In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a novel driven by the relationship between the main characters, the Mirabal sisters. As the sisters grow up together and become aware of the oppressive dictatorship that rules their country, they inspire each other to take action. The relationship between the Mirabal sisters serves to show the importance of women in their culture at the time and to help each sister find the courage within herself to take control of her own life and become the leading figure of the underground movement against Trujilo . Although the Mirabal sisters have a reputation for being extremely brave and courageous, they are not as strong as they seem. We see this especially in Dedé, who is governed by her husband. He refuses to let her participate in the rebellion and she complies. She is extremely cautious and simply wants her sisters to be safe. We also see a softer side to Maria Teresa. He has always supported the rebellion, but his heart isn't fully in it. She confesses that any day she would choose her husband over the cause, and while in prison she revealed information after she and her husband were tortured. Patria is an extremely resilient character, but she also has her challenges. She struggles with losing her faith, becoming a lost soul after the death of her child. Minerva is very different from her sisters. She has always been extremely brave and courageous. She constantly wandered off to attend secret meetings, stayed informed by secretly listening to the radio, and expressed her dislike of Trujilo loud and clear. He doesn't let anyone else dictate him and gets into trouble. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Towards the end of the book, we see great changes in all the sisters. We first see this in Dedé, when her sisters inspire her to free herself from her husband and live for herself. She goes against him and, although they reconcile, Dedé finally manages to have a small part in the rebellion. Dedé finally finds the courage and transforms from a caterpillar into a full-fledged butterfly. This change is entirely due to her sisters, who give her the confidence to break free from her husband. If Dedé hadn't had her sisters, who knows how long she would have remained in that situation. Maria Teresa finds courage in prison. She suffers torture, illness and even a possible abortion behind bars. However, when she is offered grace, she does not accept. Minerva encourages her to stay, because accepting the pardon would mean admitting guilt. The enormous amount of resilience that Maria Teresa develops thanks to Minerva's encouragement and the other sisters' secret letters shows the development of her character. She goes from not having her whole heart in the rebellion to dedicating herself every single day to the cause, all because of her sisters. Patria finds her courage a little differently than her sisters. Patria witnessed a terrible massacre of young rebels during a retreat. Patria is like a mother to everyone and has completely changed after surviving this attack. “Coming down the mountain, I was a changed woman. I might have had the same sweet face, but now I carried with me not only my son but also that dead boy... my son murdered a few hours ago." Patria decides to do everything she can to support the rebellion, even if it means going against her husband's wishes. He refuses to sit back and let these atrocities continue, as he wants a better country for his family to live in. She volunteers her home as a location for all rebel meetings and becomes the real mother.