M. Butterfly
Act 1, scene 11, Gallimard, the love stricken French Diplomat in China announces his decision to "try an experiment."(Act 1, Scene 11). Upon thinking up this experiment, he reverts back to a memory of Madame Butterfly where "Cio-Cio-San fears that the western man who catches a butterfly will pierce its heart with a needle, then leave it to perish."(Act 1, Scene 11). He too feels that he has caught a butterfly who will "writhe on a needle" (Act 1, Scene 11). This butterfly is his mistress, Chinese opera singer, Song. Up to this point, there had been a series of visits to Song's opera performances on Gallimard's behalf. Gallimard's experiment was set up in order to essentially play hard to get, and to have Song do the work to initiate a relationship. Gallimard's decision to run this experiment exposed Song's desire for a relationship, which eventually lead to his downfall. Leading up to this point, the story is as follows. Rene Gallimard is a French Diplomat serving in China, and living with his wife. Up until this point in his life, he has not had extramarital affairs, which is quite the opposite for his colleagues. Song is the first woman outside of his fantasies of magazine women with whom he has act
Each letter would sound more and more desperate for Gallimard's attention. When he initiates his experiment, it sends him on a power trip. Also, in a flashback to 1974, Gallimard turns down an offer to go to Marc's father's condo with a group of his university friends and a group of girls. He gained power over a woman but did not know his limits and felt that he abused the power he had attained. Song noticed that Gallimard was not attending the opera and ceased to call and visit. As much as this may hold true, his relationship with Song held deeper meaning for Gallimard. The experiment was merely a catalyst that pushed the relationship of Song Liling and Rene Gallimard to new heights. First and foremost was that his experiment was successful. It gives him a sense of strength and superiority. This decision essentially initializes one of the major conflicts of the story (Gallimard vs. The main reason for this is that Gallimard is an innately decent man. The placement of this decision also bares significance. This is displayed in his conversation with his friend Marc regarding their pasts with women. In this experiment he is to cut off all ties to her. The decision takes place close to the beginning of the story.
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Acceptance Essays
