Sara Ramirez Dr. Heltzel UIC Eng. 114, Colonial and Post-Colonial Lit.

19 February 2013 The Western Mens Perspective of Asian Women: Stereotypes Made in M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang In the play M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, Rene Gallimard, the narrator and main character, starts the story of his lifelong romantic ignorance that led him to be convicted of treason and to be incarcerated. Before Gallimard starts his story, he explains his favorite opera Madame Butterfly to the audience, which is parallel to Gillimards life throughout the play. The opera is described as the story of an Asian woman named Cio-Cio-San, also known as Butterfly, who gives up her life for her American husband, Benjamin Pinkerton, because he abandoned her and married an American woman after they had a child together. Afterwards, Gallimard tells the story of how he met Song, his mistress who is actually a male Chinese spy, how his life played out during his 20 year relationship with her, and how he ended up in jail because of their relationship. Throughout the play, Hwang, who at times uses a culturally stereotypical and humorous tone, embeds events into Gallimards life that demonstrates the stereotypes that Western men have of Asian women. Western men seem to believe that all Asian women are feminine, traditional, exotic, and submissive women who are in need of Western protection like Cio-CioSan from Madame Butterfly. Also, as shown in Hwangs version of Pinkerton, we can also see how the Western men also thought that Asian women were easy to marry, willing to tolerate infidelity, and completely devoted and dependent on Western men. At a larger scale, Western men also viewed all of the East as feminine and the West as masculine. For example, when Song states

how he couldnt ever truly be a man because he was Asian, one can see that the West set up the stereotype that Asians were in a sense weaker than the Westerners. However, throughout the play, Hwang also shows how those stereotypes are not true. Hwang illustrates many of the stereotypes through Gallimards idea of a perfect woman, the fantasy that Asian women are completely reserved, submissive, and devoted to their husbands. Gallimard believes he found his perfect woman in Song. Sadly, Gallimard does not know that his perfect woman is in fact a man who is manipulating him. Thus, Gallimard does not realize the flipped roles; Song becomes the Pinkerton of the story and Gallimard becomes Butterfly. Throughout the play, the reader gets a clear picture of how intensely mistaken the western mens perspective of Asian woman is and how that flawed stereotype ingrained in Gallimards mentality fueled the destruction of his life. For example, after Gallimard starts an extra-extramarital affair with Renee, a beautiful student from Denmark, in 1963, Renee starts to analyze the attention a mans penis receives on one of their encounters. Renee states that you [men] conquer the country, or whatever, but youre still wearing clothes, so theres no way to prove absolutely whose [penis is] bigger or smaller. [...] The whole world run by a bunch of men with pricks the size of pins (44). Through this analogy, Renee not only questions the role of the penis in modern society, like Gallimard puts it, but unintentionally foreshadows the reality that lies behind the universal stereotype that men are different based on a meager physical or, in Renees eyes, character trait. In this way, Renee also becomes the voice of the author, who is trying to challenge an established stereotype. The men who try to hide their little weenie through successes is Renees way of saying that no one will truly know the size of a mans penis unless it is proven, or, in other words, that someone sees and compares them. In this same way, the reader can compare this conclusion to Hwangs message: western men cannot know how Asian women are supposed to act unless the men experience how

Asian women are themselves. Moreover, one cannot conclude that Western women and Asian women
will act differently from one another. Renee plays off the idea that Gallimard fell in love with a intangible woman that a man created, which challenges Gallimards fantasy of a submissive woman. Also, the last

line that Renee says could be seen as Hwangs way of stating that Western mens perspective of Asian women is closed minded and not entirely correct. Furthermore, after Song tells Gallimard that she is pregnant, Song tells Chin that all he [Gallimard] wants is for her [Butterfly] to submit. Once a woman submits, a [Western] man is always ready to become generous (48). Song manipulated Gallimards dream of becoming Pinkerton by allowing him to believe that he was taking on the role. However, Gallimard was so deep into the fantasy that he did not even realize he was situating himself in the wrong role. Gallimard fell deeply in love with Song, and Song manipulated that knowledge just like Pinkerton did when he found out Cio-Cio-San was in love with him. Song becomes Pinkerton, and therefore, Hwang cunningly shows the imperfection in the western mens perception of Asian women. He demonstrates that the stereotype can apply to more than just Asian women; anyone could become a Butterfly. Also, Songs plan later bears fruit when Gallimard openly receives Song in Paris and says, Ive forgotten everything. My mind, you seethere wasnt enough room in this hard headnot for the world and for you (58). At this instance, Hwang is showing the tremendous grip the Western stereotype had on Gallimard. Gallimard openly admits that Song was in control of his mind, and at this point, Gallimard relinquishes control of himself to Song and completely transforms into Songs Butterfly. Song creates Gallimards fantasy of having a woman who fits the Western stereotype of Asian women by adding signs of submission in their daily lives. However, even though Song does demonstrate the stereotypical behavior that Western men associate with Asian women, there is an underlying irony through the fact that Song is actually a man that uses the Western stereotype to

manipulate Gallimard. Through this established irony, the reader can clearly realizes that the western stereotype of Asian women is clearly flawed. Like Song states at the end of Act two, Rene, Ive never done what youve said. Why should it be any different in your mind? Now splitthe story moves on, and I must change (59). Song reveals his masculinity, which consequently
shatters Gallimards fantasy life. Gallimard realizes the hard way that his perception, ingrained by

his society and reinforced by his mind and friends, of Asian women is not always true, and while Gallimard tells his story and remains in denial, he becomes the symbol of the western mens flawed cultural perspective of Asian women.