"In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez Essay

"In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez is a novel that revolves around the lives of Mirabal sisters who include Patria, Minerva, Marie Therese, and Dede as well as their way of life in the resistance of the dictator, Rafael Trujillo, in the Dominican Republic. The novel brings forward various themes. In this paper, the theme of women and femininity while speaking to a theme introduced in "The Revolution Question, The Cuban Insurrection through a Feminist Lens, 1952-1959" by Julie Shayne.

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The theme of women and femininity is evident in many parts of the novel. Today, femininity is associated with the concept of being independent socially and financially. In the Mirabal family, women are destined to stay at home. In the novel, Minerva affirms, It started with Patria wanting to be a nun. Mama was all for having religion in the family, but Papa did not approve in the least. More than once, he said that Patria as a nun would be a waste of a pretty girl. He only said that once in front of Mama, but he repeated it often enough to me (Alvarez p.11). Papa's sentiments say a lot about what he thinks the ideal woman should be. As it appears, being a nun is a waste of a pretty girl because, in his mind, pretty girls have to get married and have children since nuns' are not allowed doing that. The same case is present in Cuban cases when women fought to be given the freedom to make their choices instead of sitting down to take care of their houses alone (Shayne p.115). The two texts bring up the delights and difficulties associated with femininity.

In "In the Time of the Butterflies," Mirabal sisters fight for their right for a democratic organization. They were disappointed with Trujillo's dictatorship and his crimes among rape and murder of people who were disloyal to him. The sisters came up with a plan to assassinate Trujillo but failed on the onset when their plan was discovered. The Mirabal sisters did not like Trujillo's dictatorship and bad behavior against women. They were not at peace when they were told about Trujillo's secrets. Minerva affirms, The night Sinita told me the secret of Trujillo I couldn't sleep. All day I hadn't felt right, but I didn't tell Sor Milagros. I was afraid she'd stick me in the sickroom and I'd have to lie in bed, listening to Sor Consuelo reading novenas for the sick and dying. Also, if Papa found out, he might change his mind and keep me home where I couldn't have any adventures (Alvarez, p.16). Even so, during the Cuban revolution, women's participation played a huge role in the advancement of the revolutionary movement (Shayne p.121). According to the author, women's participation forced Batista to flee from Cuba. "In the Time of the Butterflies" speaks to the theme presented in "The Revolution Question" in light of the femininity struggle presented in both texts.

Conclusion

In "In the Time of the Butterflies," Julia Alvarez reveals to the reader that the Mirabal sisters were powerful people during the 19th century. They fought against Trujillo's regime as well as the Dominican Republic's gender roles and patriarchal society. They were successful in their attempt at changing the country's culture. Similarly, women during the Cuban Revolution were successful in their struggle for equality. Overall, the two texts demonstrate that femininity made women become strong in ways impossible for men to imitate.

Works Cited

Alvarez, Julia. In the Time of the Butterflies. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company. 1994. Print.

Shayne, Julie. The Revolution Question: Feminisms in El Salvador, Chile, and Cuba. New Brunsulick: Rutgers University Press. 2004. Print.