Depending upon the fullness of their personality development by an author, characters are either flat or round. Flat characters, consistent in their actions, typically exhibit an unconventional simplicity. Round characters portray the inconsistency and complexity of everyday life, and, like “real people,” occasionally conceal their tribulations by wearing the veil of hypocrisy. Gallimard, a dynamic character, undergoes a permanent change of personality in “M. Butterfly.” He begins as a round character, complex and inconsistent in his motivations. As Song fulfills his literal revelation, though, Gallimard endures a revelation of his own — a revelation of his personality, and now possesses the simplicity, consistency, and submissiveness common to a flat character.
At the opening of the play, Gallimard clearly exhibits the characteristics of a round character. Gallimard’s personality abounds with hypocrisy, in particular. At the outset, Gallimard continually feigns to be what he is not. When speaking to the audience he professes, for instance, that he would not likely “pass up the opportunity to be [the obnoxious, patriarchal] Pinkerton” (1883) of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly.” Gallimard admits his shyness and insecurity regarding the opposite sex while with Marc, though, confessing that “[he is] afraid [the girls will] say no” (1865) to his requests. Therefore, Gallimard attempts to appear dominant and powerful on many occasions, but the reader knows his true yielding personality, as well as the inconsistency of his actions.
Gallimard’s hypocrisy establishes the foundation of the complexity of his motivations — another characteristic of a round character. Gallimard shelves his sexual insecurities by continually striving to relate his life to that of Pinkerton in “Madame Butterfly,” for if Gallimard were to become more like Pinkerton he would fit the stereotypical role of a dominant patriarch, rather than the submissive coward he portrays in his own life. This complexity of motivations, coupled with the hypocrisy and inconsistency of actions, allows Gallimard to more closely resemble a real person and ultimately represent a round character.
The turning point in the development of the character of Gallimard occurs simultaneously with Song’s transformation from a woman to a man. As Song reveals his true identity in front of the watchful eyes of the audience, Gallimard also reveals his true self by transforming from a round character to a flat character. While Song is the beautiful and docile woman living in Gallimard’s fantasy world, Gallimard accepts the role of the patriarch and thrives on the hypocrisy and complexity of his world of illusions. Song’s revelation of his true identity, however, demolishes Gallimard’s fantasy world and forces him to confront the simplicity and consistency of his real life — inevitably a confrontation that he cannot bear.
Gallimard becomes a flat character after Song’s revelation by developing a more simple and submissive personality. Before Song reveals his true identity, Gallimard feeds off the existence of his fantasy world. In this “ideal” world, gender stereotypes abound, for Gallimard carries the dominant role and controls the reins of the “inferior” Song. After Song’s transformation, Gallimard attempts to clinch on to that world, stressing that “[he is] pure imagination. And in imagination [he] will remain” (1908). Despite his seemingly earnest attempts, the reins slip out of Gallimard’s grasp, and he must relinquish the control he held in his fantasy world and face a new reality. Gallimard cannot conceive surviving in this world, however, and thus takes the simplest exit from his tribulations by committing suicide. Theoretically, Gallimard could have decided to resolve his inner chaos in an alternative, more complex manner, but this supreme act of resignation serves as the simplest resolution, therefore incidentally representing a trait of a flat character.
Gallimard conveys an ideal representation of a dynamic character, for his personality transforms from that of a round character to that of a flat character in “M. Butterfly.” Before Song’s revelation, Gallimard carries the characteristic complexity and hypocrisy common to a round character. Song’s revelation, though, deprives Gallimard of his “reality” as well as his ability to survive outside of his illusions, so Gallimard chooses the simplest exit from this reality — suicide. The revelation ruins Gallimard’s complexity by forcing him to take the simplest route from the turmoil of reality, therefore contributing to his newly-developed flat character traits. Through Gallimard’s suicide, Hwang suggests that the only method of penetration of stereotypes is by taking one’s own life, because Song, a static character, leaves the complexity and illusions involved in portraying a woman only to find additional stereotypes and hypocrisy on the other side of the coin. What now makes Gallimard a flat character is his haphazard method of penetrating these illusions, even if that method is suicide.
