In the Time of the Butterflies Group

Question:

jkammer@srcs.k12.ca.us
jkammer@srcs...

In the book In the Time of the Butterflies, why does one of the sisters see the image of God and the image of Trujillo merge together?

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Posted by jkammer@srcs.k12.ca.us on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 8:36 PM and tagged with characters, in the time of the butterflies, plot.

Answers:


  1. dymatsuoka

    eNotes Editor

    Pictures of Trujillo and Jesus the Good Shepherd hang side-by-side on the wall.  The dictator presents himself as god-like to his people, mandating that his picture be hung in every home, and Patria's religious faith, as exemplified in the portrait of Christ, is the guiding force in her life.  In a moment of spiritual crisis, Patria looks up at them, "and the two faces (have) merged".  Although Patria has heard much about Trujillo's murderous regime from her sister Minerva, she has never believed what she has heard, in effect ignoring his victims' cries for justice.  It is only when her own baby is born dead that she is able to comprehend their desolation, and she questions "how...our loving, all-powerful Father (could) allow us to suffer so".  Angry at God for taking her baby, Patria is finally able to understand the anger her sister feels for the victims of Trujillo.  Patria's faith in God is shaken, and as she looks at the portraits of Jesus and Trujillo hanging on the wall, their faces merge because she associates them both in that moment with betrayal.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/time-butterflies/characters

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    Posted by dymatsuoka on Thursday April 17, 2008 at 6:14 PM