SOURCE: Hwang, David Henry. “Afterword.” In M. Butterfly, pp. 94-100. New York: Plume, 1989.

In the following essay, Hwang discusses the inspiration for M. Butterfly, explains the process the play underwent in production, and expresses his hope that people will look beyond stereotypes to uncover truths about one another.

It all started in May of 1986, over casual dinner conversation. A friend asked, had I heard about the French diplomat who'd fallen in love with a Chinese actress, who subsequently turned out to be not only a spy, but a man? I later found a two-paragraph story in The New York Times. The diplomat, Bernard Bouriscot, attempting to account for the fact that he had never seen his “girlfriend” naked, was quoted as saying, “I thought she was very modest. I thought it was a Chinese custom.”

Now, I am aware that this is not a Chinese custom, that Asian...