From Caterpillar To Butterfly

David Henry Hwang is considered as one of the most talented Chinese-American playwrights in the United Sates. In 1988, due to his celebrated play M. Butterfly, he became the first Chinese-American writer to receive the Tony Award for best play. M. Butterfly has caused controversial discussions in the academic circle since its premiere. A number of scholars have done much research on the play by using modern literary theories. This thesis will venture to explore how Hwang subverts the legend of Madame Butterfly, the original material for his play, and the relationship between the Westerner and the Easterner by using A-effect producing skills of Brecht's theory of epic theatre in narrative structure and onstage performance of M. Butterfly. The practice of Brecht's theatrical ideas illustrates those subversions by displaying the metamorphoses of the story and the two protagonists.The major principle of Brecht's theory of epic theatre is A-effect. The A-effect challenges the realistic illusion brought by the "Fourth Wall" theatrical format and encourages an unfamiliar and hard-to-understand appearance of theatre which can stimulate an attitude of critical detachment in the audience after giving a momentary shock. The A-effect producing skills cover almost all the aspects of theatre involving narrative structure and stage presentation. Metamorphic literature boasts of a long history. In most of the literary works with metamorphic element, be it the early work that emphasizes the power of nature or the recent work that connects closely with the social environment, the metamorphosis is obvious.This thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter One explores three kinds of metamorphoses displayed in the play. Firstly, the legend of Madame Butterfly is created and accumulated by the Western writers. M. Butterfly subverts several versions of the Madame Butterfly story, especially the version of Puccini and changes the fully deserved model of Orientalist notion into a modern-day geopolitical allegory which runs counter to Orientalism, reflecting that Butterfly myth comes from nihility and returns to nihility. Secondly, Madame Butterfly transforms into two Monsieur Butterflies. Gallimard changes from a man lack of masculinity to a man full of self-assured power, and finally dies in the same way as Madame Butterfly with a split personality. Song Liling, at the same time, transforms from a Chinese diva to a seemingly perfect Madame Butterfly, and stands at the end as an androgynous Monsieur Butterfly, a hybrid of man and woman. Chapter Two analyzes the narrative structure of M. Butterfly from the perspective of A-effect, elaborating how it displays the metamorphoses. M. Butterfly interweaves narration with ironic comments, achieving A-effect by using illusion-destroying skill, language pastiche, etc. Gallimard is characterized as a victim of theatrical illusion, showing the inner cause of his metamorphosis. The play adopts nonlinear narrative kills to simultaneously construct and subvert the legend of Madame Butterfly, tracing the metamorphosis of the story together with a political implication. Song Liling is portrayed as a product of interaction between the political environment and personal choice, revealing the cause of his metamorphosis. Chapter Three analyzes the stage presentation of M. Butterfly from the perspective of A-effect, expounding how it displays the metamorphoses. The technical aspects of the stage such as stage design, illumination, music and dance, are simple, symbolic and functional, aiming at breaking the theatrical illusion and producing A-effect, as well as making the elements in narrative structure appreciable. Onstage costume changes visually present the metamorphoses of the two protagonists. With regard to onstage performance, the play features multiple role-play, cross-gender performance, street scene and actor-spectator, successfully producing an A-effect and highlighting the metamorphoses of the story and the two protagonists in a comparative way.This thesis ends with a conclusion that M. Butterfly succeeds in putting into practice the A-effect producing skills on the narrative structure and stage presentation, displaying vividly the three kinds of metamorphoses. As an embodiment of Hwang's theatrical talents, it combines luxurious beauty of the theatre with self-reflectiveness, entertainment with education, individualism with collectivism, skepticism with fantasy, the fake world with the real world, leaving his audience a broad space for reflection and exploration. Besides, the application of A-effect in M. Butterfly shows that Brecht's theory is demonstrating its unshakable status in contemporary drama. The influence of A-effect has been expanded from the works of Western playwrights to the works of the playwrights with the Chinese origin.