Often in works of literature, symbolism reveals significant information about characters and the theme of the work as a whole. Symbolism in the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, is an example of this. The novel is set in the Dominican Republic, during a period of the tyrannical control of Rafael Trujillo. The Mirabal sisters, (Patria, Dede, Minerva, and Maria Teresa) from whom the point of view is set, are involved in the underground movement to rebel against Trujillo’s regime. Alverez uses symbolism to support the idea that those who may be initially considered harmless can make the biggest impact. A symbol that Alverez includes for this purpose is the butterfly. Butterflies are often viewed as harmless and delicate, they are commonly seen as a symbol for freedom. Through the fragile nature of butterflies, Alverez suggests that that the girls are not viewed as a significant threat at first. As women, they don’t seem to pose a threat to Trujillo. He gambles with Minerva over letting her go to law school. He gives her a chance to win what she wants, he wouldn’t do this if he were intimidated. Despite this lack of intimidation, Minerva was successful in making Trujillo give her what she desired: an opportunity to attend law school. Trujillo's lack of intimidation of the women considered "the butterflies" demonstrates society's common view of the time that women are …show more content…
This is another reason why out of many other nicknames that the sisters could have been given, they were dubbed the butterflies as they are usually thought of as "feminine" and "fragile". These two usual