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Jose Lopez

Professor Batty

English 102

November 3, 2018

Two Views of One Soul

The discussion of the Queer Theory is difficult subject to speak about since many believe

hearing the word “Queer” just means heterosexual but in reality it means much more about ones

sexuality or gender that is taken in the LQBTQIA community. The movement started around the

late 60s to 70s along with the second wave feminist movement about civil rights to women of

color, it was that area that started many writers to express their ideas and thoughts about how the

LGBT are being seen and should be seen as a normal soul like everyone else. Author Ursula K.

Le Guin, wrote this novel in the late 1960s, The Left Hand Of Darkness, that express her

thoughts and quoted, from a writer in the Literature Resource Center of Kent State University,

“Is Gender Necessary?” which the novel highly touches to the point where there are characters

that change their sex. Another related story, M Butterfly, by David Henry Hwang, deals with

gender identity and on how Song sees himself as a woman and wants to be Gallimard’s

“Butterfly” as his lover without transitioning to an actual woman. Both are dealing with gender

identity and dealing with their Romance attraction since both characters, Song, and Estraven, are

in love of the opposite sex but have to overcome a few obstacles which will be their sex.

In the play M Butterfly, it was based on the fact of a French man falling in love with a

Chinese spy but in his view it was more like – Hwang “concluded that the diplomat must have

fallen in love, not with a person, but with a fantasy stereotype.” Later he came He also assumes

that “to the extent the Chinese spy encouraged these misperceptions, he must have played up to
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and exploited this image of the Oriental woman as demure and submissive.” then came across

Madam Butterfly which he revers the story to peal about gender expression and gender identity

which in Hwang rewritten story, Song Liling will be facing this challenge. One of the biggest

changes he made in his play was that he made Gallimard committee suicide during the play

inside the prison while cross-dressing and left a powerful message “But really if you understood,

you wouldn’t laugh at all. Quite the contrary, man like you should be beating down my door,

begging to learn my secrets for I, Rene Gallimard have known and been loved by the perfect

woman.” Which in his view is true. This really treats the issue of gender identity and gender

expression very hard since Song saw himself as his woman and moves like a woman but due to

Gallimards confronting reality his ideal woman was nothing more but a fiction. It shouldn’t be

the end of their love since it’s still the person that still remains by his side and worships him and

obeys his wishes. I believe we saw Gallimard as someone that doesn’t accept himself as being

gay and never will even if found someone that can obey his orders, which is why he still pushes

away Song even though Song was his ideal woman or I should say lover for he has said, “I’m a

man who loved a woman created by a man…” he would never love Song as he is but the women

he created.

In the novel ‘The left Hand Of Darkness’ is where the author, Ursula K. Le Guin, goes

into more depth on sexual Attraction, the proper term and difference between Sex and Gender

and as well as romantic attraction. In a article written at Michigan State University, it says

“Gender comes up throughout the entire story of Left hand of darkness. Ursula Le Guin uses her

book as a way to show the reader that a place could exist free of sex sexual “norms” and roles for

each person; that social and political affairs can be separated from personal lives, even to the

basics of gender.” Let’s start of by talking about the journey of Genly Ai’s and Estraven on how
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they slowly became romantically attracted to one another and understanding Estraven gender

when he enters Kemmer, becoming a female, Ai did not find (her) Estraven’s new appearance to

a romantic attractive since he isn’t his true self. He even questions it and came to a conclusion

where in the text he says,( Hwang PG 337) “…they were no flesh of mine, no friends of mine, no

love between us.”(Guin 322) The sex that Estraven is in, because of kemmer, Ai wonders how he

can become his lover when he doesn’t see the love between them. Sex and Gender are two

opposite topics that are not the same in where sex is biological, in this case he is both male and

female and gender is how Ai sees himself as the more of a maleness. Kemmer is a way that Mrs.

Guin wanted to inspire gender identity to others of how it doesn’t matter what gender or sex you

maybe what really matters of how far you will do for someone you love, in this case Estravens

death could be applied to this since he died for his love Ai.

Going back to M butterfly by David Hwang, it can be question of why Gallimard

committed suicide that maybe related to his sexuality that he is keeping inside the closet. In the

prison, he started a play and cross dress as Madam Butterfly, which many could wonder if he

saw himself as a butterfly, the ideal picture of his perfect woman. There are two quotes he says

that strongly support this, “I’m a man who loved a woman created by a man.” (Hwang 90) And

“Death with honor is better than life...with dishonor. The Love of a butterfly can withstand many

things– unfaithfulness, loss, even abandonment...and I have found her at last. In a prison on the

outskirts of Pairs. My name is Rene Gallimard—also known as Madame Butterfly.”(Hwang 95)

It was these two quotes that makes me think that Gallimard may have had trouble seeing what

gender he sees himself as now that he brought himself shame throughout the prison. In the

article, ‘The fashioned victims: Addressing the un/dressed body in Hwang's M. Butterfly’ Song

undressing was more in the direct of self –identity, true he didn’t want Gallimard to know he was
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a spy but he could have relieved to him that he was a male then letting the court reviled for her.

He wants the perfect ideal woman, the perfect butterfly but in reality he couldn’t live the shame

down as his previous butterfly did gave him her shame but he doesn’t have the ego to do so.

Which lead him to suicide. I feel like even when understanding what type of gender or any

sexual questions about yourself death shouldn’t be the answer if you wish to express the

sexuality you carry upon.

Combining both stories we can see a similar theme and even characters of how far they

will change and evolve into someone that gets to experience love of the same sex. Let’s take the

story M Butterfly first, Gallimard was on duty, doing his work in a different country just like Ai

where he had to explore different planets and gather information. Both encounter someone that

change them out of their safe zone to experience their sexuality in secret since Song had to hide

the fact he was a male and made a pact with Gallimard to never disrobe her, similar to Estravan

where he “Vow kemmering” to his brother where he can only have sex with each other and no

other. Both Song and Estravan where romantically attracted to their partner for seeing them who

they were. In Songs case Gallimard knew she was a man, “Did I not undress her because I knew,

somewhere deep down, what I would find? Perhaps. Happiness is so rare that our mind can turn

somersaults to protect it.” (Hwang 47) and for Estravan it would the “Vow Kemmering” since in

their society they are never allowed to keep kemmering after birth of a child, basically meaning

you can only do it once and that’s it. I feel gender roles are highly active in both stories since

Song was being told she should stop dressing as a women when meeting with her superiors about

the information she is gathering and Estravan with the vows since that is what stopping him to

make a vow kemmering to Ai since it is his culture and his society that’s forcing them to follow

these rules.
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There is an article written by John Pennington from Kent State University that said, “I

would claim this novel requires the same from men and women readers, even though Le Guin

argues that women have more difficulty than men empathizing with characters in the novel.

Gender is used against itself throughout the novel.” I would like to argue that it doesn’t matter

what gender you are to understand or empathize with the characters, you only need to see the

view of AI when he understands Estraven in a better prospective. It is possible that there are

readers that can’t understand the love between same sex characters but it can also be related to M

butterfly where there are people can’t see why Song remains Gallimar’s “Butterfly”. Many can

claim that it doesn’t show a proper way of homosexuality but it really does since the race of

Gethenian are what call ambisexual. The four characters, Gallimard, Song, Ai, and Estraven,

where dealing ambisexual, but Gallimard had it harder since he couldn’t accept song but is able

to accept himself at the end of the play when he becomes Madam Butterfly and ends his life with

the shame that the “Butterfly” carries. No matter what gender you maybe there will always be a

certain point where you will question your gender but how I see it you shouldn’t since your born

as that sex.

In conclusion, M butterfly and The Left Hand of Darkness both touch really well about

the LGBT community but not all is perfect since there is Gallimards death as well as Estravans

death for Ai. Both had similar stories about love but the one that carry out the most would be

Estravan due to the fact that he was accepted by Ai and would do pretty much anything. Both

talked well about the subject they were attacking on really well to the point where everyone, all

characters explore their new sexuality and uncover something about themselves it may be true

that they may not see themselves liking the same sex but they will continue un-covering their

most inner secrets and sexuality. Like Gallimard might have over been foolish for thinking of his
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death. With his death but Estravan died with honor knowing that he couldn’t make a vow with Ai

but at least he let him life to see a vow pack. Both stories touch the LGBT Community every

strong to their good and bad points of what society may think of them.

1) https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/aalj/vol5/iss1/5/

2) http://library.lavc.edu:2077/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=lavc_main&id=GALE|A483829845&v

=2.1&it=r&sid=ebsco

3) http:/upress.kent.edu/

4) https://msu.edu/~skoutela/resp3.html