Analysis Of Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

Minerva Mirabel is one of the most outgoing characters throughout the course of the novel, and her peers expect her to be. In the beginning of the novel, present day Dede, her sister, describes Minerva, saying that “‘Minerva was always into her wrongs and rights.’ Dede realizes she is speaking to the picture of Minerva, as if she were assigning her a part, pinning her down with a handful of adjectives, the beautiful, intelligent, high-minded Minerva… Dede affirms, used to this fixed, monolithic language around interviewers and mythologizers of her sisters” (6,7). Alvarez uses the word “monolithic” specifically at this early point in the novel to emphasize how the first description of the protagonist is one used only to fit the views and expectations …show more content…
This is apparent later in the text, when the reader sees Minerva’s weakness from her own point of view. She undergoes a change after being victim to Trujillo’s actions in prison. She says that “[she] hid [her] anxieties and gave everyone a bright smile. If they had only known how frail was their iron-will heroine. How much it took to put on that hardest of all performances, being [her] old self again” (259). Here, Minerva describes her attitude with her peers as a “performance”, highlighting her descent from an “iron-will heroine” to an “anxietous” and “frail” being. Her clear displeasure with the situation is displayed through this passage through talking in the third person, making a statement about how she wishes that others would recognize her struggle instead of expecting her to be “her old self.” This passage implies that people do not enjoy having to act for society but still …show more content…
She is often seen in the novel complaining to herself about how she is misunderstood by everyone around her. For example, she does this later in the novel, saying “here [her sisters] were, all three like a posse to come rescue her. Dede’s heart was beating away as she stood to welcome them. ‘How wonderful to see you!’ She smiled, Miss Sonrisa, armed with smiles” (177). The author italicizes the word “armed” in order to show Dede’s unhappiness with her attitude. She is simply comparing it with the political issues occurring throughout the piece. She uses the word “rescue” in a sarcastic manner, saying that she does not need rescuing, but her sisters do not understand. This emphasizes how people have to act differently in order to please their peers. She also plays the role of the expector, judging her friend Virgilio. After learning of his adventures, Dede says that “[she] could only shake her head. She didn’t really know Lio was a communist, a subversive, all the other awful things the editorial had called him. She had never known an enemy of the state before. She had assumed such people would be self-serving, low-class criminals. But Lio was a fine young man with lofty ideals and a compassionate heart. Enemy of the state?” (75). Here, Alvarez works through Dede’s thought process. She shows Dede’s expectations of Lio, describing them as “compassionate.” When given this