M. Butterfly: Act 3, Scene 1 Summary & Analysis

Song’s makeup is gone. He takes off his wig and steps out of his kimono, under which he wears a tailored business suit. Addressing the audience, he talks about his first days in Paris, sleeping in the doorways of Chinatown until a tailor agreed to make him a kimono on credit so he could present himself to Gallimard. In the fifteen years following their reunion, Song says, Gallimard provided “a very comfy life” for him and Peepee — welcome luxury after four years in a labor camp in rural China.

As Song tells his story, the scene changes. The same actor who plays Toulon appears onstage, wearing a judge’s robe and wig. He and Song sit next to each other. They are in a courtroom, and the year is 1986. Song is describing his activities as a spy for China, and Gallimard’s role in those activities. He tells the judge that he didn’t do much spying when he first arrived in Paris, because Gallimard no longer held a powerful diplomatic position. Eventually, Song tells the judge, he convinced Gallimard to take a position as a courier — a messenger charged with delivering sensitive government documents. He allowed Song access to these documents, and Song would deliver copies to the Chinese embassy in Paris. The judge asks whether Gallimard understood the seriousness of what was happening, and Song replies that it was enough for Gallimard to know that he needed access to the documents; he didn’t ask questions about what Song was doing with them.

The judge asks Song whether Gallimard knew he was a man. Song answers that Gallimard never saw him completely naked, and that the nature of their sex life meant he seldom touched Song’s body with his hands. More important than deception, however, Song says, was the thorough understanding of the male mind he gained from his mother, a sex worker who serviced white men. He tells the judge that men will always believe things that please them, even if those things are ridiculous lies.

To his first claim, Song adds that Western men become “confused” when they come into contact with Asian people and cultures. He argues that Westerners have a “rape mentality” with regard to Asia. In ordinary relations between men and women, a man might attempt to excuse sexual violence by claiming the woman he abused secretly wanted him to treat her that way — even if she protests. Song explains this reasoning succinctly as: “Her mouth says no, but her eyes say yes.” In the same way men justify violent treatment of women, Western nations justify violence against Asian nations through stereotypes that suggest Asian people want to be dominated. Western men see Western countries as strong, powerful, and therefore masculine. By contrast, they see Asian countries as fragile, weak, and therefore feminine. They apply their beliefs about women to Asian people to excuse the gross exploitation of Asian countries.

Prompted by the judge, who does not understand how these comments relate to the success of the deception, Song offers a brief summary of his ideas: Gallimard convinced himself Song was a woman because he wanted to believe Song was a woman, and the fact that Song was Asian — a person whom stereotypes depict as feminine regardless of biological sex —he could not conceive of Song as a true man, even if he suspected Song may have had a male body. The judge dismisses these ideas as “armchair political theory.” Song tells him Westerners will always suffer in their political relationships with Asia as long as they refuse to acknowledge the impact of their racism and sexism.