Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2000. [Vol. 6.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 26)

Studies - András Tarnóc: "we deserve a Butterfly ": The Reversal of the Post-colonial Self in David Henry Hwang 's M. Butterfly

by the surrounding human microcosm and "Being in the World" denotes the Splintered Self, or the Self s consciousness of the world amounting to a plethora of incomplete Selves (Tordai 244-250). While these components are present in the psyche of all human beings, the colonial and post-colonial mindset established a different prioritizing system. The colonial primarily seen as a stereotype appears as a victim, a person deprived of agency. Since s/he is described by the colonizer, (s)he is unable to alter his/her situation substantially. In the case of the Asian identity "Being for Others" and "Being in the World" dominates. The description of Asian characters in Western literature is impacted by objectification or stereotyping, suffice to refer to the "John Chinaman," or "Gunga Din" concepts encompassing servility and ignorance, and to the images of "Suzy Wong" conveying the sexually submissive, yet innocent consort, along with "Ahmah," projecting the Asian equivalent of the Mammy (Major 4—8). As Sartre indicates, "Being in the World" includes the infinite possibilities of Selves, frustrated by this very incompletion. The colonial Self is restricted from self-realization and actualization. The post-colonial Self, on the other hand, is not a stereotype, it emphasizes the "Being for Itself' stage at the expense of the other two. While at first glance Sartre's approach, especially in light of the efforts of Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Leela Ghandi appears obsolete, I believe his commitment to the fight against objectification, a crucial component of the colonial relationship, and his impassionate stance against colonization, namely the French occupation of Algiers, make his theoretical model an apt research tool. Furthermore, as Irmscher recognizes, the protagonist of Hwang's play carries the name of a famous French publishing house (625), as Gallimard Publishing, among others is the disseminator of Sartre's most important works. Rath's three-part concept of the home is also instructive. "Home" can appear spatially described by Dorinne Kondo as "a safe place, where there is no need to explain oneself to outsiders, it stands for community" (qtd. in Rath 10), or as a collection of memories, an imaginary community. In the temporal dimension home can function as the assortment of public myths and private memories, a collection of histories. Home can be seen as a virtual third space suggesting a belonging to two or more cultural domains, or viewed by Homi 98