In “The Postscript” Alvarez explains that she wants us to see the Mirabel sisters as ordinary women who acted with courage to do the right thing. She says that “these sisters, who fought one tyrant, [can serve] as models for women fighting against injustices of all kinds.” Thus, she wants us, especially women but all people too, can bring about change in the world if we develop convictions and remain true to them. She also wants to “bring acquaintance of these famous sisters to English-speaking readers,” and in doing this bring understanding across cultures. To accomplish this she embeds Spanish and local idiom in the English language of the story, so that the mixing of the language serves as a way to introduce cultures to each other. In mixing cultures, she suggests, we promote peace and goodness rather than violence and hate.

What does the author convey about ourselves and our world in the book?

In “The Postscript” Alvarez explains that she wants us to see the Mirabel sisters as ordinary women who acted with courage to do the right thing. She says that “these sisters, who fought one tyrant, [can serve] as models for women fighting against injustices of all kinds” (324).  Thus, she wants us, "ordinary men and women" to understand that if we have strength in our convictions, we too can make big changes in the world. She also wants to “bring acquaintance of these famous sisters to English-speaking readers,” and in doing this bring understanding across cultures (324). To accomplish this she embeds Spanish and local idiom in the English language of the story, so that the mixing of the language serves as a way to introduce cultures to each other. She wants to deepen "North American' undertanding of the nightmare" endured by Dominicans under the rule of Trujillo (324). By this she wants us to know how different cultures interact with each other, and that women across the world have bonds that they share.