Summary Of In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies tells the story of three sisters’ daring stand against an oppressive leader. Set in the Dominican Republic during the 1990s, In the Time of the Butterflies follows the interpersonal relationships and revolutionary affairs of the Mirabal sisters: Patria, Dede, Maria Teresa, and Minerva. A masterfully crafted work of historical fiction, the novel interweaves the real life and times of the Mirabal sisters with fiction and emotion. The book combines a modern interview and a series of flashback memories to tell the girls’ story; the author’s use of rotating perspective also helps the reader gain specific insights into each sister’s life during the Trujillo regime. The late twentieth century was a period

Even as a young child, Patria wanted to devote her life to the Church and become a nun. She went on to abandon this plan, however, and marry her husband, Pedrito. Nonetheless, her life and character are both dominated by her devotion to God. Unlike her sister, Minerva, who began to notice the malfeasances of the Church under Trujillo’s rule early on, Patria stays devout. It is only through God and the Church that she joins the revolution. While on a mission trip, she witnesses a young man’s death at the hands of Trujillo. After this, her church group, too, gets caught in revolutionary

Here we see Minerva’s emphasis on the importance of ambition over love. This conflict is what ultimately deters Dede from joining the resistance. While Dede wants to join, her husband, Jaimito, is strongly opposed. When her sisters attempt to recruit her, Jaimito gets violently angry. She feels compelled to stay: “Even so, that night, with her ears still ringing from Jaimito’s shout, Dede had been ready to risk her life. It was her marriage that she couldn’t put on the line.” (177). In this passage, it is clearly stated that Dede is not willing to put the revolution before her marriage.
While her sisters’ involvements in the revolution are inspiringly brave, none felt the same internal passion that one can see Minerva felt. By comparing Minerva to her sister's’ involvement (or lack thereof), one can see this passion clearly. Maria Teresa only joins when she becomes romantically interested in a revolutionary. A man whom Maria Teresa only met through Minerva. Patria, a devout Catholic, only joins through her faith. Conversely, Minerva left the Church after noticing it’s corruption. Finally Dede, who cannot make the “ultimate sacrifice,” does not join her sisters in the resistance because she cannot give up her marriage. Minerva, meanwhile, has voiced multiple times that she puts her ambitions before her marriage.