Well, to start off with, In the Time of the Butterflies is all about a group of sisters: Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and Mate Mirabal. The girls are very different: Patria is religious, Dedé practical, Minerva idealistic, and Mate romantic. But the fact that they are family keeps them together. Awww.
Even when they have their strongest disagreements about how best to act, the bonds of family doesn't break. That resistance to breaking allows family ties to create political cells that resist the regime. While the dictatorship is powerful, the novel shows that family, too, has its own power.
Questions About Family
- What do you think family means to each of the Mirabal sisters? Do they have different definitions?
- When Dedé is choosing between her sisters and her husband and children, what is it that makes her decision so difficult?
- Why is it so painful for Pedrito to lose his farm?
- How can you tell that the Mirabals are sisters? Is there something they all share?
Chew on This
The Mirabal family cultivated courage and intelligence in its daughters, which led to their heroic acts.
The Mirabal sisters are motivated more by love and family than by political ideals.