For class today, please respond to anything that interested you in the second half of In the Time of the Butterflies. Here are some prompts to get you started. (I’ve included some from last week, since no one responded to them, and since we didn’t get to discuss the novel that much):
- What do you think it means that this book is historical fiction? In such a work, how true to the “real” facts of what happened do you believe an author needs to be? What kinds of things in the novel do you think may have been invented by Alvarez? Does this fictionalizing of real history bother you at all?
- What about the “butterflies” of the novel’s title? Why were the Mirabal sisters called the butterflies? What do you think are the mythic or symbolic elements of this title?
- Talk about religion and the Mirabal sisters’ relationship to it. How does the Church’s position change during the course of the book? How does Alvarez’s presentation of the Catholic Church compare to other works we’ve read this semester?
- Talk about class/race privilege in the book. What social class would you say the Mirabals come from? When do we see darker-skinned characters or characters from other social classes and how are they represented?
- Discuss Dedé and her status as the remaining Mirabal sister? Why didn’t she join the revolution as the others did? Do you think she regrets her actions? Do you find her defensive?
This novel is historical fiction in the way that it contains factual information regarding the series of events that occurred when dictator Rafael Trujillo was in power. The setting also contributes to this sense of historical fiction because the novel takes place in the Dominican Republic during the time of conflict. I also find truth in the experiences that these women recount to the interviewer regarding their place in the fight for freedom against dictator Trujillo. The use of emotion and first hand experience helps to enhance the history provided and relay the severity of it. I don’t think every aspect of the story needs to be “true” in order to show the reality of what happened. As Alvarez writes, not everything is 100% factual but it doesn’t take away from the story. If anything, these personal accounts, (some fictionalized) only work to enrich and add to the historical aspects of the time these sisters are existing in. I think, for instance, that some of the diary entries may have been fictionalized to help heighten the plot line. Also, the interaction between Minerva and Trujillo at his party where she slaps him across the face is most likely untrue. It is very dramatic and doesn’t seem to fit the preconceived notion of how the sisters were required to act in a time like that. Also, the fact that there were no major repercussions for them all leaving the party early. The fictionalizing of this story does not bother me at all, it actually makes me want to learn more about this point in history because it is humanized and filled with raw emotion.
Dedé’s decision not to join the revolution has layers. Unlike her sisters, Dedé is more pragmatic and cautious. She is aware of the dangers and risks associated with opposing Trujillo’s regime, and she prioritizes the safety of her family. Dedé is depicted as a character who values stability and security, choosing a more conservative path to protect herself and her loved ones. Her reluctance to participate in the rebel activities can be seen as a survival instinct in the face of a dictatorship.
Also, as the only surviving sister, Dedé grapples with complex emotions. Naturally, there is an element of survivor’s guilt, and she reflects on why she was spared while her sisters faced tragic ends throughout her storytelling. Dedé’s character is characterized by a sense of regret and the burden of what might have been. She often contemplates whether she should have been more courageous and joined her sisters in their fight against injustice. This internal conflict adds depth to her character and raises questions about the personal costs of resistance, but I think Alvarez constructed her character to showcase the importance of survivors. Listening to survivors’ perspectives of war in real life, not fiction, helps prevent history from repeating itself.
What do you think it means that this book is historical fiction? In such a work, how true to the “real” facts of what happened do you believe an author needs to be? What kinds of things in the novel do you think may have been invented by Alvarez? Does this fictionalizing of real history bother you at all?
The more I think about how we categorize something as “historical fiction” while reading this book, the more I feel that most works are in some sense “historical fiction,” which of course makes it all the more confusing to define and write about. We talked about propaganda in the Hemingway class— how most art is in some sense propaganda— and I feel that fits here. Alvarez is re-telling the Mirabal sisters lives from her own imagination, but any book that declares a specific time period or location, or involves a specific real person, could then be considered historical fiction depending on how far each reader is willing to stretch that definition. In my article I’ve studied, Emily Robbins discusses “truth” as opposed to “Truth,” which is another aspect that really expanded my view of the genre, and of how we see history. The former is the events that happened, that a community experienced, and the latter is the flat story those in power tell. While we consider “truth” more realistic and “Truth” an attempt to deceive, we can’t know how future generations will interpret these events, and which version of reality they will accept and repeat. Yes, there is definitely a real version of events that happened, but as far as cultural memory and the stories that binds us, they’re really very flexible. Because of that, I feel that In The Time of Butterflies is an “accurate” historical fiction novel— she may imagine or add to events, but she stays true to cultural perceptions of the time period and the sisters.
The aspect of the novel I’ve enjoyed the most is the way its often told in these diary entry formats— there’s variation, but even when written in a more conventional style, we’re still following the lives of these characters from girls to women in a linear fashion as a diary would. At one point we even get blacked-out text, reminiscent of both a child’s journal and of redacted government documents. This is another sense of accurate historical fiction, in my opinion: Alvarez draws from real events and people, but she also stays true to the voices of girls and women.
This book is historical fiction because it is based off the Mirabel Sisters and their resistance against Trujillo, however Alvarez obviously had to fabricate lots of the content within the story, such as specific conversations. She can assume the emotions and the conversations that took place between the sisters, however that is where the fictional aspect comes in. I enjoy the fictionalization because Alvarez is basing this off stories and interviews she has heard. It helps us as readers to personalize the sisters, and get a better insight to what it was really like. Again, because the accounts are fiction, they are to be taken with a grain of salt, but they are heavily based off of true stories.