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Why does the Bonze reject Cio-Cio-San after her wedding ceremony?
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Madama Butterfly
Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, 1908.
In Giacomo Pucciniâs opera Madama Butterfly, the Bonzeâwho is Cio-Cio-Sanâs uncle and a Buddhist monkârejects and denounces her because she has renounced her familyâs ancestral religion to convert to Christianity for her husband, B.F. Pinkerton.12
During the wedding festivities, the Bonze arrives and accuses Cio-Cio-San of committing an abomination by abandoning her faith and her ancestors. He subsequently leads the wedding guests away while shouting curses at her, effectively ostracizing her from her family and community for her choice to embrace her husband's religion.2