The female stereotype is typically considered to be weak, passive, and marginalized; this notion can limit females’ ideas of what they can do and are allowed to do. In The Time of the Butterflies Julia Alverez, tells the story of the four Mirabal sisters living in a society where they are being repressed, through their family roles and expectations of being just a wife and mother. As they resist the dictatorship of Trujillo, they find their voices to speak out against the patriarchy suppressing them and change the ideas of the female gender. Alverez uses the Mirabal sisters’ experience of defying the stereotypical portrayal of females to demonstrate the power of resistance in response to patriarchal dominance. Alverez shows Minerva demanding
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When Patria’s son, Nelson, is in jail and she knows she has a chance to get him out - she takes it. When talking to Caption Pena, she thinks to herself, “I was no longer his victim, I could see that. I might have lost everyone, but my spirit burned bright. Now that I had shined it on him, this poor blind moth couldn’t resist my light” (217). Patria finds out that instead of having to change who she is as a person, she can manipulate her personality to help herself. The word “victim” shows that she isn’t trapped or being contained anymore. She created her power, not by defying her gender stereotype, but by using it. After attending a religious conference, the area was bombed and she saw someone die. She thinks to herself, “I’m not going to sit back and watch my babies die, Lord, even if that’s what You in Your great wisdom decide” (162). Patria refused to not do something when people were dying – she knew she was the only way that people could be saved. She knows that what she is choosing to do is right, even if it is not the common thing to do. There is symbolism in that she refuses to listen to the overbearing power of God, which shows she does not listen to the patriarchal dominance. She knows she does not need to change herself to change and help the …show more content…
At the end of the book, Dede is the one to survive and she is alone. She thinks, “it’s me, Dede, it’s me, the one who survived to tell the story” (321). Dede was the only one to persevere through the troubles with power and patriarchy – she may have played it safe but she still survived to the end. She not only “survived”, but she survived with a purpose – to tell a story; to get to the point in her life when she was comfortable being strong took a long time and a lot of disappointments. Dede was always strong in her own way, but the way she felt she had to act because of her gender prevented her power from coming out. Out of all the sisters Dede found herself trapped in her gender role. She never thought about what was best for her, and even when it was hard, “She could have started a new life. But no, she reminds herself. She wouldn’t have started over… It was her marriage that she couldn’t put on the line” (177). She realized she was being trapped by her husband, Jaimito, but she wouldn’t leave her marriage. To her, marriage was the most important thing, and that idea allowed her to be restricted by the patriarchy. Eventually, after she was the only one left – she realized she needed to tell the story or no one else would. It became her way of escaping from her gender limits and allowed her to show her inner
When Patria’s son, Nelson, is in jail and she knows she has a chance to get him out - she takes it. When talking to Caption Pena, she thinks to herself, “I was no longer his victim, I could see that. I might have lost everyone, but my spirit burned bright. Now that I had shined it on him, this poor blind moth couldn’t resist my light” (217). Patria finds out that instead of having to change who she is as a person, she can manipulate her personality to help herself. The word “victim” shows that she isn’t trapped or being contained anymore. She created her power, not by defying her gender stereotype, but by using it. After attending a religious conference, the area was bombed and she saw someone die. She thinks to herself, “I’m not going to sit back and watch my babies die, Lord, even if that’s what You in Your great wisdom decide” (162). Patria refused to not do something when people were dying – she knew she was the only way that people could be saved. She knows that what she is choosing to do is right, even if it is not the common thing to do. There is symbolism in that she refuses to listen to the overbearing power of God, which shows she does not listen to the patriarchal dominance. She knows she does not need to change herself to change and help the …show more content…
At the end of the book, Dede is the one to survive and she is alone. She thinks, “it’s me, Dede, it’s me, the one who survived to tell the story” (321). Dede was the only one to persevere through the troubles with power and patriarchy – she may have played it safe but she still survived to the end. She not only “survived”, but she survived with a purpose – to tell a story; to get to the point in her life when she was comfortable being strong took a long time and a lot of disappointments. Dede was always strong in her own way, but the way she felt she had to act because of her gender prevented her power from coming out. Out of all the sisters Dede found herself trapped in her gender role. She never thought about what was best for her, and even when it was hard, “She could have started a new life. But no, she reminds herself. She wouldn’t have started over… It was her marriage that she couldn’t put on the line” (177). She realized she was being trapped by her husband, Jaimito, but she wouldn’t leave her marriage. To her, marriage was the most important thing, and that idea allowed her to be restricted by the patriarchy. Eventually, after she was the only one left – she realized she needed to tell the story or no one else would. It became her way of escaping from her gender limits and allowed her to show her inner