Confrontational Nature of M Butterfly

As we discussed in class, the punny, cutting dialogue targeting Gallimard we hear in a "chic -looking parlor" during Act 1 Scene 2 is a moment forcing readers to reflect on their own prejudices. Relating to a man who mistakes his lover for a woman for 20 years is a tall order, but in this moment we are forced to reflect on why this is so and interrogate our own assumptions about sexuality and intimacy. Is it possible Gallimard is someone we should envy rather than scoff at?

A similar question of identification is raised as Song questions Gallimard's characterization of Butterfly as beautiful in the passage beginning "Consider it this way: what would you say if a blonde homecoming queen fell in love with a shot Japanese business man?"(I.VI.pg 17). In this moment, we are forced to interrogate how our ability to identify with the plight of Butterfly and view her as a sympathetic character is reliant on narratives of colonialism and Western romance. Is the trope of the ever faithful  woman  willing to die for love still a "favorite fantasy" embedded in our cultural consciousness? (I.VI. pg17). As Helga characterizes the opera as a "classic piece of music," we are forced to reflect on the many ways gender roles are further reiterated and transformed across cultures.  Personally, as much as I would like to think I reject these sort of narratives, I found Song's turning of the tables through the "short business man scenario" jarring.

Act 2 begins with another pronounced confrontational moment as Gallimard suggests "while we men may all want to kick Pinkerton, very few of us would pass the opportunity to be Pinkerton"(II.I.pg 42). This moment brings to light the reality that patriarchy is not dead. Our society's masculine ideal is still a very aggressive and arguably exploitative type. Moreover, Gallimard's experience as a professional, in which he gains a promotion after overpowering Song with his stoicism (or atleast believing he has done so), suggests that the fulfillment of this role is still key to success in our society. In an apparently strange play, these moments of confrontation make us reflect on our own strange  enduring consciousness.