Discussion Questions: M.

Butterfly (1988) by David Henry Hwang

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1. Focus on the characterization ofraster

represents western women

Renee in Act 2, Scene 6. What purpose do you think she

serves in the play? What does she represent or how does she help accentuate the play’s
themes? How do you interpret her conversation about a man’s genitals?

2. Why exactly do you think Gallimard asks Song to get naked towards the end of Act 2, Scene
6? And why does he later refuse to undress her when she lets him? Why should Gallimard be
&isgusted
repulsed when Song finally strips for him in Act 3, Scene 2? What has changed that could evoke
such disgust on his part?

3. What are your thoughts on the following passages from the play? What important ideas are
being conveyed in these passages?

3.1 — from page 849

SONG: Miss Chin? Why, in the Peking Opera, are women’s roles played by men?
CHIN: I don’t know. Maybe, a reactionary remnant of male —
SONG: No. (Beat) Because only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act.

3.2 — from page 859

SONG: One, because when he finally met his fantasy woman, he wanted more than anything to
believe she was, in fact, a woman. And second, I am an Oriental. And being Oriental, I could
never be completely a man. perform rowosdwdros wertern man

&
3.3 — from page 861
SONG: You know something, Rene? Your mouth says no, but your eyes say yes. Turn them
away. I dare you.

3.4 — from page 862

GALLIMARD: You, who knew every inch of my desires — how could you, of all people, have
made such a mistake?
SONG: What?
GALLIMARD: You showed me your true self. When all I loved was the lie. A perfect lie, which you
let fall to the ground — and now, it’s old and soiled.

3.5 — from page 862

SONG: [...] I’m disappointed in you, Rene. In the crush of your adoration, I thought you’d become
something more. More like … a woman.
But no. Men. You’re like the rest of them. It’s all in the way we dress, and make up our
faces, and bat our eyelashes. You really have so little imagination.
GALLIMARD: You, Monsieur Song? Accuse me of too little imagination? You, if anyone, should
know — I am pure imagination. And in imagination I will remain. Now Get out!

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4. How does the character of Gallimard evolve throughout the story? Would you say he is a
dynamic or developing character? Is Gallimard any wiser at the end of the play, or does he still
want the illusion? Also, what does it mean for him to become Madame Butterfly himself at the
end of the play?
5. Why does Hwang tell this story mostly in flashback through Gallimard’s eyes? Why does the
playwright not just do a straight play in linear time? confusing, obseionismanage

6. Now that you read the entire play, why do you think the play should be named M. Butterfly?
How does it build upon the name of Giacomo Puccini’s play Madame Butterfly? What
thematically important concepts does the name M. Butterfly point out? viooly stereotype, dove. Now
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