In the Time of the Butterflies: Supreme Blog

What does the way women are depicted in contemporary fiction say about our culture and identity? Evaluate the purpose of presenting women in this way in your novel.

The novel In the Time of the Butterflies provides a unique look at women in contemporary times because it takes place in the Dominican Republican in a time of severe oppression and backwards sexism. At a time in American culture when women were really beginning to lead competitive and equal lives with men, the women in the Dominican were still fighting to be admitted into Universities and colleges. Despite the active feminist movement in America that we are constantly taught in school, American females were extremely well off when their rights are compared to those in other countries, such as the Domincan Republic. Also, I think the fact that readers nowadays are able to read about the treatment of women in “Butterflies” and realize that it is sexist and extremely backwards in its sense of stereotypical female roles shows that American society has come a long way in its positive acceptance of feminism. However, despite the extreme differences in the culture in the Dominican Republic and America, there are still some similarities. For example, Alvarez’s novel takes place in the 1960s at a time where many American women are still fulfilling the stereotypical “housewife” role by living the American dream in Suburbia. Similarly, in “Butterflies” all of the main female characters at some point are shown to have dreams of being just an average housewife and caring for her children. This allows many readers to feel to connection with the characters even more because even though the four sisters are extremely courageous, they are still women who had some of the same desires American women have.

I think Alvarez makes a conscious effort to portray these women as having simple as well as ambitious goals in order to show that women can lead many different roles in life. For example, Minerva is the most revolutionary out of the four sisters and seems unwaveringly strong and ambitious in her dreams for political peace. However, we as readers learn throughout the novel that at many times she wishes she could retire into her home and be a simple wife and mother for her family. Also, take Patria, for example, who was the perfect “housewife” in the sense that she followed her husband and basically immersed herself in her family. However, she soon felt dissatisfied with not only her own life but also the quality of the lives of those around her. In order to fill this void, she joined her other two sisters in the fight against Trujillo. This simple mergence of a mere housewife into a revolutionary hero who died for her country shows that Alvarez truly supports women living multiple lives. Ultimately, the depiction of women in Butterflies shows that women were, long after the American feminist movement, striving for equality in society. However, even thought equality may be desirable, it has its price to pay in the sense that women may be forced to sacrifice some of their more desirable duties to fight for what they believe in.