Critical Essay | Critical Essay by David L. Eng

Critical Essay by David L. Eng

SOURCE: Eng, David L. “In the Shadows of a Diva: Committing Homosexuality in David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly.” Amerasia Journal 20, no. 1 (1994): 93-116.

In the following essay, Eng studies the homosexual relationship between Gallimard and Song in M. Butterfly. Eng equates Gallimard's cell with the metaphorical“closet” and analyzes Gallimard's refusal to “come out of the closet” and his subsequent denial and suppression of his homosexuality.

The limits of my cell are as such: four-and-a-half meters by five. There's one window against the far wall; a door, very strong, to protect me from autograph hounds. I'm responsible for the tape recorder, the hot plate, and this charming coffee table.

When I want to eat, I'm marched off to the dining room—hot steaming slop appears on my plate. When I want to sleep, the light bulb turns itself off—the work of fairies. It's an enchanted space I occupy.

Rene Gallimard...
(read more)