In the Time of the Butterflies: The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect

In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez writes about the three Mirabal sisters who lived under the Trujillo regime and fought for the rights of the people of the Dominican Republic till their death. Throughout the novel, the readers follow the Mirabal sisters through the journey as children to adulthood, from innocence to wisdom, from supporters of Trujillo to three of the most well-known individuals part of the revolution against Trujillo’s corrupt regime. But the title itself has its own meaning. The novel's title, In the Time of the Butterflies, has a symbolic meaning that summarizes the lives of the sisters and was chosen over another title because it best represents the lives of the sisters since it was their code name during the revolution.

Firstly, the title of the novel, or more specifically the butterflies, has a symbolic meaning of breaking free and change. Butterflies are often known to represent freedom and breaking free from the cocoon. It is possible to relate this to the three Mirabal sisters because they too broke free of the barriers that held them down as children and explored the world on their own, discovering the cruelty of Trujillo and fighting back. Before they could break free, they first had to learn the truth about Trujillo and grow as individuals. “‘Bad things?’ [Minerva] interrupted. ‘Trujillo was doing bad things?’ It was as if [she] had just heard Jesus had slapped a baby or Our Blessed Mother had not conceived Him the immaculate conception way. ‘That can't be true,’ [She] said, but in [her] heart, [she] felt a china-crack of doubt” (Alvarez). Minerva, as a child, was raised to believe that Trujillo was a good person and to treat and revere him like a God, but Sinita shows her the truth. This is the start of Minerva’s story; like a caterpillar who eats and eats until it is ready, she is slowly learning more truths about Trujillo and is slowly losing her innocence. Similarly, the other sisters go through similar experiences of learning about the corruption in the Trujillo regime; they all slowly get more information about Trujillo and get closer to becoming butterflies. Furthermore, another way one can relate butterflies to the Mirabal sisters is the short life spans. “[A butterfly’s] wonderful life as an adult butterfly lasts from 2 – 6 weeks” (Rosenblatt). The Mirabal sister also had a very short lifespan, albeit longer than a butterfly. Maria was only 25 years old, Minerva was 34 years old, and Patria was 36 years old. The sisters bravely died without living out their life because of Trujillo, his need to be in control, and his hatred for the sisters. And yet, with the girls’ deaths, they pushed the revolution against Trujillo further and their deaths led to the defeat of the corrupt leader. Like a monarch butterfly that poisons the predators that eat them, the girls poisoned Trujillo’s regime, ending it once and for all. Around the world, butterflies are viewed as symbols for hope, change, and perseverance and the three sisters perfectly exemplify them. They are the ones that endured pain and torture for the revolution and they are the ones that brought change and hope.

Secondly, Alvarez chose the title In the Time of the Butterflies because Butterflies best represents their journey and are referenced multiple times throughout the novel. Dede, the last surviving sister, has the responsibility of keeping their stories alive and to remember them. She does this in various ways, one of which includes an orchid. “She bends to her special beauty, the butterfly orchid she smuggled back from Hawaii two years ago. The slamming of a car door startles Dede. When she calms herself she finds she has snipped her prize butterfly orchid. She picks up the fallen blossom and trims the stem, wincing. Perhaps this is the only way to grieve the big things—in snippets, pinches, little sips of sadness” (Alvarez). While it may not be clear when first reading the novel, it is obvious that Dede has the orchid because it is called the Butterfly Orchid. It is a reference to the sisters that readers may not realize until the end of the novel. Just like everyone else in the revolution, the girls also gained a nickname in the revolution. “Everyone and everything has a code name. Manolo is Enriquillo, after the great Taino chieftain, and Minerva, of course, is Mariposa” (Alvarez). Minerva was the first sister to be called Mariposa but as the other sisters joined, they also adapted the same nickname, differentiating between the three with numbers (Mariposa #1,2,3). When Minerva was being walked out for disobeying the rules in the prison, the prisoners started chanting “Mariposa does not belong to herself alone. She belongs to Quisqueya! Then everyone was beating on the bars, calling out, /Viva la Mariposa! Tears came to [Maria’s] eyes. Something big and powerful spread its wings inside [her]” (Alvarez). Once again, we see how just like butterflies symbolize hope, Minerva and the prisoners that supported her brought hope even in the worst situation. The nickname Mariposa brought out a strength in people and pushed them to keep fighting. Overall, since the story is about the three sisters who fought against Trujillo and they were called the Butterflies or Mariposas, it is fitting that the novel is titled In the Time of the Butterflies as it truly is a story about the time when the girls were alive.

In the end, while Alvarez may have had various reasons why she named the novel In the Time of the Butterflies, there is an obvious relationship between the symbolism of butterflies and the lives of the three sisters. The novel was about the Mirabal sisters growing from children to adults and metamorphosing into butterflies that brought light in the darkest of places. Just like the Butterfly effect theory, the sisters’ lives, involvement in the revolution, and their deaths create extreme changes. Trujillo had thought of the sisters’ death as a small thing but it had unforeseen consequences for him that led to his downfall.

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References

• Alvarez, Julia. In the Time of the Butterflies:Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2010.

• Rosenblatt, Lynn. “Monarch Life Cycle.” Monarch Butterfly USA, Lynn Rosenblatt Books & Monarch Butterfly USA, monarchbutterflyusa.com/monarch-life-cycle/.