Madame Butterfly

“When women start to talk, / I find them all the same.”

This is Pinkerton’s response to Suzuki after Goro introduces and dismisses her. Pinkerton’s comment reveals his views of women and foreshadows his treatment of Butterfly. All women, including wives, are interchangeable.

“Almost transparently fragile and slender, / Dainty in stature, quaint little figure, / She seems to have stepped down straight from a screen.”

Here, Pinkerton describes Butterfly. She is young—just a teenager—and so has a small figure. He views her like a part of the house, that is, something to be purchased and owned.

“It would indeed be a pity / To tear those delicate wings, / And far too cruel to torment a trusting heart.” 

When Sharpless hears Pinkerton’s plans to betray Butterfly by marrying another woman, this is what he says. Sharpless uses the metaphor (comparison) of harming an actual butterfly to hurting Butterfly to warn Pinkerton against bigamy, developing the theme of Infidelity in Love and Faith. Sharpless knows Butterfly trusts Pinkerton, and she does not consider how he might harm her.

“I am the happiest maiden, / The happiest in Japan.”

These are some of Butterfly’s lines right before her initial entrance on stage. The large amount of joy she feels about her marriage sharply contrasts with the pain she later feels after Pinkerton’s betrayal. She is immediately presented as vulnerable to his heartless schemes.

“But the strongest oak must fall / When the storm uproots the forest […] and we had to go as geisha / To earn our living.”

In this passage, Butterfly describes how her family lost their money. Rather than give specific details about how their fortune was lost, she uses figurative language, comparing the family to a tree. This metaphor shows how even a strong natural element is vulnerable to another natural power.

“SHARPLESS. The age / For dolls and…

PINKERTON. …and getting married!”

This is a discussion between the two men after Sharpless learns that Butterfly is 15. While the English translation does not include the exact figure, the original Italian does. In Puccini’s era and the opera’s setting, marriage between men over 18 and women under 18 occurred legally, but it was clearly frowned upon by some people, like Sharpless.

“That I hold most sacred.”

When Butterfly brings her few possessions to Pinkerton’s home, she shows him a sheathed dagger. It is a symbol of how her father values honor over life. Butterfly shares his opinions and uses this weapon on herself at the end of the opera. The dagger’s initial appearance could be considered an example of Chekhov’s gun, or presenting an instrument of violence that foreshadows violence occurring later in the story.

“And in order to please you I shall try to forget my race and kindred!”

Before their wedding ceremony, Butterfly says this to Pinkerton. She throws away her small religious statues as part of her vow to convert to Pinkerton’s religion. This develops the theme of Cultural Conflict and Exotification, as well as Infidelity in Love and Faith.

“And may the Gods condemn you / To eternal damnation!”

In response to her religious conversion, the Bonze—Butterfly’s uncle—curses her at her wedding reception. This develops the theme of Infidelity in Love and Faith. Butterfly leaving her family’s faith results in losing her family’s love and support.

“Suzuki, the screen. (The servants silently slide several partitions along.).”

Here, Pinkerton tells Suzuki to move them in preparation for his wedding night. The screens are a visual symbol of privacy and are used at the beginning of the intimate evening between husband and wife. Screens, which are used in the characterization of Butterfly, can also subtly hint at her virginity, in that her hymen can be compared to a paper screen.

“PINKERTON. Bewitching all mortals…

BUTTERFLY. Then she takes them, / And she folds them in her mantle of white, / Away she bears them / To realms high above.”

On their wedding night, Pinkerton and Butterfly describe her as a moon goddess. She is considered to have magical powers because of her beauty. The color white emphasizes how her beauty is connected to her young age and innocence. The moon is often connected to virgins (like the virgin goddess Diana and the virgin Queen of England, Elizabeth I). Coupling it with the white imagery adds to the portrayal of Butterfly as a virgin on her wedding night.

“Ah, love me a little, / Oh, just a very little, / As you would love a baby.”

When Butterfly admits that she loves Pinkerton, she asks him to love her in return, but not equally. She is under The Power of Love and Fate. In other words, she believes she must follow her destiny and feelings. This passage can be compared to how Helena in William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream asks the man she loves to treat her as if she were his dog.

“Izaghi, Izanami, / Sarundasico, Kami…”

Here, Suzuki prays to Japanese deities, including Izanami, the Goddess of fate and creation. This develops the theme of The Power of Love and Fate. Suzuki’s enduring religious faith is a foil to Butterfly’s religious conversion.

“Say it with me: / He’ll return.”

Here, Butterfly tries to convince Suzuki that Pinkerton has not abandoned them. Butterfly has faith in him, while Suzuki does not. This is an example of The Power of Love and Fate over Butterfly.

“My husband gave his promise / He would return in the joyous season / When robin redbreasts rebuild their nests.”

Butterfly tells Sharpless that Pinkerton vowed to return to her in the spring. Rather than believe Pinkerton has abandoned her, Butterfly believes that seasons pass differently in America. This imagery of nature develops the theme of The Power of Love and Fate.

“There is nothing quite so cruel / As the pangs of hopeless love.”

Here, Yamadori expresses to Sharpless his distress over Butterfly’s repeated rejections to his marriage proposals. He, like Butterfly, seems to be under The Power of Love and Fate, but unlike Butterfly, Yamadori only has to endure rejection rather than emotional torture.

“I’m afraid that she will never / Understand.”

Sharpless says this to Yamadori. This passage is about how Sharpless knows that Pinkerton has married an American woman but cannot get Butterfly to listen to this news. She is under The Power of Love and Fate, unable to stop loving Pinkerton.

“Since those happy days together / Three years have passed between us [...] And maybe Butterfly / Remembers me no more...”

This passage is from Pinkerton’s letter that Sharpless tries to read to Butterfly. Pinkerton notes how long it has been since he was in Japan, and he hopes that Butterfly will have divorced him for his abandonment, forgotten him, and moved on. He is not under The Power of Love and Fate, like her.

“I felt ready to die…but see, it passes, / Swift as shadows that flit across the ocean.”

This is Butterfly’s response to Sharpless when suggests that, hypothetically, Pinkerton might not return and she might be better off if she married Yamadori. Butterfly tries to throw Sharpless out of the house, but eventually relents to letting him stay, saying that her desire for self-harm has abated. This foreshadows Butterfly’s suicide and illustrates just how much power love and fate have over her.

“Sir, my name now is Sorrow. But yet / Write and say to my father: on the day / Of his return / Joy shall be my name.”

Here, Butterfly speaks for her son. She tells Sharpless that the boy’s identity will change when Pinkerton returns and claims him. Furthermore, Butterfly believes that sacrificing her life so her son can go with his father to America will bring him joy.

“Pick the flowers as if the wind had blown them. / And quickly set thousands of lanterns flaming.”

When Butterfly sees Pinkerton’s ship in the harbor, she says this to Suzuki. This is an example of how flowers symbolize her unwavering love for Pinkerton. Butterfly also wants Pinkerton to be welcomed back with lanterns. However, her symbol of love ends up inspiring guilt and disgust in Pinkerton, and her love is not reciprocated.

“It is night and the rays of the moon light up the shot from behind.”

This stage direction is an example of the moon symbolism. It shines while Suzuki, Butterfly, and her son wait for Pinkerton all night after seeing his ship. The moon is present when Pinkerton is not, alluding to the moon as a symbol for women without men. The moon also symbolizes menstrual cycles and pregnancy, meaning it represents both Butterfly and her son.

“I warned you—you remember?”

Near the end of the opera, Sharpless reminds Pinkerton that he advised against betraying Butterfly. However, even though Pinkerton told Sharpless he planned to marry an American before his wedding to Butterfly, Sharpless does not warn Butterfly about the situation she is getting into. This shows how there is loyalty among the American men, but neither are honest with women, specifically Butterfly.