How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I asked Minerva why she was doing such a dangerous thing. And then, she said the strangest thing. She wanted me to grow up in a free country. (1.3.100)
Minerva's courage isn't an empty value. It has a motivation: a better future. She uses her younger sister as inspiration, the idea that she can grow up in a free country is what gives her the courage to meet in Don Horacio's house, even though it's highly illegal to do so.
Quote #5
But without a plan Dedé's courage unraveled like a row of stitches not finished with a good, sturdy knot. She couldn't bear reading in the papers how the police were rounding up people left and right. (2.5.120)
We can't help but feel for Dedé—she's painted as the cowardly sister because she didn't die with Patria, Minerva, and Mate. But actually are her fears really any different than theirs? Her courage is compared to a row of stitches coming undone—it was there, holding her together, but she forgot to seal it with a knot (maybe Jaimito's approval?) to keep it in place.
Quote #6
"Ay, Lío," she said at last, weary with so much hope, so little planning. "Where is it you get your courage?"
"Why, Dedé," he said, "it's not courage. It's common sense."
Common sense? Sitting around dreaming while the secret police hunted you down! (2.5.123-125)
Dedé depends on a plan in order to have courage. She needs to know exactly what the revolution is fighting for and how they'll get there. Unfortunately, no one is able to tell her, in detail, what the plan is. So her courage melts away with the idealistic, abstract thoughts.