“Power in the Pen”

As “In the Time of the Butterflies” has demonstrated, acts of resistance are not limited to physical violence. In the novel, María Teresa actively resists Trujillo’s regime through the form of writing. Entries from María Teresa’s three diaries provide the trajectory of her individual growth as well as personal accounts. María Theresa is ten years old when she receives her first diary as a communion gift from Minerva and one of the most notable accounts is María Theresa’s thoughts on Trujillo. “I feel so lucky that we have him for a president” (Alvarez, 36). María Theresa’s opinion of Trujillo in this moment reflects those of her father who has prepared a speech in Trujillo’s honor. María Theresa even states that she is proud to share her birth month with Trujillo because she may possess some of his traits. Minerva gifts María Theresa, who is now 18, her next diary as an Epiphany present. The prominent difference upon receiving this diary and the one she was gifted years prior is María Theresa’s outlook on her father. When gifted the first diary in 1945 María Theresa seems to take pride in her father. In 1953 at her father’s funeral, María Theresa resents the man and her secret sisters who she regards as “her girls”. María Theresa’s political ideals have shifted to passive disagreement. “But never in a million years would I take up a gun and force people to give up being mean” (Alvarez,123). María Theresa’s final notebook is smuggled to her by a guard when she is in prison. She is 25. María Theresa writes about her time in prison as much as she can because she is sure that the records will be of importance. When gifted her first diary, Minerva tells her that “keeping a diary is also a way to reflect and reflection deepens one's soul” (Alvarez, 30). It is while in prison that María Theresa notices a distinction between Minerva and herself: principle vs personal. (Alvarez, 250).

Discussion questions:

What can be said about María Theresa’s progressing feelings towards her father and Trujillo? Do they relate/correspond in any way?

What moments in the text portray Minerva as prioritizing “principal” and María Theresa finding more importance in “personal”?