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Yolanda Keren Rivera

Professor H Batty

English 102

17 October 2017

Rene the Man Behind a Suit

In the play M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, Rene Gallimard is a diplomat

from France who has been sent to Beijing. Settling into a new country, he meets Song

Liling a beautiful woman in traditional Chinese garb who is an opera singer. After

meeting her again at the Chinese Opera, Gallimard and Song become lovers but Rene

does not know Song is an operative and has been using him to collect valuable

information about the Vietnam War. At trial the truth is revealed that Song Liling is a

man, and Rene is left in disbelief. Feeling betrayed by Song, Rene chooses to believe his

own fantasy and creates his own ideal version of himself, which eventually leads him to

commit suicide. Rene, the man behind a suit has an identity crisis in both his public and

private life relating to his gender/social norms, title and sexuality.

The gender norms impacted by society during this time, also lead to Rene

Gallimards identity crisis. Social roles form a basis of norms, dealing with the behavior

of both genders male and female. Gender not only refers to male and female but to

masculine and feminine, qualities and characteristics that socially belongs to a certain

gender. His gender of being male makes him act more dominant he feels entitled because

of his sex. For example with Song Liling, says to his lover Gallimard. Are you my

Butterfly? (Act 1, Scene13, Line 28) In this line, Gallimard demands honesty from her.
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Another observation is how Hwang chose the name Rene for this character, maybe a

touch on his inner femininity. Which adds on about his gender role, in "Gender roles and

gender equality" by Haihambo, Edu-Twelimona he states Socially

constructed gender roles have gained increasing recognition as important factors affecting

the developmental, psychological, and relational well-being of men and women.

(Haihambo 2) Renes gender norms were confused, he was not true to himself or the

society thus making him greatly unstable. Both mentally and physically which takes a toll

on his public and private life, leading to the identity crisis.

Rene Gallimard struggled with his identity; an identity crisis is a necessary

turning point, a crucial moment, when development must move one way or another,

marshaling resources of growth, recovery, and further differentiation. (Erikson 1968, p.

16) Therefore Gallimard struggled and changed for his title and personal life, which

caused a peak with his identity crisis. His oldest best friend realized as well telling him

Toulon. Humility wont be a part of your job. Youre going to coordinate the revamped

intelligence division. Want to know a secret? A year ago you wouldve been out. But the

past few months, I dont know how it happened, youve become this new aggressive

confident . . . thing. (Act 1, Scene12, Line19) Renes title forces him to be more

aggressive and speak out, he had to become someone else, a different man in a suit to live

up to his social standard for everyone to see. His job of colonizing another country gives

him a lot of power being a man, its a very gender based title. Basically all major

qualities is what makes who we are, including biological facts, in the International

Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences says Mixed societal demands are particularly

problematic for identity formation and its refinement at a time when one is seeking
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continuity or looking to find a sense of ones uniqueness yet still fit within ones societal

parameters over time. This job of being a diplomat hinders his identity crisis because he

must meet a certain standard for his title. Also in his private life with Song Liling, there

love causes him to change. Rene states in Act 1, Scene 13 You have changed my life

forever. My little Butterfly, there should be no more secrets: I love you. (Line 30)

Although he did not know about Songs betrayal, he chooses to believe his emotions.

Rene Gallimard faces an identity crisis, the main reason being his sexuality. He

has always struggled with woman, Mark his friend insisted and told him that he needed to

be with all these women to make him a real man. Although Mark was in his pasted, his

influence was still very present. Rene Gallimard the diplomat loved Song Liling the spy,

but couldnt admit it to himself that he loved a man. In a journal by Bobker Danielle she

states, I have aimed to build on the existing critique of coming out discourse and

homosexual media visibility by showing that the public space beyond the homosexual

closet--the metaphorical zone one comes out into--has linguistic and conceptual origins.

(Bobker 3) I personally think Rene was in the closet due to his unstable identity. He

knew himself how he truly is, but couldnt admit. Rene Gallimard deeply struggles from

sexual confusion; his sexuality is unclear throughout the book. In a way he was stuck

inside this closet that only he can get out of by coming out. In Gender Trouble:

Feminism and the Subversion of Identity by Butler Judith, Some of the terror and

anxiety that some people suffer in becoming gay, the fear of los-ing ones place in

gender or of not knowing who one will be if one sleeps with someone of the ostensibly

same gender. Rene has to face the truth that he has been with a man for twenty years

and cant run away from reality. Gallimard. Im a man who loved a woman created by a
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man. Everything else --- simply falls short. (Act 3, Scene 2, Line 72) Rene Gallimard

had to realize that becoming his true self would come with consequences, and he must

commit. At the end of the play Rene Gallimard states, My name is Rene Gallimard also

known as Madame Butterfly. (Act 3, Scene 3, Line 1) Had to take on the role of a

woman, proving that his sexuality isnt what he thinks it is, then shortly after he-she

commits suicide.

The play M. Butterfly Rene Gallimard has an identity crisis due to his title,

gender norms and sexuality. The standards placed by society for each gender both male

and female has an affect for each individual not just during this time but also till this day.

Involving every aspect of a persons life again publically and privately, including each

personality meaning everyone is different and unique. But one main issue we face today

is how much pressure is put onto society, which leads most people to not being able to

stay true to them selves and depending on how big the problem may be, in some cases it

leads to suicide like it did with Rene Gallimard. In M Butterfly I learned overall to face

your own reality rather than ending your life to end the problems and by taking action to

die in your our fantasy rather than fighting and living for your true reality.
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Works Cited

Bobker, Danielle. "Coming out: Closet rhetoric and media publics." History of the

Present, vol. 5, no. 1, 2015, p. 31+. Expanded Academic ASAP

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York:

Routledge, 1990. Calhoun, Craig. Nationalism. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1997.

"Identity Crisis." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences edited by William A.

Darity, Jr., 2nd ed., vol. 3, Macmillan Reference USA, 2008, pp. 556-557. Gale Virtual

Reference Library

Haihambo, Edu-Twelimona. "Gender roles and gender equality." Sister Namibia, vol. 25,

no. 3, 2013, p. 24. Global Issues in Context

Hwang, David Henry. M. Butterfly. New York: Penguin Books, 198