The Deconstruction of Madame Butterfly with Postmodern Ambiguities: David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly

The performance of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly gains in popularity in Korea these days. The audience reads this as a play with universal themes such as love, fantasy, and self-delusion. In the U.S., however, it has instigated arguments about Asian stereotypes, especially when it premiered. This paper aims to examine the discussions in order to scrutinize the author's intent to balance the representation of the East with that of the West. Some Asian American critics castigated Hwang because of his use of Asian stereotypes through Song Liling and Comrade Chin. However, the author deliberately does that and he also unfolds the stereotypes the East has about the West for the purpose of deconstructing the prejudices of the both sides in order that they can reconcile. Moreover, the critics overlook the effect that the audience can reconsider the stereotypes they are familiar with, watching the play. Hwang's strategy in doing so is close to a postmodern approach; it parodies Madame Butterfly and deconstructs the centers, while it does not construct a new one. Such characteristics of the play leaves room for questions about whether his intention to make the East and the West reconcile can succeed in his postmodern tactics.