the unique relationship between the characters Rene Gallimard and Song Liling. 

“The diplomat must have fallen in love, not with a person, but with a fantasy stereotype.”

(David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly p. 94, Afterword)

Gallimard is based, in part, on the controversial court case of Bernard Boursicot. Hwang states, “the diplomat must have fallen in love, not with a person, but with a fantasy stereotype.” Characterised by a desire for power over others; Gallimard acts as a mouthpiece for Western Orientalism, sexualising China as a submissive feminine country. Gallimard’s desire for power and lust for the Orientalist girl is most clearly expressed as he demands to Song “are you my butterfly?” attempting to reflect Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and force Song to become his servant. However, the power dynamics of the dominant, cruel White man and the submissive Oriental bride are inverted by Gallimard’s submissiveness to Song. Gallimard believes he is in control, but has been manipulated by Song from their first interactions. 

The trope of the submissive Oriental bride who sacrifices herself for love is another parallel between M. Butterfly and Madama Butterfly. Speaking of Madama Butterfly, Gallimard states, “It's a pure sacrifice. He's unworthy, but what can she do?” Song adopts this trope as they seduce Gallimard and garner information for the Chinese People’s Party; however, in doing so, Song has overturned the Western assumptions of the time, inverting the Colonial hierarchy of West over East and giving voice to marginalised Asians. Hence, Hwang calls Western and Eastern audiences to reexamine their roles in society and deconstruct the normalised racial hierarchy.

Western audiences are encouraged to reflect on their own prejudices and the normalised romanticisation of the East through Song’s satirising of Madama Butterfly:

“Consider it this way: what would you say if a blonde homecoming queen fell in love with a short Japanese businessman?... But because it's an Oriental who kills herself for a Westerner-ah!-you find it beautiful.”

  (Song Liling, M. Butterfly, Hwang, 1988, p. 17)

Hwang’s use of humour and irony allows both Western and Eastern audiences to laugh at Song’s statement and at their own racial prejudices. By doing as such, Hwang encourages the audience to examine their own assumptions and perhaps realise their own biases.

Butterfly? Butterfly?

“I could escape this feeling

With my China girl…”

(David Bowie, China Girl, 1983)

Contemporary Western society valorises equality. We have Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, Marriage Equality; but where is the movement for Asians? In the end, we Asians are marginalised; not just by White society, but because we believe that we do not have the right to speak up. Both parties, Asians and Whites, need to realise that Asians are just as human as the ‘more developed’ races; not just for display as butterflies pinned to a board or china dolls on a shelf. Just like in Puccini’s opera, Butterfly needs to die; but this time we will metamorphosize in this death, becoming tigers and dragons that will roar out our griefs to the world.