Die Kleine Frau Schmetterling Madame Butterfly: Drei Akte

by Giacomo Puccini

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Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Music, Tragedy, Romance, Plays

58 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 1904

About the author

An Italian composer, son of Michele Puccini and fifth in a line of composers from Lucca. After studying music with his uncle, Fortunato Magi, and with the director of the Insituto Musicale Pacini, Carlo Angeloni, he started his career at the age of fourteen as an organist of St. Martino and St. Michele, Lucca, and at other local churches. However, a performance of Verdi's Aida at Pisa in 1876 made such an impression on him he decided to become an opera composer. With a scholarship and financial support from an uncle, he was able to enter the Milan Conservatory in 1880. During his three years there, his chief teachers were Bazzini and Ponchielli.

Punccini's best known operas are: Le villi (1884), Edgar (1889), Manon Lescaut (1893), La Boheme (1896), Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), La fanciulla del West (1910), La rondine (1917), Il trittico" and Turnadot (1926).

During the composition of Turnadot, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, and died after receiving treatment in Brussles. Turnadot, was left unfinished, but was completed by Franco Alfano.

Reviews

[Chiara Pagliochini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bel dì vedrete...

Premetto che la mia esperienza con l’opera lirica è abbastanza limitata e conta soltanto, per il momento, la Cenerentola di Rossini, Aida e Rigoletto di Verdi, la Tosca di Puccini e, finalmente, Madama Butterfly. Momentaneamente, Madama Butterfly si attesta in pole position, seguita dalla Tosca. E nei prossimi anni spero che avrò occasione di assistere alla Bohème e alla Turandot. Ebbene sì, sono innamorata di Puccini. Nella mia limitata esperienza io sono innamorata di Puccini, e vi racconto anche perché.

È un amore cominciato su un autobus che filava verso Vienna, durante la gita della terza media. Siccome anche allora ero una bambina triste e strana, io sedevo vicino al professore. Il professore in questione, che insegnava matematica, era mio amico e mio confidente e, sebbene potesse essere mio padre, col senno di poi riconosco che avevo probabilmente una cotta per lui. Lui? Credo mi volesse bene. Negli anni abbiamo perso i contatti, ma penso che la sua influenza su di me sia stata determinante e duratura. Ebbene, su quell’autobus che filava verso Vienna, forse alle due, forse alle tre di notte, il professore mi infilò una cuffia nelle orecchie. E nelle orecchie andava Nessun dorma, la più grandiosa aria della Turandot.
Quell’eco nelle mie orecchie, quella sensazione di maestosità e di tristezza, di forza e di passione non se ne sono mai andate. E sebbene non sia mai riuscita a vedere la Turandot (perché vivo in un posto al di fuori dello spazio e del tempo, e beccare un’opera a teatro è miracolo che accade una volta l’anno) l’amore per Puccini è cresciuto e si è approfondito.

Scriverò questa recensione in modo del tutto sentimentale, perché io non capisco niente di musica. Tutto quello che sono riuscita a fare con una pianola è stato l’attacco di Fra Martino campanaro.
Ecco, in modo del tutto sentimentale io credo che Puccini sia molto attento alla consonanza tra musica e testo, tra strumenti e parole. Per questo assistere a una sua opera è assistere a qualcosa di totale e totalizzante, uno spettacolo che soddisfa contemporaneamente la vista, l’udito e l’intelletto. Uno spettacolo che, come il teatro greco, come la tragedia (e qui ci viene in aiuto il signor Nietzsche), diventa per lo spettatore un’occasione di catarsi, di liberazione dalle passioni. Lo spettatore vede messi in scena i propri drammi e pulsioni e ha modo così di purificarsene. Se la memoria non m’inganna, Nietzsche lo diceva per la musica di Wagner. Io lo dico di Puccini, e speriamo che nessuno s’offenda.

Generalmente i libretti d’opera (e anche questo lo dico in maniera sentimentale) sono un accostamento di frasi messe a casaccio più per stare bene con la musica che per avere un senso proprio. Quando il lettore moderno si trova naso a naso col libretto, scrolla la testa e sgrana gli occhi e dice: “Cos’è mai ‘sta roba?”. Gente che parla una sopra l’altra. Un vocabolario da tremila avanti Cristo. Elisioni dappertutto. Ripetizioni. Rime balorde.
Ecco, il libretto della Madama Butterfly non è così. Il libretto della Madama Butterfly è poesia. Non so quanto questo sia dovuto ai librettisti Illica e Giacosa e quanto invece a David Belasco, autore della tragedia omonima, tratta a sua volta dal racconto dell’americano John Luther Long. Non sapendo stabilire come distribuire i meriti, ci limiteremo a dire che Madama Butterfly ha un libretto bellissimo, non bellissimo, splendido, un libretto che fa piangere da solo.

Siamo in Giappone e Madama Butterfly è un’incantevole geisha quindicenne, che si unisce in matrimonio al tenente della marina statunitense Pinkerton. Il nostro Pinkerton è un furbone d’uomo, un emerito stronzo, come tanti suoi colleghi di libretto. Questo Pinkerton vive secondo una filosofia di vita espressa così:

“La vita ei non appaga
Se non fa suo tesor
I fiori d’ogni plaga…”

Vale a dire che al signor Pinkerton basta avere una donna in ogni porto per essere contento e che le sue intenzioni verso Butterfly non sono punto serie, in quanto l’unica sua vera ambizione è quella di maritarsi con una sposa americana e fare tanti figlioletti americani. Per questo ha contratto con Butterfly un matrimonio all’uso giapponese, “così mi sposo all’uso giapponese / per novecento-novanta-nove anni. / Salvo a prosciogliermi ogni mese”. A Pinkerton basterà lasciare il tetto coniugale per mettere una pietra sul matrimonio con Butterfly, perché l’abbandonare una moglie equivale a divorziare da lei.

E tutto sarebbe assolutamente splendido, se Butterfly condividesse il suo punto di vista. Ma Butterfly no, Butterfly non capisce niente, Butterfly s’è innamorata di Pinkerton dal primo momento in cui l’ha visto. Per amore ha rinnegato la sua religione per abbracciare il cristianesimo (e nello stesso momento i suoi parenti hanno rinnegato lei), per amore si dichiara una sposa americana, crede nelle usanze americane, si fida del suo americano sposo. Ma noi lo sappiamo bene come sono fatti gli americani, ahimè: dovunque vanno fanno dei grossi pasticci.

I pensieri che Madama Butterfly formula sono tutti di una delicatezza e di una bellezza straordinaria, e la musica non manca mai di farcelo notare. Verrebbe voglia di stringere questa sposina quindicenne e di asciugare tutte le sue lacrime. Meravigliose le sue parole a Pinkerton la notte delle nozze:

“Vogliatemi bene,
un bene piccolino,
un bene da bambino,
quale a me si conviene.
Vogliatemi bene.
Noi siamo gente avvezza
Alle piccole cose
Umili e silenziose,
ad una tenerezza
sfiorante e pur profonda
come il ciel, come l’onda del mare!”

Straordinariamente triste e profetico anche il successivo dialogo tra i due:

Pinkerton, “Dammi ch’io baci le tue mani care. Mia Butterfly! Come t’ha ben nomata tenue farfalla…”
M. Butterfly, “Dicon che oltre mare se cade in man dell’uom, ogni farfalla da uno spillo è trafitta ed in tavola infitta!”
Pinkerton, “Un po’ di vero c’è. E tu lo sai perché? Perché non fugga più. Io t’ho ghermita, ti serro palpitante, sei mia.”
M. Butterfly, “Sì, per la vita”.

Mentre i due si abbandonano sul talamo nuziale sulle note di una musica che è erotismo puro, noi quasi cominciamo a pensare che questo Pinkerton un pochino la ami, se le dice queste belle parole. Invece il sipario si chiude e, quando si riapre, capiamo che non è affatto così.

Sono passati tre anni da quella notte. Pinkerton se n’è andato. Butterfly è povera, assistita solo dalla fedele ancella Suzuki, si prende cura del figlio nato dal matrimonio, unico bambino con gli occhi azzurri e i riccioli biondi in tutto il Giappone. Un bambino che adesso si chiama “Dolore” e potrà chiamarsi “Gioia” solo quando conoscerà per la prima volta suo padre. Ebbene, nonostante questi tre anni di solitudine, Butterfly crede ancora che Pinkerton tornerà, perché le ha promesso di tornare:

“O Butterfly, piccina mogliettina,
tornerò colle rose alla stagion serena
quando fa nidiata il pettirosso”

E nella sua ingenuità disarmante e con quel candore che ce la fa amare, Madama Butterfly dice:

“Mio marito m’ha promesso,
di ritornar nella stagion beata
che il pettirosso rifà la nidiata.
Qui l’ha rifatta per ben tre volte
ma può farsi che di là (in America)
usi nidiar men spesso”

E così Madama Butterfly aspetta e aspetta e immagina sempre il suo ritorno e ci descrive quella scena tanto desiderata in un passaggio che non ha niente da invidiare a un romanzo:

“Un bel dì, vedremo
levarsi un fil di fumo
dall’estremo confin del mare.
E poi la nave appare.
Poi la nave bianca
entra nel porto,
romba il suo saluto.
Vedi? È venuto!
Io non gli scendo incontro. Io no.
Mi metto là sul ciglio del colle e aspetto,
e aspetto gran tempo e non mi pesa,
la lunga attesa.
E uscito dalla folla cittadina
un uomo, un picciol punto
s’avvia per la collina.
Chi sarà? Chi sarà?
E come sarà giunto
che dirà? Che dirà?
Chiamerà Butterfly dalla lontana.
Io senza dar risposta
me ne starò nascosta
un po’ per celia…
E un po’ per non morire al primo incontro,
ed egli alquanto in pena chiamerà,
chiamerà: piccina mogliettina
olezzo di verbena,
i nomi che mi dava al suo venire”

È quasi scontato dirlo, ma questa storia finirà male. E Pinkerton si dimostrerà ancora più mostruoso, vile e spregevole di quant’è stato finora. Tanti i punti e le arie toccanti, come lo splendido coro muto. Ma la musica non si può raccontare come il libretto, e per quella vi rimando al suo creatore e al luogo adatto.

Io non capisco come si possa non amare l’opera. È l’unica performance artistica che ti proietta davvero fuori del tuo corpo e ti fa appassionare alla vicenda rappresentata come se fosse la tua. Certo, succede anche con i libri, ma all’opera c’è la scena, all’opera c’è la musica.

Note di merito e di demerito per lo spettacolo cui ho assistito ieri sera. A una Madama Butterfly chiaramente occidentale corrispondeva un Pinkerton chiaramente giapponese (interessante esperimento intellettuale, ma forse un po’ troppo intellettuale, specialmente atto a confondere chi all’opera non è mai stato e sa poco della trama). Tre punti in più per la scena finale, che ha messo alla prova le mie conoscenze di harakiri. Mi ero tanto prodigata nello spiegare alla mia amica e accompagnatrice come andasse squarciato il ventre col pugnale e invece mi trovo davanti una Butterfly che si sgozza. Ma certo, mi dico, perché questo è jigai, non harakiri! (no, non sto farneticando, e chi conosce la mia Agenzia dei suicidi mi capirà).

Conscia di aver ormai tediato i vostri nervi e di aver scritto più per me che per voi, vi saluto. E smettete di storcere il naso, perché Opera is the way!

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was not as bad as in Madame Chrysantheme by Pierre Loti, but you'll find the same plot: fearing boredom, American Lieutenant, B.F. Pikerton marries Cho-Cho-San, a 15 year old "Geisha", isolates her from her family, attempts to westernize her, but soon abandons the scheme since he goes back home.

At this point, things change and I never thought I'd appreciate how Pierre Loti handled his book, but I have to admit I'm grateful to him for making his heroine older, for never trying to change Chrysanthème's religion. The break-up was also quick and the hero never lied to the heroine promising to come back, the heroine just moved on with her life.

But that kind of an ending clearly wasn't good enough for John Luther Long, whose book is a text book on how to brainwash your spouse into making you, the husband, the center of her life. Cho-Cho-San, is an extremely naive girl who blindly believes in her husband's love for her, in his return and eventual joy on discovering the son he had unknowingly fathered.

Most of this book focuses on Cho-Cho-San, Pikerton having left only after 20 pages, her struggle to reject another suitor, to bring her husband back. I'm not going to spoil the ending, because the author's best writing is in the last few chapters and there's a twist that people who love the opera will not expect.

[Bellz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan. The author John Luther Long writes in an infantilizing way about a young Japanese geisha who naively believed in love and marriage. Although short novel, hard to get through with such racist elements in the way it was written. The eye dialect was beyond unnecessary and Long, a white man having never been to Japan, only relying on his sister's brief experience living there, wrote the novel with disturbing inaccuracy and heavily orientalizing of asian women.

[★ray's bookshelf★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madam Butterfly was my best opera so far and the ending was so beautiful , it made me cry so much every time I see it 🥹.

[zeyneb · Rating 1 out of 5]

gözlerinize inanamayacaksınız

ben 15 yaşındaki bir çocuğun evlenip zorla ailesinden kopartılıp çocuğu olduktan sonra eşi tarafından terk edilmesini ve sonra çaresizlik içinde intihar etmesini okumaktan keyif almıyorum ŞOK OLDUNUZ di mi

[B. Barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gut wrenching and poignant.
Had to pause it for a few minutes because it was upsetting me.

[Raúl · Rating 5 out of 5]

La combinación de este libreto con la música es desgarradora. Preparaos a llorar. Sublime.

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight]

I saw the opera a couple of years back, but I always preferred the ending in this story.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madame Butterfly es la historia de una joven japonesa,Cho Cho San, cuya familia la obliga a casarse con el capitán Pinkerton, un estadounidense egoísta y cobarde, que aleja a la familia de su esposa de ella, ocasionando que la protagonista sea una marginada. Cho Cho San espera con su doncella y su bebé el regreso de su esposo, del cual se ha enamorado perdidamente.

Esta novela es una crítica a los estadounidenses que critican y desprecian a la cultura japonesa y al mismo tiempo describe la frágil posición de una mujer que es obligada a casarse y que es despreciada cuando el marido con la que la obligaron a casarse, los ofende. La edición es hermosa. No sólo la tapa es una obra de arte sino que también en el interior hay hermosas ilustraciones.

[Ruben Schuster Postiglione · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot help feeling that the opera is much more engaging. Besides, that use of engrish, while accurate, distracted me from the plot, disrupting the pace.

[Mikaela S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting such a melodramatic opera with such a distant theme from the other opera by Puccini. The history behind this opera is deeply moving and I will not soon forget it.

[Sotiris Makrygiannis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book probably has inspired many people. Firstly Puccini's Madame butterfly opera was a commercial disater. However, the Greek Maria Kallas took it over, and now if you know Maria, you know very well Puccini's opera and,d in extension, the original short story of Cho-Cho-San, a beautiful, fragile Japanese Geisha.

I suspect that Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, with her famous CoCo Channel number 5 perfume, comes from her. Of course, the french could believe what came out of the words Ko Ko Ri Ko. Who can believe that? Ko Ki Ri Ko is a Rooster's sound is incompatible with a female. At least for me, Cho Cho must be the root of the CoCo brand name.

The Geisha concept is rather complex to explain; the fact here is that she was 15 years old and treated like an object. In ancient Greece, we had a similar concept called εταίρα (πόρνη της αρχαιότητας που εκτός από τις υπηρεσίες πορνείας διέθετε ευρεία μόρφωση).

Her dreams, hopes, and everything in between were destroyed. There are many movies about USA Army soldiers or sailors having wives abroad and dropping them relatively quickly when they go home. Perhaps the last such a phenomenon occurred was in liberated Germany in the 40s.

So even though she was a Geisha, the collapse of the dream of a young woman's soul could be devastating. Money and status do not change by love, and using those to "obtain" a young wife for me is a despicable act. Nevertheless, let's not forget the Cast system of Japan and Geishas were destined to comfort women; therefore, their feelings should be ignored. Such is the system humans develop and is socially acceptable in many countries.

Nevertheless, Maria Kallas, a Greek and Italian Puccini, immortalized this young lady in the best possible way! Highly recommended reading!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really kind of want a three-and-a-half stars option. Most of the book really serves as a portrait of the title character, and I felt there was very little going on until the end. Despite that, it was something I enjoyed reading; there just wasn't much to it.

The final couple of chapters, though, where reality sort of comes crashing down on her, I thought were quite well-done. Except... I'm not sure how I feel about the conclusion the last few sentences hint at.

[Hannah-Louise Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad but can see the similarities between it and miss Saigon

[Brooke Tallent · Rating 4 out of 5]

The epitome of vulnerability, naïveté and blind trust.

[Javier Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton is a rat fink!

[Bittersweet Fellow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I only bought this book because it was on sale at one of the markets in my city during the Christmas season... Like... 100 pesos (think of it as 5 dollars). The cover was pretty, and I bought the Arte y Letra edition (quite good, in my opinion, with its illustrations and binding). At first... I'll admit it, I thought this story would feature that sewer rat called Pinkerton as the main character (sorry for the language, guys, I had to say it). However, I was surprised to see that as the first few chapters went by, the story shifted its focus to my lovely Cho-Cho San.

At first, I saw the character as... confused? A bit childish and excessively naive. Her dialogues with her maid reminded me of a hyperactive little girl spouting her convoluted ideas. I didn't empathize with her much in the first few chapters until we got to the chapter with the American consul, which gave us a more serious and realistic view of her situation. I won't go into too much detail; I don't want to give away any spoilers. I'll just say that you'll have to invest some time in reading the whole book to understand the context of our young woman.

Bad things? Some Asian stereotypes that I could consider racist. Many of these come from Pinkerton himself from the beginning of the book, but I can tell that the writer had some of those ideas...? (Keep in mind that this guy wrote this book in the early 1900s, so it was normalized at that time). Although I admit that I liked the evolution that our Madame Butterfly had as the book progressed, in addition to her way of speaking and how she got along with English. I think this book was undervalued from the beginning, being taken more as an exotic tale for Western people than as a story of heartbreak and tragedy.

In my opinion, yes, this book brought tears to my eyes in its final chapters. I was surprised when I finished reading it. I loved it, but I need to rate it fairly. I'm open to feedback.

I would wholeheartedly recommend it to all types of readers, especially those just starting out in the world of reading, as it's a quick read. However, you might need to reread it and do some research on Japanese culture to fully understand the story. It doesn't use as much complicated language as one might expect, and honestly, it could keep you hooked until the end—of course, that depends on individual tastes.

[Jarod Hartung · Rating 3 out of 5]

The short story that inspired Giacomo Puccini's tragic opera, Madama Butterfly.
Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton is a US naval officer stationed in Japan, and arranges to marry a young Japanese Geisha, Cho-Cho San - the butterfly of Nagasaki. He rents a house for 999 years, then departs on his ship, telling the now pregnant Madame Butterfly that he will return "when the robin makes its nest". The story follows Cho-Cho San - who is now estranged from her family after Pinkerton banned them from visiting her - as she waits for her sailor to come home.

The story is deeply poetic, and has some beautiful imagery - when Cho-Cho San lies to the US consul about her age, she says she "will be twenty-seven when the chrysanthemums next bloom". The recurring theme of the robin's nest is also heartbreakingly gorgeous.

So why only three stars? Reading this in 2026, it's hard to look past the appalling Orientalism of the short story. The opera, in its gorgeous Italian glory, can be easily reinterpreted as a critique of Orientalism - with the villain, B.F. Pinkerton, as a metaphor for the chauvinistic fetishisation of Asian culture that still exists in the West today.

It's not really possible to apply this lens to the short story, with all the Japanese characters speaking in horrendous broken English, often to the extent where it's hard to follow what they are saying. The imagery of the chrysanthemum is immediately soured when Cho-Cho San refers to the consul as "the mos' bes' nize man".
The Japanese characters, especially the women, are also portrayed as overly naïve - it only takes a few days of a toxic relationship with an American to make Cho-Cho San "the mos' bes' happy female woman in Japan—mebby in that whole world".

Overall, this is a beautiful if not nauseating tragedy, and I would cautiously recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the opera. It's hard not to feel emotional as Cho-Cho San and her purple-eyed baby, Trouble, slide deeper and deeper towards the tragic finale, as they wait alone in the house on the hill, for the robin to make its nest.

[Bookworm Express Kwan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m going to see an adaptation of Madame Butterfly soon, so I had to make sure I read the book first. I had no idea what to expect, but this is a dialogue heavy short story that uses accented-English throughout the book. It interrupted the flow for me and I struggled to get pass that.

Other than that, the story is rather tragic. A 15-years-old Cho-Cho-san marries an American navy officer on a visit in Japan. He leaves her behind and forgets all about her, she thinks he’ll return and come back to the house he left her in. She has been cut off from her family, as she chose her husband over them - and now all she does is wait and wait and wait. Still, Cho-Cho-san remains naively hopeful, rejecting proposals from other suitors, and telling stories to herself and her maid to keep the faith of his return.

[Luana Bolkovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totalmente desgarrador. Butterfly niña incluso siendo madre es sometida a la voluntad de su colonizador, que solo la ve como un accesorio exótico y no como una verdadera esposa. Sin embargo, ella tiene un millón de veces más valor que él. Como Pocahontas, como la Malinche y tal vez, como Anora, Butterfly muestra el peligro del matrimonio. Quizás el amor romántico solo existe cuando no hay barreras de dominación en el medio.

[Arzu Onuklu · Rating 4 out of 5]

O kadar üzücü ki... Madam Butterfly duymustum ama okuma firsatina anca eriştim. Amerikalı bir subayla istemeden de olsa evlenen sonrasında subayin kendisini terk ettiğine inanmak yerine geri geleceğine inanan bir kadının trajik hikayesi... Hele sonu tam bir Japon gururunun göstergesi... Kimsenin gururuyla oynamayın...

[Coyolxauhqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fuck Pinkerton

[Vanessa Rich-Martone · Rating 4 out of 5]

No confíen en los hombres.

[Nu]

no estoy sabiendo bien qué decir

[Kaddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read for Writing 120 Subtle Asian Traits

So disturbing 😭😭😭 why would a white man write this???? (rhetorical question)

[WM · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s quite disturbing, has no plot, and is pretty choppy but the writing style of this does carry its points through. So how is Long a feminist…

[smallbooks]

.
Mademe Butterfly.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
.
Estuve apunto de dejar este libro para comprar el libro el amante, no recuerdo el autor pero ya van varias veces que lo veo y una de ellas fue por los buenos comentarios de la bookstagrammer Sonnis, pero el que estaba atendiendo en caja del stand donde los compre me dijo ya viste la obra de este libro te va a encantar y si hablo de Madame Butterfly, y pues me deje guiar por el, así fue como me adentre al mundo de Madame y lo termine en unas horas ya que el libro es pequeño 102 paginas.

Empezare diciendo que este libro si no lloras por lo menos tu corazón se apachurra bastante. Es un libro muy delicado que haces sentir empatía y hasta cierto punto no tristeza por el personaje principal si no lastima por ser de una manera tan crédula con las personas.

Madame Butterfly se casa con un estadounidense naval, ella era japonesa y los choques culturales empezaron a fluir a tal grado que el prohibido o mejor dicho desterró a la familia de esta, cuando el tuvo que volver a navegar, ella se queda a la espera de que algún día volverá a rencontrase con este, pasa el tiempo y empieza a tener pretendiente de nuevo este un príncipe que le promete castillos y sirvientes pero esta con la creencia que su amado volvería con ella, lo rechaza y así se queda esperando junto a su doncella y su hermoso hijo la llegada del naval, hasta que un día decide ir a la embajada estadounidense y empieza a tener conversaciones con el embajador este molesto por las promesas que le hizo el joven termina diciendo a Madame que aceptara al pretendiente pero esta un poco indignada decide no hacerle caso. Hasta que de repente llegan barcos y entre ellos se percata de un hombre que venia con una mujer agarrado del brazo esta pensó que lo habían arrestado por que él era casado y venia con esa mujer y que por ello el no había ido a su casa. Pero eso no fue así pasaron días y el no pisaba la casa donde ella vivía. Así que decide volver a la embajada y es ahí cuando se lleva una gran sorpresa, la mujer con cabellos dorados entra, le pide al embajador que le entregue un mensaje a su esposo y al empezar a decir el nombre. Madame se percata que realmente él ya había echo una familia esta desilusionada decide ir y terminar su historia.

[Asaf Cygelberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads, currently, gives this book a 3.2 rating... I think it deserves a four.

I didn't like the beginning, as the story is written in an odd style, without regular narration like in most books.

But as the pages continued I found the plot intelligible, and more interesting.

It is a sad and amusing tragedy. Around 1900, A US army (?) lieutenant goes to Japan and takes a local wife (madam Butterfly). He leaves after a while back to the US, and tells her he'll be back when Robins (a type of bird) nest again. She is madly in love with him and his being American, and awaits his return. She became pregnant while he was there, though he didn't know about it, and has a baby with him. She loves the baby dearly, who is blond and has "purple" eyes. Cho Cho San's family declare her dead to them, since her husband forbade them to visit them. He, in general, makes himself the only thing that's important to her. After sometime that her husband is gone, a wedding-broker comes to her and suggests she marries a rich Japanese named Yamadori. They meet, and he insults her marriage to the American (Named BF Pinkerton) and she ends the meeting between them.

As more time passes, she goes to the American consulate and asks about her husband. She checks the harbor everyday for his ship to return, and when one day she sees Pinkerton, he is with another woman, a blonde.

Cho Cho San goes to the consulate again, and asks about it. The consul (or vice consul?) lies to her, but then a woman comes in and from her conversation it is revealed she is the wife of Pinkerton (it is the same blonde woman who was with him on the boat) and that she wants to adopt Cho Cho Sans's baby.

Cho Cho San decides to commit suicide (as her father did?) and starts, but her maid makes her baby cry, and she stops and she, the baby and the maid leave the house (as to avoid Pinkerton and his wife adopting the baby).


Note that Cho Cho San's text is written with an accent, and is slightly hard to read.

This story is part of the basis for one of the most performed operas (Puccini's Madame Butterfly).

Anyway, four stars.

[Ylva · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the original short story behind the much more famous opera.

Originally from like 1898 this is one of the trope codifiers for the lovely mellow, pliant, subservient etc etc East-Asian wife/mistress trope that is still alive and kicking today. The story starts when our lovely Pinkerton is stationed in Japan and he promptly takes a Japanese wife. At the outset we know this is a temporary thing for him - something akin to a free maid-with-benefits and entertainment all wrapped up in one lovely way too young package. Nice.

Before we hit page 20 he's already left for the states, Cho-Cho-san has given birth to a baby boy unbeknownst to her husband, and is expecting him back at any time. Now what could go wrong? Now, I'll give that Long apparently didn't want his readers to side with Pinkerton. He's an ass. Characters point this out in the story (if not quite as bluntly). Then he does return and Cho-Cho-san's elaborate visions of the future die.

Sadly I didn't like our tragic Cho-Cho-san, the eponymous Madam Butterfly, either. So there's that. Long's insistence on writing her entire dialog in broken English gets old VERY fast. Also the aha ha ha's. STOP IT. She's also way over the top in her mood swings and her characterization is bad. To top it all off she comes across as almost willfully ignorant towards the end (or viewed with a bit more understanding: desperately clinging to her dreams of the future. The willfully ignoring consequences thing she shares with her husband, who is also warned his treatment of his wife will end in tragedy).

It's Cho-Cho-san's interactions with her maid and her baby that put her on my No-good list. I'll just quote one prime example as to why our tragic heroine(?) gets so little of my pity:

"Cho-Cho-San dropped the baby with a reckless thud, and sprang at her again [the maid]. She gripped her throat viciously, then flung her, laughing, aside. 'Speak concerning marriage once more, an' you die.'"

Nice. Also - that thud? The baby hitting the floor.

Peace out.

[aljouharah · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية قصيرة، أو نوفيلا إن أردت أن أستخدم المصطلحات التي درستها، هذه النوفيلا تتحدث عن السيدة فراشة واسمها الحقيقي هو تاتسومي -سان، هذه الشابة، أو المراهقة لأكون أكثر تحديداً تزوجت بحاراً أمريكياً طائشاً يجد قلبه في كُل مرفأ كما قال القنصل الأمريكي ..

تُحكى لنا القصة من وجهة نظر تسوسوكي، التي أنتحر والدها حفاظاً على شرفه وترك العائلة تصارع الفقر، لتوافق على أول خاطب يتقدم لإبنتهم، وهو الأمريكي بينغلتون.
وتسوء الأمور بعد ذلك، فهذا الجندي أو البحار “ لم يتم توضيح طبيعة عمله” يرى أن اليابانيين مُجرد شعد همجي لا يعرف للحضارة ولا للحياة المدنية، فيقطع زوجته الشابه عن أهلها ويقرر أنها ستقطع كُل حبال العلاقات ببلدها وشعبه، حتى دينها الذي لطالما آمنت به جعلها تفكر بأنه مجرد “صلوات عابثة لأحجار الأرض وشجرها” !!
كفتاة صغيرة تجرب الزواج لأول مرة، وكفتاة في مُقتبل العمر بدأت بالكاد تتذوق مُتعة الحياة، يسلبها هذا الرجل المغرور المعتد بثقافتة الأمريكية، وتقع في حبه عميقاً حتى لتتخلى عن صوتها “لغتها اليابانية التي ولدت معها” للتتعلم الإنجليزية وتتحدث بها طوال الوقت، بحضوره أو بغيابه!

أرى بنغلتون رجلاً مغروراً يظن أن أي امرأة غير متعلمة لعبة في يده!
كرهته كثيراً عندما ظهر مع زوجته الأمريكية الشقراء ليأخذ طفل تاتسومي!!
وجع شين وقوة عين!
هذه الرواية ترينا جانباً مؤلماً من قصص البحارة الذين يشقون شواطئ العالم بتجارتهم أو بحروبهم، يجدون قلباً ليتعلق بهم، وحالما تنتهي مهمتهم، يرحلون ويتركون قلوباً محطمة، منسية للأبد !

تباً كرهت البحارة xD