Butterfly, David Hwang questions many assumptions about Asian women that are apparent in Madame Butterfly. In Madame Butterfly, the beautiful young Japanese geisha, Butterfly, sacrifices her family ties, religion, and eventually her life for an American, Lieutenant Pinkerton, who never intends to take her back to America. Hwang's M. Butterfly, in contrast, tells the story of an American man in China during the Vietnam era, Gallimard, who falls in love with a Chinese woman, only to claim he is shocked when he discovers, several years later, that his lover is a man.

Perhaps the most obvious assumption Hwang tackles is the stereotype that all Asian women are docile and submissive. In Madame Butterfly, Butterfly truly lives up to this stereotype, as she repeatedly rejects suitors and a more suitable life to remain faithful to Lieutenant Pinkerton. In contrast, in Hwang's M. Butterfly, the Chinese woman is only pretending to be docile and submissive.

It is Gallimard's blind belief in his assumptions about the submissiveness of his lover that blinds him to the fact that she is truly a man. He is so blinded by his assumptions about Asian women that he cannot see his lover for who he truly is.

Gallimard's unthinking belief in this stereotype reveals a great deal about the beliefs that we, in Western society, accept almost unconditionally in Madame Butterfly. Madame Butterfly represents the stereotypical Asian woman, who is shy, slim, beautiful, and submissive to a white male, and who remains loyal to him to the point of death. Gallimard's unthinking belief in this stereotype allows us to challenge the validity of these beliefs about Asian women. In this way, Hwang's M. Butterfly challenges some deeply held gender and social issues, and tackles the themes of female submission, homosexuality, and gender roles.

In conclusion, the issues, themes and beliefs surrounding the stereotype that all Asian women are docile and submissive in Hwang's M. Butterfly differ significantly from Madame Butterfly. Hwang's M. Butterfly challenges many strongly held Western beliefs about Asian women, while Madame Butterfly accepts these assumptions unquestioningly.

References

Hwang, David Henry. 1994. M. Butterfly. Plume Books.

Madame Butterfly. Director: Frederic Mitterrand. 2002. Columbia Tri-Star.