Many would argue that the director incorporated bunraku puppetry for the sake of integrating a Japanese element in his Western opera. However, I believe that more than giving an Eastern touch to the performance, the director opted for a bunraku puppet in order to drive the story’s overarching theme home.

 

Bunraku puppets provide quite a contrast to butterflies. All of a bunraku puppet’s actions are dictated by its masters, while butterflies have their own two wings allowing them to move however they like. Thus, by making the child a bunraku puppet, the director is implicitly allegorizing the heavy restrains placed on the child by the other characters. Considering that the child is the symbolic union of Japanese and American cultures, the use of a puppet can go as far as to explain the timeless predicament that faces interracial children and immigrants to this day. Personally, as the daughter of two Indian immigrants, I too often find myself caught in the same tug of war between embracing my heritage and “doing as the Romans do.”

 

Another inkling I got as to why a bunraku puppet was used to play the role of the child was that there were three puppeteers operating the child as opposed to only one. I viewed each of these puppeteers symbolically as handcuffs, leg cuffs, and the last one as a pillory. Moreover, the child had no dialogue or flexible facial expressions (since he was a bunraku puppet). The child’s thoughts and opinions were always overlooked by others. This attitude is very common among Asian cultures and it persists to this day as Asians firmly believe that elders know best.

 

All in all, I am arguing that the purposeful use of the bunraku puppetry was not specific to the final scene; rather it extends to the child’s role throughout the play. Taking this a step further, the child/ bunraku puppet represents Madame Butterfly’s undying love for Lieutenant Pinkerton. Thus, ironical to her name, Madame Butterfly did not have the freedom to choose what happens to her son. Pinkerton selfishly trapped and nailed Madame Butterfly in a lose-lose situation stopping both her and his son from flourishing in each other’s love.

 

As an aside, I must say, the opera’s Shakespearean ending was a nice escape from the usual “…and they lived happily ever after.” Most storytellers shy away from these tear-jerking conclusions as they do not settle with audiences as easily, though they illustrate a more accurate picture of reality. So, kudos to Long, Loti, Belasco, and Puccini for not opting for an alternate ending!