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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 7 page research paper that analyzes D.H. Hwang's play M. Butterfly in terms of gender criticism. The writer explains how the play is based on a real-life occurrence in which a French diplomat was convicted of espionage, and how the Frenchman had a twenty year liaison with a Chinese male spy, whom he thought of as the "ideal" woman. In his play, Hwang argues that the diplomat projected a Western concept of an idealized femininity that not only represents the "ideal" woman, but the East in general. Therefore, the Chinese spy was able to manipulate the diplomat perfect by playing to his cultural and gender prejudices. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khdhhmb.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
the film to his lover of twenty years, a performer at the Peking Opera. The diplomat claims that he had no idea that his mistress was a spy, or that
he was a man (Sauvage 22). This real-life occurrence forms the basis for David H. Hwangs play M. Butterfly. Hwangs play offers his conception of the motivation that perpetuated
the diplomats delusion. Using Puccinis opera as a parallel that perfectly mirrors the diplomats cultural preconceptions, Hwang argues that the diplomat projected a Western concept of an
idealized femininity that not only represents the "ideal" woman, but the East in general. Therefore, the Chinese spy was able to manipulate the diplomat perfect by playing to his cultural
and gender prejudices. Critic Robert Brustein asserts that Hwang thoroughly exploits this incident for its political, cultural and sexual implications, with his principal theme being that "Western treatment of
the East - Vietnam included -- is motivated by myths of male domination and female passivity" (28). In other words, Hwangs play shows the relationship between the French diplomat and
the Chinese spy as primarily founded on the white mans preconceived cultural stereotype of what the "ideal" oriental woman would be like. The dominance of patriarchy was a long time
in subsiding; however, the modern age has finally brought a semblance of gender equality. However, many men, such as the diplomat, still cling to the image of the "ideal" woman
as totally submissive and passive, building her life around her man. This patriarchal stereotype is something that the Western man can image as still existing in the East. However, the
context of the play suggests that this image of the Oriental woman is as ill-conceived as it would be applied to Western women. Hwang states in his preface that
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