M. Butterfly
The play M. Butterfly, by David Hwang is a study in human weakness, psychosis, and insecurity. The lead character in the play, Rene Gallimard acts the same as a borderline schizophrenic. When the story begins he is in prison reflecting on his life, and loves. He is given to fantasy, and talking, or having conversations with the figments of his imagination. His insecurities, combined with his vivid fantasies, drive him to power trips, where he is master of his world. Dominance is his desire, where he is in total control. These illusions take him further and further from reality. Where he is weak and ineffectual, he starves for acceptance and attention. This is a story of a man who gets into a situation that perpetuates his illness. If there's worse condition for a person with a mental illness, it would stretch the imagination to contrive it. When he is sent to the Orient he becomes a person of power, as all westerners did at the time. " The West has [a] rape mentality towards the East" (Hwang 1253). The cultures are so different and conflicting, that values greatly vary. The Western culture looks on the Eastern people as, " feminine-weak, delicate, poor" (Hwang 1253). Gallimard is beside himself w
His first sexual experience where he was terrified by the dominanance of a woman scarred him for life. It made him question his own sexuality and masculinity. " Having her weak, subservient, and bowing to him actually makes him her slave. When Gallimard thinks, " I finally gained power over a beautiful woman" (Hwang 1231). Quickly his imaginings become possibilities, where before he'd line up pornographic magazines, hearing voices about what he'd do with the women and, " his body shook. At the time and in their culture, Chinese women are considered "less than" a man. Contrary to popular belief, a person who is delusional to the psychotic level can be quite aware of it (Kirwin 240). In his sick mind to prove himself not a homosexual, he needs to dominate this person Song. Women are considered so insignificant in China that even today, female children are sometimes killed at birth only because of their gender, (Con 100). He has always been an odd duck, but at this point he is tittering on the edge where insanity is only a stumble away. The question comes up over Andover in the story about whether or not he knew Song was a man. This is the start of his experiment in domination. In the East, life is much cheaper than in the West. Song is the ultimate version of his "magazine girls.
Common topics in this essay:
Gallimard Gallimard,
Poor Gallimard,
Rene Gallimard,
East Hwang,
West Women,
David Hwang,
hwang 1230,
,
hwang 1214,
hwang 1257,
Butterfly Hwang,
hwang 1253,
rene gallimard,
hwang 1251,
obsessed song,
mental illness,
hwang 1242,
women considered,
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Acceptance Essays
