Martina Cowen, Section 13

Essay 11

M. Butterfly Song

1. Relationship

Songs relationship with Gallimard is a complicated one. He has been lying to him from the moment

they met. To keep up this pretence for twenty years was a true challenge, filled with the fear that he

will be found out. At the end of the play, when all is revealed, Song seems to be callous and hard-

hearted towards Gallimard, telling him that he simply views their relationship as his most

challenging acting role ever. However, when Gallimard doesnt want to see him anymore, it

becomes clear that perhaps Song did have feelings for him. After all, they do have a twenty-year

history. It would be almost impossible not to form some sort of attachment to him.

2. Conflict

One of the major points of conflict between Song and Gallimard is that as Song is pretending to be a

woman, he cannot reveal his naked body to Gallimard or else he will be found out. Because of this,

he constantly has to maintain the idea that she is too modest to show her body. Gallimard is often

frustrated with this, and although they do lie together, he never sees her naked. When he finally

demands that she strips for him, Song must come up with a new way to trick him. He tells Gallimard

he is pregnant in order to avoid being discovered.

3. The Moment Before

Song is an actor. He also works for the Communist Party. He has been recruited to act as a spy.

Men play female roles in Chinese opera, and so he was instructed to keep a close eye on Gallimard

and to seduce him. He spots him in the audience at his performance of Madame Butterfly and

observes him. He is not an attractive man. This will not be a pleasant assignment, but he knows it is

a challenge that he must undertake. If he does not, he will suffer the consequences from the

government.

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Essay 11

4. Humour

There is humour in the end of the play when Song takes off his disguise and strips for Gallimard. He

starts dancing around the room holding his costume up to his body, pretending to be a woman

again.

5. Opposites

The main opposite that Song exhibits is that while this was only supposed to be an assignment for

him, he clearly became attached to Gallimard over the twenty years that they knew each other.

Added to this, he is a man but he lived as a woman for that entire period too. Part of him is very

much feminine, rather than masculine.

6. Discoveries

While the biggest discovery in the play is Gallimards (that Song is in fact a man), Songs discovery is

at the end of the play too. While he denies that he has any feelings for Gallimard, and claims that he

was just a project, an acting challenge, when he discovers that Gallimard doesnt want to see him

anymore, he becomes very upset. He discovers that he does in fact have feelings for Gallimard and

is heartbroken to find out that they cannot be together now.

7. Communication and Competition

Throughout the play, Song is communicating secrets to the government without Gallimards

knowledge. Therefore, he must communicate to Gallimard that he is simply a shy, modest, innocent

girl so that he doesnt arouse suspicion. He does this by changing his voice, wearing makeup,

dressing up, and keeping in character at all times. The competition comes in at the end of the play

when Song is trying to convince Gallimard that Gallimard still loves Song. Song is increasingly

frustrated and upset by Gallimards lack of emotion and desire to live in a fantasy world rather than

be with Song.

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Essay 11

8. Importance

Song is ordered to undertake this role by the government. It is of the highest importance, as he is

acting as a spy to transfer information about America back to the Chinese government. The reason

this is so important to Song himself is that if he had refused, the government would have punished

him. If Gallimard found out he was a man all along, he would have failed his mission, but more

importantly, lost Gallimards trust. Additionally, it has been made clear to Song that homosexuality

is illegal, but there is no other way he can keep fooling Gallimard without giving in. When the

government found out about this, there were severe repercussions, and it almost ruined Songs life.

9. Find The Event

The big event is at the end of the play, when Song reveals that he is actually a man. This is the

climax of the play. The pretence that he has been upholding for twenty years is finally taken down.

He does not know how Gallimard is going to react, but when he finds that Gallimard does not want

to be with him anymore, it becomes apparent that Song has developed a strong attachment to him.

He has been with him for twenty years and is heartbroken that Gallimard doesnt want him

anymore.

10. Place

In China, the women are seen to be very submissive and feminine. There are a lot of stereotypes

surrounding Oriental women, and Song uses these to his advantage when he is seducing and

deceiving Gallimard. France is where he makes his transformation. It is fitting that he makes this

transformation away from the allure of China, because as a man he dresses in very Western-style

clothing. It is significant that Gallimard refuses Song as a man in France, as it shows that Song was

far more at home, at ease, and in control in China. In China he could fool Gallimard. In France,

Gallimard is in control. It is his territory.

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Essay 11

11. Game Playing and Role Playing

The whole point of this play is that Song is playing a part. He is playing the part of a good little

submissive Chinese woman. However, he inhabits this role for such a long time (twenty years) that

his persona as Butterfly becomes almost indistinguishable from himself.

12. Mystery and Secret

The big secret is that Song is lying to Gallimard the whole time. He is deceiving him beautifully. For

twenty years, he dressed up as Butterfly, put on an act and dealt with the stresses that this came

with. His entire relationship with Gallimard is based on a lie, and everything Song does is influenced

by this. There is another layer of secret however. It is a secret to Song that he does not find out

until the very end: that he does have feelings for Gallimard. He did not expect to fall in love with this

man, but he has not been able to help himself. Twenty years is a long time, and there is an

undeniable bond between the two of them that Song was not aware of until he was confronted with

it at the end.