M. Butterfly
M. Butterfly: Summary
Act I
Scenes 1-3
M. Butterfly opens in present-day Paris. Rene Gallimard is in a small prison cell. He describes his monotonous daily routine, and then confides that he is no ordinary prisoner, but a celebrity. People talk about him at parties from Amsterdam to New York. Scene 2 shows three people at a party joking about Gallimard, and the joke obviously has something to do with sex. Scene 3 returns to Gallimard's cell, and he confides that he has been loved by the "Perfect Woman.'' He then says that to understand his story, the audience must know the opera Madame Butterfly, by Giacomo Puccini. He describes the opera and plays some of the music from it on his tape recorder. His old school friend Marc appears as one of thecharacters, …show more content…
and Gallimard assumes the role of Pinkerton, the American sailor who wins the heart of Butterfly, the Japanese girl, and then betrays her.
Scenes 4-5
Scene 4 flashes back to 1947, at a school in Aix-en-Provence, France. Marc tries to persuade Gallimard to accompany him to a party, promising that there will be plenty of girls available, but Gallimard refuses to go. He lacks confidence with girls. Scene 5 returns to Gallimard's cell, and Gallimard further explains the plot of Madame Butterfly, commenting that in real life, it is not easy to find a woman who will give herself so completely to a man. The closest to it are the girls who pose in pornographic magazines. As Gallimard...
(The entire page is 1403 words.)
Summary and Analysis
Act I, Scenes 1-6: Summary and Analysis
New Characters
Rene Gallimard: The 65-year-old protagonist and narrator, who is incarcerated and identifies with Pinkerton, the character from the opera Madame Butterfly.
Song: Gallimard’s lover, who he never realizes is a Chinese man who is only dressed as an exotic Eastern woman.
Man 1: A society figure who discusses the Gallimard affair.
Man 2: A society figure who discusses the Gallimard affair.
Women: A society figure who discusses the Gallimard affair.
Marc: Gallimard’s friend from student days who also adopts the role of Sharpless from the opera.
Girl: The ideal woman from a girly magazine.
Suzuki/Comrade Chin: The servant of Cio-Cio-San, who also appears as Suzuki from Madame Butterfly.
Helga: Gallimard’s wife, the daughter of an ambassador.
Summary
M. Butterfly, the famous play by David Hwang, contains intricate ties toMadame Butterfly, the Puccini Opera. However, a note by the playwright David Hwang informs the reader that the action of his play is loosely based on an improbable espionage case in which a former French diplomat was in love with a man whom he believed to be a woman for over twenty years. The play begins with Gallimard in a prison cell, haunted by visions of the “Butterfly,” the tragic heroine in Puccini’s opera, Madame Butterfly. Alone in his cell, Gallimard addresses the audience,...
(The entire page is 2386 words.)
Want to read the whole thing?
Subscribe now to read the rest of this article. Plus, get access to more than 30,000+ study guides!
READ MORE
Act I, Scenes 7-13: Summary and Analysis
New
Characters
Ambassador Toulon: Gallimard’s boss at the Beijing embassy.
Summary
Scene 7 opens with Gallimard and his wife discussing the arrogance of the Chinese in general and specifically Gallimard’s recollections of Song.. Helga points out the contradiction in this woman performing as a character she hates and believes false.
His curiosity piqued by his wife’s questions, Gallimard attends a Chinese opera in which Song is performing in scene 8. He is the only Westerner in the opera house, and Song addresses him derisively. The two exchange aggressive, straightforward dialogue. Gradually theconversation turns towards what white (imperialists) want. Before long, the two are outside Song’s flat. Song leaves Gallimard there, on the street. Gallimard is greatly impressed by his own suave behavior, but he does not realize that he is being duped.
Upon returning home in scene 9, Gallimard, for the first time in themarriage, lies to his wife about where he has been. After falling asleep, he dreams his childhood friend, Marc, goads Gallimard to cheat on his wife. Marc mentions stereotypical roles that Gallimard can play to insure success with his new lady friend. Suddenly, Song, too, appears in the dream. As Marc exclaims, Gallimard’s wait for an ideal woman will soon be over. A ringing phone interrupts Gallimard’s dream of Marc. Song has called at an inappropriate hour to invite Gallimard to... Read more.
(The entire section is 1447 words.)
Act II, scenes 1-7: Summary and Analysis
New Characters
Chin: This actor played the part of Suzuki, Cio-Cio-San’s assistant, in the portrayal of the opera, but now she appears as Song’s comrade and intermediary with China.
Renee: A young Western woman with whom Gallimard has a brief affair.
Summary
In his cell, Gallimard repeats and dismisses some perfunctory commentary on Puccini’s opera. In his opinion, very few men would pass up the opportunity to be a man like Pinkerton.
Scene 2 opens with a flashback to newfound domestic bliss. According to Gallimard, he and Song have set up a nice flat. During a glimpse of their domestic life, the audience sees how Song asks pointed questions to learn state secrets, such as “What’s happening in Vietnam?”
Gallimard’s attention abruptly shifts to the Beijing embassy in scene 3. Toulon and Gallimard discuss the situation Vietnam. Toulon lets slip that he knows Gallimard has a mistress. This impresses Toulon and confirms Gallimard’s expertise about the Chinese. Furthermore, Toulon assumes that the mistress is gorgeous. Gallimard gives advice based on secret intelligence. His advice, which ultimately proves wrong, is based on his stereotypes of Orientals. Gallimard suggests, “The Orientals simply want to be associated with whoever shows the most strength and power.”
Again, Gallimard makes the incorrect assumption that the Oriental will bow to superior power. His reason is... Read more.
(The entire section is 1580 words.)
Act II, scenes 8-11: Summary and Analysis
New Characters
Gallimard is completely lovesick after the news that Song is pregnant. Song tries to explain to him why divorcing his wife and marrying her is not a viable option. During the conversation that ensues, Song continues to get the upper hand by emphasizing the meek qualities that reinforce the Oriental female stereotype. She is “not worthy.” Of course, she also doesn’t want him to do anything that would endanger his position in the embassy and thus her source of pertinent information.
The two continue to discuss the plans for the child, whom they assume will be a boy. Song insists on raising him in China. The conversation ends with an aside by Gallimard to the audience in which he admits that Song is, once again, completely in charge.
Scene 9 abruptly shifts ahead three years, to 1966. Gallimard explains how China has changed. Mao is old and contact with foreigners is frowned upon. Gallimard’s apartment has been confiscated by the Communist Party, and Toulon informs Gallimard that he will be sent back to France. Toulon blames Gallimard for faulty analysis of the situation in Vietnam because Gallimard’s predictions have not proved accurate. The Vietnamese have not rolled over for the U.S.A. like the meek Oriental stereotype.
Song’s fortunes are also changing for the worse. He is apprehended by party officials and made to renounce his “decadent profession,” of acting. In a moment of candor, he is... Read more.
(The entire section is 1070 words.)
Act III, scenes 1-3: Summary and Analysis
New Characters
Judge: The man who oversees Gallimard’s trial.
Summary
Song’s transformation, which began at the end of the last act, is complete. No longer the Butterfly, he is dressed in a well-cut suit and is in a Paris courthouse. It is now 1986, the year in which the French espionage scandal mentioned in the playwright’s notes hit the press.
The audience is finally treated to Song’s interpretation of events; the action is no longer flashbacks in Gallimard’s mind, but actual courtroom testimony. Song tells the judge how he came to Paris, how Gallimard supported him and how he manipulated Gallimard to apply for positions where he would be handling sensitive material that would be useful to Comrade Chin. Song denies that Gallimard ever knew that he was passing along the material to the Chinese.
Finally, the judge asks what everyone wants to know: did Gallimard ever know that “she” was a man? The answer is not simple. Song speaks of details like Gallimard never seeing him naked, but fails to give a yes/no answer. Of course, this does not satisfy the judge. Song continues, explaining that he, Song, “did all the work.” Song goes on to explain the main reason his deceit worked: men simply believe what they want to. In this case, Gallimard wanted to believe the stereotypical ideal of the meek, submissive Oriental woman. Song complied and Gallimard was successfully duped. In his explanation,... Read more.
(The entire section is 1746 words.)
Comrade Chin
Comrade Chin is the Chinese Communist Party official who instructs Song to spy. Chin unthinkingly accepts communist doctrine. As the representative of the Communist Party during the revolutionary upheavals in the 1960s, she supervises Song's confession of his offenses against party dogma.
Rene Gallimard
Gallimard is a former French diplomat who has been imprisoned for treason. His crime was passing classified documents to the Chinese, through his lover, Song. Gallimard is an unimpressive man, who by his own admission is not ''witty or clever.’’ At high school, he was voted ‘‘least likely to be invited to a party.’’ He is uncomfortable in his relations with the opposite sex, and has had little success in romance. He married for practical reasons rather than for love. However, he still longs for a beautiful woman who will be completely devoted to him. When he thinks he has found such a woman in Song, he gains pleasure in dominating her, and behaves arrogantly and cruelly towards her. This makes him feel for the first time that he is a real man. Eventually, however, he does develop a genuine love for Song. As a diplomat, Gallimard is a failure, and is ordered back to France for giving poor advice to the French ambassador. Gallimard's greatest mistake, however, is that he fails to realize that Song, his long-time lover, is, in fact, a man. When his error is revealed at his trial, he becomes a laughing-stock in France...
Act I
Scenes 1-3
M. Butterfly opens in present-day Paris. Rene Gallimard is in a small prison cell. He describes his monotonous daily routine, and then confides that he is no ordinary prisoner, but a celebrity. People talk about him at parties from Amsterdam to New York. Scene 2 shows three people at a party joking about Gallimard, and the joke obviously has something to do with sex. Scene 3 returns to Gallimard's cell, and he confides that he has been loved by the "Perfect Woman.'' He then says that to understand his story, the audience must know the opera Madame Butterfly, by Giacomo Puccini. He describes the opera and plays some of the music from it on his tape recorder. His old school friend Marc appears as one of thecharacters, …show more content…
and Gallimard assumes the role of Pinkerton, the American sailor who wins the heart of Butterfly, the Japanese girl, and then betrays her.
Scenes 4-5
Scene 4 flashes back to 1947, at a school in Aix-en-Provence, France. Marc tries to persuade Gallimard to accompany him to a party, promising that there will be plenty of girls available, but Gallimard refuses to go. He lacks confidence with girls. Scene 5 returns to Gallimard's cell, and Gallimard further explains the plot of Madame Butterfly, commenting that in real life, it is not easy to find a woman who will give herself so completely to a man. The closest to it are the girls who pose in pornographic magazines. As Gallimard...
(The entire page is 1403 words.)
Summary and Analysis
Act I, Scenes 1-6: Summary and Analysis
New Characters
Rene Gallimard: The 65-year-old protagonist and narrator, who is incarcerated and identifies with Pinkerton, the character from the opera Madame Butterfly.
Song: Gallimard’s lover, who he never realizes is a Chinese man who is only dressed as an exotic Eastern woman.
Man 1: A society figure who discusses the Gallimard affair.
Man 2: A society figure who discusses the Gallimard affair.
Women: A society figure who discusses the Gallimard affair.
Marc: Gallimard’s friend from student days who also adopts the role of Sharpless from the opera.
Girl: The ideal woman from a girly magazine.
Suzuki/Comrade Chin: The servant of Cio-Cio-San, who also appears as Suzuki from Madame Butterfly.
Helga: Gallimard’s wife, the daughter of an ambassador.
Summary
M. Butterfly, the famous play by David Hwang, contains intricate ties toMadame Butterfly, the Puccini Opera. However, a note by the playwright David Hwang informs the reader that the action of his play is loosely based on an improbable espionage case in which a former French diplomat was in love with a man whom he believed to be a woman for over twenty years. The play begins with Gallimard in a prison cell, haunted by visions of the “Butterfly,” the tragic heroine in Puccini’s opera, Madame Butterfly. Alone in his cell, Gallimard addresses the audience,...
(The entire page is 2386 words.)
Want to read the whole thing?
Subscribe now to read the rest of this article. Plus, get access to more than 30,000+ study guides!
READ MORE
Act I, Scenes 7-13: Summary and Analysis
New
Characters
Ambassador Toulon: Gallimard’s boss at the Beijing embassy.
Summary
Scene 7 opens with Gallimard and his wife discussing the arrogance of the Chinese in general and specifically Gallimard’s recollections of Song.. Helga points out the contradiction in this woman performing as a character she hates and believes false.
His curiosity piqued by his wife’s questions, Gallimard attends a Chinese opera in which Song is performing in scene 8. He is the only Westerner in the opera house, and Song addresses him derisively. The two exchange aggressive, straightforward dialogue. Gradually theconversation turns towards what white (imperialists) want. Before long, the two are outside Song’s flat. Song leaves Gallimard there, on the street. Gallimard is greatly impressed by his own suave behavior, but he does not realize that he is being duped.
Upon returning home in scene 9, Gallimard, for the first time in themarriage, lies to his wife about where he has been. After falling asleep, he dreams his childhood friend, Marc, goads Gallimard to cheat on his wife. Marc mentions stereotypical roles that Gallimard can play to insure success with his new lady friend. Suddenly, Song, too, appears in the dream. As Marc exclaims, Gallimard’s wait for an ideal woman will soon be over. A ringing phone interrupts Gallimard’s dream of Marc. Song has called at an inappropriate hour to invite Gallimard to... Read more.
(The entire section is 1447 words.)
Act II, scenes 1-7: Summary and Analysis
New Characters
Chin: This actor played the part of Suzuki, Cio-Cio-San’s assistant, in the portrayal of the opera, but now she appears as Song’s comrade and intermediary with China.
Renee: A young Western woman with whom Gallimard has a brief affair.
Summary
In his cell, Gallimard repeats and dismisses some perfunctory commentary on Puccini’s opera. In his opinion, very few men would pass up the opportunity to be a man like Pinkerton.
Scene 2 opens with a flashback to newfound domestic bliss. According to Gallimard, he and Song have set up a nice flat. During a glimpse of their domestic life, the audience sees how Song asks pointed questions to learn state secrets, such as “What’s happening in Vietnam?”
Gallimard’s attention abruptly shifts to the Beijing embassy in scene 3. Toulon and Gallimard discuss the situation Vietnam. Toulon lets slip that he knows Gallimard has a mistress. This impresses Toulon and confirms Gallimard’s expertise about the Chinese. Furthermore, Toulon assumes that the mistress is gorgeous. Gallimard gives advice based on secret intelligence. His advice, which ultimately proves wrong, is based on his stereotypes of Orientals. Gallimard suggests, “The Orientals simply want to be associated with whoever shows the most strength and power.”
Again, Gallimard makes the incorrect assumption that the Oriental will bow to superior power. His reason is... Read more.
(The entire section is 1580 words.)
Act II, scenes 8-11: Summary and Analysis
New Characters
Gallimard is completely lovesick after the news that Song is pregnant. Song tries to explain to him why divorcing his wife and marrying her is not a viable option. During the conversation that ensues, Song continues to get the upper hand by emphasizing the meek qualities that reinforce the Oriental female stereotype. She is “not worthy.” Of course, she also doesn’t want him to do anything that would endanger his position in the embassy and thus her source of pertinent information.
The two continue to discuss the plans for the child, whom they assume will be a boy. Song insists on raising him in China. The conversation ends with an aside by Gallimard to the audience in which he admits that Song is, once again, completely in charge.
Scene 9 abruptly shifts ahead three years, to 1966. Gallimard explains how China has changed. Mao is old and contact with foreigners is frowned upon. Gallimard’s apartment has been confiscated by the Communist Party, and Toulon informs Gallimard that he will be sent back to France. Toulon blames Gallimard for faulty analysis of the situation in Vietnam because Gallimard’s predictions have not proved accurate. The Vietnamese have not rolled over for the U.S.A. like the meek Oriental stereotype.
Song’s fortunes are also changing for the worse. He is apprehended by party officials and made to renounce his “decadent profession,” of acting. In a moment of candor, he is... Read more.
(The entire section is 1070 words.)
Act III, scenes 1-3: Summary and Analysis
New Characters
Judge: The man who oversees Gallimard’s trial.
Summary
Song’s transformation, which began at the end of the last act, is complete. No longer the Butterfly, he is dressed in a well-cut suit and is in a Paris courthouse. It is now 1986, the year in which the French espionage scandal mentioned in the playwright’s notes hit the press.
The audience is finally treated to Song’s interpretation of events; the action is no longer flashbacks in Gallimard’s mind, but actual courtroom testimony. Song tells the judge how he came to Paris, how Gallimard supported him and how he manipulated Gallimard to apply for positions where he would be handling sensitive material that would be useful to Comrade Chin. Song denies that Gallimard ever knew that he was passing along the material to the Chinese.
Finally, the judge asks what everyone wants to know: did Gallimard ever know that “she” was a man? The answer is not simple. Song speaks of details like Gallimard never seeing him naked, but fails to give a yes/no answer. Of course, this does not satisfy the judge. Song continues, explaining that he, Song, “did all the work.” Song goes on to explain the main reason his deceit worked: men simply believe what they want to. In this case, Gallimard wanted to believe the stereotypical ideal of the meek, submissive Oriental woman. Song complied and Gallimard was successfully duped. In his explanation,... Read more.
(The entire section is 1746 words.)
Comrade Chin
Comrade Chin is the Chinese Communist Party official who instructs Song to spy. Chin unthinkingly accepts communist doctrine. As the representative of the Communist Party during the revolutionary upheavals in the 1960s, she supervises Song's confession of his offenses against party dogma.
Rene Gallimard
Gallimard is a former French diplomat who has been imprisoned for treason. His crime was passing classified documents to the Chinese, through his lover, Song. Gallimard is an unimpressive man, who by his own admission is not ''witty or clever.’’ At high school, he was voted ‘‘least likely to be invited to a party.’’ He is uncomfortable in his relations with the opposite sex, and has had little success in romance. He married for practical reasons rather than for love. However, he still longs for a beautiful woman who will be completely devoted to him. When he thinks he has found such a woman in Song, he gains pleasure in dominating her, and behaves arrogantly and cruelly towards her. This makes him feel for the first time that he is a real man. Eventually, however, he does develop a genuine love for Song. As a diplomat, Gallimard is a failure, and is ordered back to France for giving poor advice to the French ambassador. Gallimard's greatest mistake, however, is that he fails to realize that Song, his long-time lover, is, in fact, a man. When his error is revealed at his trial, he becomes a laughing-stock in France...