In the Time of the Butterflies
Confusion of Faith
In the Dominican Republic, Trujillo is a living god to the children and the adults as well. In the Time of the Butterflies, Patria, as a child, accepts Trujillo, but sees God as the only god present. Yet as the novel progresses, similarities between the two are shown, especially with the use of their power. Even though this confuses Patria, a new faith in motherhood forms controlling both of Patria’s faiths. Julia Alvarez shows that despite how Patria treats God and Trujillo in the different manner to protect her children, Patria views them as having the same power.
Throughout the novel, Patria watches how her children are killed and saved by Trujillo and God, revealing their similarities. When Patria’s son is released from jail, she realizes the similarities. She says “But I know a godly voice when I hear one. I heard Him alright, and he was calling my name” (226). By hearing God through Trujillo, it shows that it was God as much as Trujillo for helping Patria. Both of their power is not only able to choose life or death for a person, but what happens within life, shown with this example. This is also seen, when Patria is on a pilgrimage with the rest of her family, she hears Virgin Mary, which shows signs of both God and Trujillo. Virgin Mary says “Here, Patria Mercedes, I’m here, all around you. I’ve already more than appeared” (59). This reflexes Trujillo and God, as they use their power to be everywhere. Trujillo uses the SIM to spy on everything, making sure that nobody is rebelling against him. God is assumed to be everywhere and is able to watch everyone. Since they are everywhere, Patria is angry at both at them for not stopping all the deaths that have occurred.
Patria deals with her anger with Trujillo by trying to make deals with him instead of trying to fight for what she wants. When her son was in jail, she prayed to Trujillo, showing she felt powerless. She said, “I don’t know how it started, but
In the Dominican Republic, Trujillo is a living god to the children and the adults as well. In the Time of the Butterflies, Patria, as a child, accepts Trujillo, but sees God as the only god present. Yet as the novel progresses, similarities between the two are shown, especially with the use of their power. Even though this confuses Patria, a new faith in motherhood forms controlling both of Patria’s faiths. Julia Alvarez shows that despite how Patria treats God and Trujillo in the different manner to protect her children, Patria views them as having the same power.
Throughout the novel, Patria watches how her children are killed and saved by Trujillo and God, revealing their similarities. When Patria’s son is released from jail, she realizes the similarities. She says “But I know a godly voice when I hear one. I heard Him alright, and he was calling my name” (226). By hearing God through Trujillo, it shows that it was God as much as Trujillo for helping Patria. Both of their power is not only able to choose life or death for a person, but what happens within life, shown with this example. This is also seen, when Patria is on a pilgrimage with the rest of her family, she hears Virgin Mary, which shows signs of both God and Trujillo. Virgin Mary says “Here, Patria Mercedes, I’m here, all around you. I’ve already more than appeared” (59). This reflexes Trujillo and God, as they use their power to be everywhere. Trujillo uses the SIM to spy on everything, making sure that nobody is rebelling against him. God is assumed to be everywhere and is able to watch everyone. Since they are everywhere, Patria is angry at both at them for not stopping all the deaths that have occurred.
Patria deals with her anger with Trujillo by trying to make deals with him instead of trying to fight for what she wants. When her son was in jail, she prayed to Trujillo, showing she felt powerless. She said, “I don’t know how it started, but