David H. Hwang’s M. Butterfly focuses on the turbulent relations between the West and the East and how each side perceives the other. Rene Gallimard and his views towards Song Liling could be taken to show the East vs. West relationship in a more metaphorical sense. On pg. 16 Gallimard, fresh from his encounter with Song, mused about wanting to “take her in my arms—so delicate, even I could protect her, take her home, pamper her until she smiled.” Similarly, the nations of the West feel almost an obligation to “civilize” the rest of the world; Rudyard Kipling coined the idea with the term, “The White Man’s Burden.” The Spanish brought their missionaries to colonize and convert the natives of the Americas; the British felt it was their duty to educate the Indians of Asia and the indigenous folk of the Africa’s with their rules and regulations. Then there were also the French and Belgians and Portuguese who staked their claims in various regions of Asia and Africa in order to manipulate the trade routes to their advantage and to “save the souls” of the savages. As Gallimard wants to protect and care for Song, the powerful Western nations strive to act as the guardians and protectors of the third world countries, many located in Asia. However, this police force attitude could easily be taken with negative overtones. The British, French and other imperialistic nations obviously had ulterior motives; the ability to control a country’s leaders gave them access to the resources available there, be it oil or advertising markets or manpower. Gallimard also had a motive with Song even if he may not have realized it; Song was the only person that he had power over, who could keep him happy. As Gallimard himself said, “While we men may all want to kick Pinkerton, very few of us would pass up the opportunity to be Pinkerton.” Power is something that very few people would give up, let alone wealthy countries.
