In the Time of the Butterflies is a historical fiction novel written by Julia Alvarez. The book focuses on the lives of the four Mirabal sisters who were killed on November 25th, 1960 as a result of organizing against the government. Throughout the novel, the sisters are oppressed and hurt by the many men in their lives. The book takes a view that is not very tolerant of men. The men often do things that hurt the women in their lives, such as physically hurt them, cheat on them, or control them against their will. Three examples of men who do this are Manolo, Minerva’s husband who cheats on her, Jaimito, Dede’s husband who is abusive, and Enrique, who is the exceedingly controlling father with a secret second family. All three of these men hurt people in their lives and are portrayed negatively by the author.
The first man, that the novel is not deeply accepting of is Manolo. Manolo is described as “tall and very handsome and so romantic,” by Maria Teresa but the book soon casts a disapproving light
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Although Jaimito seems sweet and the perfect fit for Dede, he is quickly criticized. His marriage with Dede becomes bitter, argumentative and abusive. In one instance, he “grabbed her by the wrists and shoved her on the bed,”(176). As well as abusing his wife, he controls her and doesn’t allow her to be too involved in the revolution like her sisters and their husbands are. Throughout the book, Jaimito is controlling his wife's actions and constantly questioning her, which doesn’t cause him to seem like a great husband or even a kindhearted person. His actions seem to directly result in Dede being depressed and wanting a divorce. Another result of Jaimito’s behavior is that his wife’s sisters begin to disapprove of him and believe that Dede’s life would be better without him. Jaimito is definitely one of the more sinister characters in the novel, besides the murderous, perverted