The Mariposas: Character Development Of Minerva Mirabal

Character Development of Minerva Mirabal The Mirabal Sisters were Dominican Republicans who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. They were well known for their patriotic actions. They were four sisters, three of which were active in the revolution, Minerva, Patria and Maria Teresa. They were known as the “Mariposas”. Minerva was the most active in the revolution against Trujillo. She was the third child of Enrique Mirabal and Mercedes Reyes. She was considered the brave one, or at least that was how she wanted to be seen. However, throughout the novel, one sees her health problems accumulate. She is also full of doubt and lacks identity of what she wants. One saw her grow stronger and stronger, because of the struggles she dealt …show more content…
Minerva doesn’t know what she wants. She is not sure if she loves Lio and what their relationship was. However, when he fled the country she started to have headaches and asthma attacks, and she didn`t know what to do with her life. With Lio it was all different. They had an exciting life together. She felt rejected when he left. However, Lio helped her figure out what she wanted. She wanted to study in the capital and be a lawyer. She achieved this dream, by asking directly to Trujillo. She was somehow smart, but foolish at the same time, when she asked this to Trujillo. This showed us how far she was willing to go for an education and how much she valued her education. …show more content…
When she was in jail, she becomes more revolutionary. For example, the Crucifix Plot, where the guards started to take away their crucifixes and Minerva fought against the guards for it not to be taken away. She was the leader of the revolution in jail. She was strong willed. When she was released from prison, instead of calming down, laying low and trying to avoid any contact with the revolution, she only fought harder and that was what got her killed. Dede got worried that her sisters were traveling together to go and visit their husbands. This warning foreshadows their deaths. In Chapter 12, Minerva talked about wanting to be her old self again. At that point, one knew that she had gone too far and that her death was about to come. There were times when she was about to break down and let herself be controlled by fear, however she never let this happen specially not in front of her sisters. For her sisters she was always the brave Minerva.