The Oppression that the Maribal Sisters Felt in the Book of Julia Alvarez, in the Time of the Butterflies

In the novel Throughout the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, the four Mirabal sisters were affected by oppression. The effects of injustice led them through various stages of advancement in life. Like her siblings, Maria Teresa navigated through the stages of status quo, modification, and repercussion. Her perspective towards life was carefree, trendy, and joyful. Interestingly, she wasn’t into the politics of her time, nor was she the first sibling to discover the oppressive society in which they resided. Unlike Minerva, her heart was only geared towards fun.

Maria Teresa, affectionately called Companion, recorded her experiences in a diary. Now that she was aware of information meant to be confidential, she could be held accountable for possessing such knowledge. When someone in the secret meeting group was discovered, everyone was instructed to hide any proof of involvement. Minerva advised Companion to conceal her journal. In parting with her cherished diary, she remarked, ‘My spirit has grown deeper since I started writing in you!’. A previously unaffiliated member of the revolution, Companion was frightened by casual conversations criticizing the regime or president Trujillo. She was easily troubled by anything controversial and remained uninvolved in the revolution, considering Trujillo as a deity, until she was eventually influenced by her circumstances.

Initially, as an innocent young girl, Companion was oblivious to the political happenings in her surroundings. The government and its politics did not pique her interest. However, as she matured and began feeling the impact of governmental policies and societal changes around her, Companion started transforming. This metamorphosis marked her transition from adolescence to womanhood. Influenced by troubling stories of losses and killings incurred by regime dissidents, she developed an aversion to the government and Trujillo. Subsequently, she was elected as Miss College at an institution she attended with Minerva in the Capital.

While drafting her acceptance speech, which included the obligatory praise to Trujillo for his leadership, Minerva suggested that she shouldn’t exaggerate with her appreciation, particularly after the recent demise of a boy who had authored a book critiquing the regime. Distressed, Companion confessed, ‘I get so upset thinking about him, I don’t want to be queen of anything anymore’ (136). Her sadness marked one of her first explicit sentiments of resistance against Trujillo. A shift in her outlook could also be traced in her romantic life. Initially eager to find a boyfriend, she gradually became more concerned with other things. Eventually, she found herself living with Minerva and her husband Manolo. On one late night, she met a friend of Manolo’s, known as Leandro, who initially introduced himself with his code name, Palomino.

When he asked her if she was among us, implying revolutionaries, she thought, “I really didn’t recognize what ‘us’ he was referring to, but I understood right then and there, I wanted to be a part of whatever he was.” That’s what began her revolutionary life. The following morning, Companion informed Minerva she wanted to join the revolution. She might have seen her sister as overprotective, but she didn’t want to be babied anymore. She did join, and it changed her. She said, “My real identity is now Mariposa (#2) 143.” Minerva was Mariposa. She spent more and more time with Leandro. She knew she loved him deeply, and he loved her just as much. This love that she cherished, she claimed, she would never be able to sacrifice for some higher ideal, the way she felt Minerva and Manolo would sacrifice each other if they had to make the ultimate sacrifice. Since she found the love she longed for in her childhood, she felt it was too big a sacrifice. She was a dedicated follower of the revolution, but she would rather give up her freedom than her love.

Changes in Maria Teresa’s life shaped the person she became. Whether the changes were in relation to her thoughts about the government, or her innermost feelings about love, they came with consequences. These consequences were evident in her everyday life. They altered how she carried herself and her overall perspective on things. After being in jail for 70 days, along with Minerva and their husbands, for being revolutionaries, she began to lose courage and wallow in dark thoughts. Her experience in jail helped her grow as a person. She spoke of an affection among the women in her jail cell.

And how there was something deeper, like an invisible needle stitching them together into the wonderful, free country they were becoming. She shared her cell with prostitutes and criminals of other sorts, but in that cell, they were simply women. Mate was able to look past these wrongdoings and allegations and become one with her cellmates, because then and there, they were her family. When their release from prison was imminent, Mate was saddened at the thought of leaving, as the prison had become her home and these women were like her sisters. She couldn’t bear the thought of enduring the harsh solitude without them.

Maria Teresa Mirabal was influenced by the tyranny of the Trujillo regime. As a child, she was oblivious to the world around her. She knew nothing about injustice and revolution, but was well-acquainted with boys, clothing, and leisure. As she grew older, she became aware of her surroundings, particularly, the oppression of the Dominican people by the regime. Following in the footsteps of her older sister Minerva, Mate immersed herself in the world of political resistance and revolution. Maria Teresa found the love of her life, Leandro, who was a revolutionary, and decided right then and there to join him and her sister in the fight for freedom. They fought together, were imprisoned together and, despite her strong beliefs in support of the revolution, she wouldn’t sacrifice her love for him.

As a result of being jailed, she grew as an individual. She learned to look at a person from within, instead of judging them by their outward appearance. She evolved from a little girl fascinated with fashion into a young woman venturing into the world, seeing it for what it truly is. Eventually, she became a woman who knew what it meant to fight for a greater good, love without bounds, and struggle for her own freedom as well as her country’s. Maria Teresa changed dramatically from child to adult. Along the way, the people who crossed her path influenced and motivated her to continue in her fight for freedom.

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