Playwrights on Their Plays

We live in a world today that is growing rapidly more aware of the way it approaches issues of gender and sexuality. Despite some continuing controversies, there is an increasing acceptance of not only discussions of sexuality, but also of diverse sexual orientations. Dialogue about gender, too, has risen from internal conflicts to governmental debates asking, “Should one be allowed to change their gender on a birth certificate?” Growing up in the 21st century and studying at a liberal arts college that strives to be inclusive of all genders and sexualities, we are all immediately engaged in these questions individually and collectively. The College approaches these subjects in a multitude of ways, be it through gender inclusive bathrooms, all-gender housing, the Queer Studies House, academic departments or even research labs.

David Henry Hwang’s play M. Butterfly heavily explores the ideas of gender and sexuality by documenting the relationship between two men, French ambassador Rene Gallimard and Chinese Spy Song Liling, that goes hidden underneath several layers of heterosexual fantasy for 20 years. Critics commonly remark that the fantasy stresses the stereotypes of the dominant Western culture over its submissive Eastern counterpart. Hwang’s play parallels the tale of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, in which a white American man falls for a 15-year-old Japanese woman. The love story ends when she commits suicide upon learning that her lover has betrayed her for another woman in the U.S.

Although audiences everywhere question cultural stereotypes in both Hwang’s and Puccini’s works, the bigger question remains: How is it possible that Gallimard does not know that Song is a man throughout their affair? Some believe that Gallimard’s blindness to Song’s gender is created by the fantasy of a modest Asian lover, which Song manipulates through cultural misperceptions, while others dismiss this ignorance entirely by arguing that Gallimard permits Song’s manipulation only as self-deception against the reality of his homosexuality. Despite Hwang’s confirmation that “on some level [Gallimard] knows he is gay … yet he lived in a homophobic period” in an interview with Don Digaetani in 1989, surprisingly, people still disregard this possibility.

Although many would say that this Song’s deception could never happen in reality, M. Butterfly is actually based on a true story. In 1986, French diplomat Bernard Boursicot was sentenced to prison for leaking classified information to his lover of twenty years, Shi Pei Pu, a Chinese spy whom he believed to be a woman. In contrast to Hwang’s play, where Gallimard commits suicide, Boursicot settled down to live a peaceful life with a man after his time in prison.

Hwang’s decision to parallel Madame Butterfly’s suicidal ending demonstrates that the reality of being a gay man was too difficult to live with, thus making Song’s identity as a woman an easy fantasy in which Gallimard could participate. Because Song portrayed himself as an Asian woman with great shame about her body, Gallimard never sees his lover nude until the last act. Despite the lack of nudity in their relationship, the two men do, however, reach a level of sexual intimacy that makes it impossible for some audiences to imagine that Gallimard was naive enough to misgender Song.

M. Butterfly first appeared on stage in 1988, after homosexuality was declassified from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973 and HIV/AIDS was clinically observed in 1981. Controversial dialogue surrounding homosexuality was at its peak then, and continues to come with a fair share of uncomfortable debates today, even though our world has strived to new lengths of acceptance, including the legalization of gay marriage in all 50 states in 2015.

David Henry Hwang intends to revive his boundary-pushing production, M. Butterfly, in the near future, allowing the hearts of the new age to conduct their interpretations of this historical love affair in a modern and increasingly accepting world. During a recent Skype conversation with Hwang, the playwright informed us that he believes the cultural stereotypes that drive the deception and conflict in his play are ever alive and influential today. However, he is curious to see the progression of public perception since the first production. Although Gallimard’s life has a grievous end, there is hope that the rebirth of his legendary tale will highlight the acceptance of all of our realities in the 21st century.