Madame Butterfly

The titular character, Madame Butterfly, is named Cho-Cho-San (or Cio-Cio-San in the original Italian). She is a tragic figure, the female lead, and a soprano. In Act 1, she is a 15-year-old from the “district of Omara Nagasaki” (85) and is described as beautiful by several different men. Pinkerton notes how her “ebony tresses are shining / On ivory shoulders” (92), and Sharpless notes that he has “never seen fairer” (80). Butterfly’s beauty is frequently compared to the beauty of flowers and gemstones. For instance, Pinkerton calls her “a gem, a flower” (80). Before the action of the opera, her family lost its wealth and the women “had to go as geisha” (76). Geishas are entertainers who dance and sing and are especially notable for their beauty.

In preparation to marry Pinkerton, Butterfly converts to his religion, demonstrating her total devotion to her husband and her willingness to abandon her culture to appease him. This religious act causes her family to disown her, but Butterfly says, “They’ve renounced me, still I’m happy!” (91). She is willing to lose connection with her family and alter elements of her own individuality so long as Pinkerton is her husband.