M. Butterfly

Originally published in 1988, M. Butterfly is a postmodern play by Chinese-American dramatist David Henry Hwang, who also wrote Yellow Face and Bondage. Hwang drew from two sources to compose his text: the 1904 opera Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini and the historical espionage scandal involving French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Chinese opera singer Shi Pei Pu. The play became Hwang’s best-known work and subsequently received the Tony Award for Best Play in the year of its release. In 1993, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg adapted the play to the big screen; his film stars Jeremy Irons as Rene Gallimard and John Lone as Song Liling.

The play follows Rene Gallimard, a disgraced French diplomat in incarceration, as he recalls his 20-year-affair with a Chinese opera singer named Song Liling. Gallimard’s account dances around his ignorance of the fact that Song is a man who merely disguised himself as a woman to elicit state secrets from Gallimard. When Gallimard fails to admit his error, Song corrects the record, speaking the truth about the implications of his French lover’s assumptions. Hwang uses the play to explore themes related to fantasy versus reality, gender identity and politics, and selfishness regarding love.

This study guide refers to the paperback edition of the script, published in 1989 by Plume.

Content Warning: The source material and study guide feature depictions of sexual content, antigay bias, racism, gender discrimination, emotional abuse, bullying, suicidal ideation, death by suicide, and addiction.

Language Note: During the first and second acts of the play, Hwang uses the pronouns “she/her” to refer to the character of Song Liling. In Act III, Hwang changes Song’s pronouns to “he/him,” reflecting the revelation that Song is a man. Though the source material doesn’t explore the nuances of Song’s gender identity, this study guide retains Hwang’s approach, using the pronouns that refer to Song at given points in the play.

Plot Summary

The play is framed as the recollections of Rene Gallimard, a disgraced French diplomat who is in incarceration on charges of espionage. Gallimard describes himself as the laughingstock of the world because his crime involved an affair with the “Perfect Woman,” but he promises to redeem himself by retelling his story.

In Act I, Gallimard introduces himself as a plain, charmless man whose idea of love is shaped by his favorite opera, Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini. Gallimard is no great lover since he’s too afraid to even broach the idea of talking to women. He’s married to a woman named Helga for practical reasons (her father is an ambassador). While Gallimard is stationed in the French embassy in Peking, however, he meets Song Liling, an actress playing the titular role in a special performance of Madame Butterfly. Song initially calls Gallimard out for harboring Orientalist fantasies, but their first meeting entices him to follow Song’s work at the Peking Opera. They continue to meet, and it becomes increasingly clear to Gallimard that Song is interested in him. To test his theory, Gallimard breaks all contact with Song, cruelly eliciting her pleas for him to see her again. When Gallimard’s sudden boldness earns him a promotion at the embassy, he reconciles with Song, taking her as his lover.

In Act II, Gallimard and Song rent an apartment on the outskirts of Beijing to conduct their affair. Song shares her frustrations with the Communist state and then asks Gallimard about his work at the embassy. Unbeknownst to Gallimard, Song is an espionage agent for the People’s Republic of China and is feeding the information he gives her to her contact, Comrade Chin.

Helga begins to complain that Gallimard is uninterested in having a child with her. When Gallimard shares his frustrations with Song, Song offers to give him a child. Gallimard remains devoted to Song but falls into a brief tryst with a visiting student named Renee. After experiencing new frustrations at work, Gallimard returns to Song, who has been drinking heavily in his absence. Song tries to provoke Gallimard by suggesting that he’s bored with her. Gallimard hesitantly recommends that she strip to renew his interest. This outrages Song, who submits herself to Gallimard. At the last second, Gallimard is ashamed of himself, at which point Song reveals that she’s pregnant. Gallimard proposes marriage to her, promising to divorce Helga. Song refuses for the sake of Gallimard’s career and then disappears for several months to procure a child with Chin’s help. Song insists on raising Gallimard’s son in China.

In 1966, the Cultural Revolution upsets the French embassy’s position in China. Because of the fruitless political insights that Song fed him, Gallimard is transferred back to Paris, forcing him to bid farewell to Song. Song is rehabilitated by Chin and the Red Guard. In 1970, Song is assigned to continue her espionage work by following Gallimard to France. Meanwhile, Gallimard ends his loveless marriage to Helga and becomes miserable, missing Song. When Song finds him in France, they move in to embrace. Song sidesteps Gallimard to hijack the story that Gallimard has been telling the audience, claiming that she can no longer ignore the truth. She removes her clothes and makeup before the audience, revealing that she’s a man.

In Act III, Song describes his journey to France and the 15 years he and Gallimard spent living together. Gallimard continues to believe that Song is a woman, which Song sees as an extension of his Orientalist mindset. Gallimard is angry that Song would humiliate him, so Song performs a striptease to prove that Gallimard still wants Song as a man. Gallimard instead laughs at the absurdity of the situation, upsetting Song. He declares that he was in love with the lie Song told him, not the true Song. Song spitefully leaves Gallimard, who claims he has found a way to reunite himself with Madame Butterfly.

Gallimard dons the discarded Butterfly kimono, introduces himself as Madame Butterfly, and dies by suicide in a scene that mirrors the death song from the opera. The play ends with Song looking down on Gallimard’s corpse.