Summary Of In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is placed into the Historical Fiction genre because of its basis on true events but slight deviance from the truth for the sake of entertainment. However, Alvarez’s goal is to write the Mirabal sisters’ story according to their personal qualities. Even if the exact actions of the characters in the novel may not mirror reality, Alvarez aims to write about the sisters’ lives as she believes they would have lived them. Certain events, whether real or not, play a significant role in the development of each character’s personality in the novel. Minerva slapping Trujillo and María Teresa and Minerva refusing to accept the pardon from prison are two important scenes with this purpose that also happen

Although it is true that Minerva and Mate were taken to La Victoria Penitentiary and were sentenced to five years in prison, there is no proof that they were offered a pardon that they decided to refuse. In the novel, Minerva is said to decline to be pardoned from prison in order to “set a good example” for the other political prisoners. Mate, however, argues that she wants to be released, but stays since she does not want to “leave Minerva behind to be a martyr all by herself.” These acts have no historical basis, but successfully sum up Minerva’s and Mate’s differing morals. According to Alvarez, Minerva’s strength and sense of duty to the revolution prompts her to refuse to pretend that she regretted her actions. Even though prison and its tortures eventually deteriorate her health and resolve, she only agrees to leave prison when she is officially released. On the other hand, Mate longs to accept the pardon since she is already suffering from hunger, depression, and separation from her newborn daughter. However, due to her loyalty to her sister, she lets Minerva talk her into staying with her. Mate claims to stay because Minerva tells her to do what she thinks is right. She still could have taken the pardon without Minerva, but her decision to stay shows that Mate is also devoted to her country. Although she is the youngest sister and usually shown as the most naïve, Mate’s bravery and determination almost matches Minerva’s, even though it is not as outwardly shown. The common decision to stay does not reflect the girls’ personalities as well as their rationalizations do. By choosing to turn Mate and Minerva into martyrs in this scene, Alvarez creates a convincing scene that displays the sisters’ actual morals when it came to their families and the