This section of In the Time of the Butterflies, although still suspenseful and exciting, acted as a transition phase in the novel. There were several surprises and unexpected twists, but for the most part, the Mirabal sisters were only growing up, maturing and deciphering their feelings about Trujillo’s regime. Although I myself have never read it, another novel The Feast of the Goat details the extent of the corruption and sheer terror of the Trujillo administration. The Feast of the Goat earned its author Mario Vargas Llosa the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. The following links provide an overview of the story as well as of the author and will hopefully serve to give you further insight into the horrors that the characters of In the Time of the Butterflies must cope with.
Additionally, at one point in the story, news of Cuba’s revolutionary success reached the Dominican Republic. The Castro brothers had overthrown the previous leader there with the help of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, a historical figure so influential and controversial so as to be considered either heroically famous or murderously infamous depending entirely on whom you ask. I’ve previously read his memoir The Motorcycle Diaries and find him an extremely intriguing and rather tragic man. It was therefore particularly interesting for me to read in In the Time of the Butterflies of his life after The Motorcycle Diaries and of how his actions provided such hope for people throughout Latin America. To gain some basic knowledge on Che Guevara and his story and thus also gain further awareness of the events and political unrest of the time period, watch the following movie trailer of The Motorcycle Diaries.
Anyway, within this section of the novel, each Mirabal sister also continued to undergo her own personal struggles and face her own difficulties. Dede was included in these particular chapters very little, as the other three sisters become caught up in doing their part to overthrow Trujillo and her husband Jaimito forbids her from having anything to do with the trouble. It now becomes clear why, as revealed in the very first pages of the novel, she is the only one of the four of them to survive an untimely death.
Meanwhile, Maria Theresa gets married and has her first baby, a daughter named Jacqueline. She and her husband soon become involved with a cult of rebels who begin to strategize anti-government plots. Unsurprisingly, this cult is led by none other than Minerva Mirabal and her husband, the family’s most driven couple, determined for change.
The biggest shock to occur in In the Time of the Butterflies so far, however, was definitely Patria’s developing role amidst all this drama. Based on what you learned about her and her personality from this post and especially from her introduction in the quiz in my previous post (and perhaps based on what you might do in her situation had she been your result of said quiz), can you infer how Patria reacted to the most recent barriers she faced?
With all of the incorporated historical references, surprises in character development, and the inevitable suspense, In the Time of the Butterflies has by all means exceeded my expectations. Can’t wait to keep reading!
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