After a rainy day trapsing around NYC, I introduced my mother, brother, and soon to be sister in law to opera by starting at the top — the Met doing Madam Butterfly.

Butterfly is the quintessential starter opera.

Soaring melodies, (often) lush scenery, and easily relatable characters and plot line — it goes down nice and smooth.

I recently finished a book, Word Pictures (to be discussed later), which argued against the primacy / bias of the written word over the image. As a corollary to this reasoning, the reader is challenged to avoid writing off a work based on genre or elements such as profanity and violence, but rather to discern what the message behind the work is and accept or oppose it on those grounds.

It is in this light that I was struck by the strong moral message communicated by the very tragic story of Butterfly. Of course, there is the obvious east meets west, ugly American theme. In this regard, it is amazing that the opera was written in 1904 and not 2004. Not that American exploitation of native peoples is new — it’s just interesting how relevant this perception of us still is.

Overall, though, the story is one not just of a corporate failure, but primarily of a personal one. Pinkerton is a type of each of us when we insist on having our cake and eating it too. Instant gratification, without regard for the consequences, almost always leads to disastrous consequences.

Pinkerton’s moral weakness and lack of respect for his future wife and the sanctity of marriage leads him to ruin the lives of not only Butterfly (who kills herself to retain what’s left of her honor), but also (at least at some level) Butterfly’s servant Suzuki, their son, and also his American wife. He also doesn’t do his friend Sharpless, who has to clean up his mess, any favors. All this is the result of his desire for a short period of physical pleasure with a throwaway bride  aged 15.

In our culture of casual sex and absentee fatherhood, this is a timely message to remember. There will always be mistakes, and people do not always turn out the way we expect. I am not trying to judge anyone who makes an honest error in judgement; however in our culture poor women especially are exploited and then abandoned to the detriment of our communities and the ruin of individual lives.

I am reminded of the great erotic passages of Song of Solomon. With each scene, there is an oft- repeated theme: “do not arouse passion before its time.”

We are all Pinkerton, and we would all do well to remember his lesson.