Comparing The Lover and M. Butterfly: Desire, Distance, and Exploitation

Final Essay
CCLC2204 Literary Appreciation
professor{Dr. Sidney Chan}

The Lover is an autobiographical novel by French writer Marguerite Duras that explores an illicit sexual relationship between an 15-years-old French girl and a wealthy Chinese man in French colonial Vietnam (Duras, 2014).
Thanks to this being an autobiographical novel, it is able to some degree to compare her text throughout her life.
Cues of narration reinterpreted through cognition can be discerned in her writings, hinting at a sense of privilege that characterizes her pride.
In contrast, David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly is trying to recast the Western narrative, in which a Chinese male spy pretends as a female Beijing Opera singer and has a 20-year affair with French diplomat Gallimard (Hwang, 1995).
In both stories, we can find a similar desirability and distance that leads to the exploitation from the West to the East.

The identity of culture and status in both works plays an important role in introducing a sense of distance between characters.
In \textit{M. Butterfly}, the contrasting of a French diplomat working in a consulate and an opera player working in an opera house with "chicken pecking at the foot"(1995, Act 1 Scene 8 Line 1) highlighting the cultural and identity chasm that exists between Gallimard and Song.
Similarly, in The Lover the colonial landscape of French Indochina serves as a stark contrast to the relationship between a poor French girl and a rich Chinese trust-fund baby.
This further emerges to distance in their interaction patterns. Distance is a kind of misunderstanding that fails to be noticed by characters.
Gallimard is unable to see beyond his illusions of Song.
This leads to a complex dynamic where both characters are engaged in a form of role-play, blurring the lines between performance and reality, and ultimately contributing to the misunderstandings and distance in their relationship.
For \textit{The Lover}, "I" repeatedly says "I'd rather you didn't love me. But if you do, I'd like you to do as you usually do with women."" (Duras, 2014, p. 287).
She is trying to keep a distance unconsciously, to keep away from an unknown of other cultures and hierarchies.
These are all shaped by the expectations of one's self-esteem and social-cultural preference.

The stereotype and desire are psychodynamics that shape the distance and reshape the image of the lover.
In The Lover, "my" attitude towards the relationship is kind of all-consuming and destructive, which is driven by a sense of intense passion, longing, and desire.
She sleeps with her Chinese lover despite of ostracized by the local French colonial community and incomprehensions from her own family.
In M. Butterfly it is simpler that the desire for control is rooted in Western fantasy towards the East, stated as the "Oriental".
Providing insight into the characters' motivations and desires, symbolism further enriches the narratives.
In M. Butterfly, the "butterfly" is a potent symbol of beauty and fragility for Gallimard as his favorite play Madame Butterfly, which is under his Western fantasy.
In The Lover the recurring motif of the silk garments symbolizes the narrator's entanglement in a web of desire, mirroring the complexities of her relationship with her lover.

Under desire and distance, the discussion of the Western exploit goes into the spotlight.
Whether they believe or deny it, they have satisfied themselves from their lover in a willful way.
In M. Butterfly the conflict arises from Gallimard's internal struggle between fantasy and reality, as well as the societal expectations imposed upon him.
He seeks power and control in the relationship, viewing himself as the protector and lover in the mold from Madame Butterfly.
But ironically the "Butterfly" had added meaning of transformation and deception here, reflecting Gallimard's journey of self-discovery and disillusionment.
The revelation of Song's true identity subverts the audience's expectations, exposing the illusions of love and power. Gallimard attempts to dominate the relationship, while Song exploits Gallimard's fantasies and stereotypes to gain political advantage through deception.
The portrayal of Gallimard's character embodies the Western imperialist gaze, perpetuating stereotypes and reinforcing power imbalances.
Meanwhile, in The Lover the conflict stems from the clashing worlds of the narrator and her lover, grappling with societal norms and familial expectations.
She claims that she is just staying with the man for money, which she uses for a superior status in school and society (Duras, 2014, p. 328).
The ironic juxtaposition of wealth and poverty, love and exploitation, underscores the complexities of the narrator's relationship with her lover

The Lover by Marguerite Duras and M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang are both introducing similar issues confronted by the characters.
In The Lover, the author masterfully develops the rising romance, mind gap, and power struggle over the framework of cultural and colonial division.
The rebelling young French girl is in a relationship that is contrary to colonial norms since it fulfills a need that is both liberating and catastrophic
Comparely, Gallimard's fascination for the East finally finds him caught in the threads he has spun, and he is the victim of his own imagery.
The texts develop symbolism and irony to poke fun at stereotypes and incessant power imbalances that arise due to the Western imperialist perspective point of view.
Through these tales, people are led to reconsider the understanding of culture sterotype and racial differences.
And how to consider the intricacies of love and authority in the context of social demands and cultural diversity and value, thus highlighting the impact that these forces have on us by way of our personalities and various interactions.