Minerva observes this moment of deep emotion in the face of her mother, one of the many women who has suffered the loss of her husband's fidelity; this simple moment gives direct insight into the hopes and losses of Mama, the strongest source of care for the Mirabal family. With the dictatorial power of Trujillo still bearing down upon the Dominican Republic and his recent interest in the Mirabal family, fear is even more prominent in the lives of the sisters and those around them. And the family's loss of their highly fallible father to another woman was not cohesive to the structure and stability of their already shaky world. As a woman, Mama would be expected to fall subject to the wishes of her husband, but it is often seen that her opinion is the one that wins out (probably due to Papa's unstable mentality and Mama's persistent care about the welfare of her daughters). Already dealing with the stresses of taking care of her family and Trujillo's ever-looming presence, Papa's infidelity is a blow to both her self-confidence and the familial structure that she has tirelessly slaved over. …show more content…
When he is freed from his cruel detainment, Papa's appearance is gaunt and his spirits are low, fearing that the crops (their source of sustenance) are spoiled. In an attempt to comfort him (and most likely herself as well), Mama reaches out to her husband through a memory. This memory, though simple and seemingly insubstantial, acts as two things: a pathway back to better times and a link between the now distant spouses. Mama's love for her husband is painted all over her face, and Minerva sees the return of her mother's hope that one of her greatest losses might not be irretrievable after