Hybridity and Aberrance in M. Butterfly

In the play M. Butterfly, David Henry Hwang reinterprets Puccini's classic opera Madame Butterfly and touches upon such issues as gender discrimination, racial prejudice as well as western hegemony. It reverses the male and female gender pattern, and tactfully deconstructs the binary opposition into an "either-or" relationship, breaking the old myth of Orientalism, and triggers us to think further as to the issues of race, gender and Oriental-Occidental relationship. In light of the post-colonial theory proposed by Homi K. Bhabha, the paper explores the feature of hybridity and aberrance in M. Butterfly. From the discussion of the butterfly icon, gender icon as well as cultural elements, this paper discusses how the play is a mimicry as well as hybridity with Madame Butterfly. Through such a deconstructive writing, David Henry Hwang aims at cutting through the respective layers of cultural and sexual misconceptions and creating a sincere, mutually beneficial relationship for both sides.