Start: I’ve played out the events of my...

Start:

I’ve played out the events of my life night after night, always searching for a new ending to my story, one where I leave this cell and return forever to my Butterfly’s arms.

Tonight I realize my search is over. That I’ve looked all along in the wrong place. And now, to you, I will prove that my love was not in vain--by returning to the world of fantasy where I first met her.

[... … …]

End:

And I have found her at last. In a prison on the outskirts of Paris. My name is Rene Gallimard--also known as Madame Butterfly

For the full monologue, see the script edition cited here: David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly, Penguin Books, 1988, pp. 91-93.

Howlround Theatre Commons: M. Butterfly from 1988 to 2017