Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Who is Gallimard?
In M Butterfly, Gallimard draws forth similarities between himself and Pinkerton from Madam Butterfly. He claims they are alike in that they both embody western male characteristics such as dominating traits, an authoritative attitude, and sexual control. However, as you read further, it is revealed that Gallimard does not fill the roll of the western male figure at all. He is displayed as a weak, shy, and unattractive man; nothing at all like the character of Pinkerton in Madam Butterfly. Because of this, I think the author is comparing the society created vision of the western male to a more realistic, and slightly feminine version of the male. I see Pinkerton as the person who Gallimard aspires to be, or even pretends to be, while he is around the submissive geisha community.
1 comment:
I think Gallimard's view of himself as a successful patriarch in his relationship with Song (during his time in China) and patriarchal characterization of the dynamic between the Orient and the West evident in his statement "If the Americans demonstrate the will to win, the Vietnamese will welcome them into a mutually beneficial union" is interesting. Though you are asserting he doesn't fit the masculine ideal, which is certainly a fair argument, he certainly believes he is an alpha-male while he is ignoring Song's letters and refusing to go to the doctors to have his fertility tested. If Song was a woman and not a spy, would he fit this ideal better? And what is the significance of his own view of self?
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