Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews June 7, 2023 May 31, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
M. Butterfly, a play by David Henry Hwang, premiered on Broadway in 1988 to critical acclaim, and it went on to win the Tony Award for Best Play. M. Butterfly tells the love story between René Gallimard, a sexually insecure minor French diplomat, and Song Liling, a diva from the Chinese opera, a man who pretends to be a woman. Elements of Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly echo throughout the play. Gallimard uses Song, his personal Butterfly, to reinforce his sense of manhood, but Song uses Gallimard to spy on the French for Communist China. Over a twenty-year period, their love affair explores the clashes between their cultures and between how they use and perceive each other. The operatic ending reveals how love, desire, and self-deception are often tragic human mysteries that can never be fully resolved. Hwang adapted M. Butterfly for the screen in 1993, and he revised the text again for a 2017 stage revival of the play to reflect more current discourse on intersectional identities.
Read the chapter-by-chapter Summary & Analysis, a Full Book Summary, or Full Book Analysis of M. Butterfly.
See a complete Character List for M. Butterfly, as well as in-depth analysis of its most important characters.
Here's where you'll find analysis of the main themes, motifs, and symbols in M. Butterfly.
Here's where you'll find important quotes from M. Butterfly and explanations of them.