Let Freedom Ring

                Throughout In The Time of Butterflies, the idea of freedom, by way of rebelling against the government, is a central theme and fuels many of the characters to fulfill their own personal destinies.  The oldest sister, Patria, is a good example of a character whose freedom not only lies in the end of her government’s oppression, but is also intertwined in her complicated marriage and strong religious beliefs.   

                Patria’s religious beliefs influenced every part of her life, including her decision to ultimately join the resistance, and how she dealt with the untimely arrest of members of her family, including her own son.  “My crown of thorns was woven of thoughts for my boy.  His body I had talcumed, fed, bathed.  His body now broken as if it were no more than a bag of bones…Together Dede and I would pray a rosary.  Afterwards we played our old childhood game, opening the Bible and teasing a fortune out of whatever verse our hands landed on.”(pg. 201) 

                 Through Patria’s relationship with God, she was shielded from the horrific acts that were being committed by her government, and at times denied that such terror could be bestowed on her country by a God that she sometimes feared, but loved so much.   Through personal loss however, Patria discovered that her God might not be leading her down the path that she believed was meant for her.  “I wondered if the dead child were not a punishment for my having turned my back on my religious calling?  I went over and over my life to this point, complicating the threads with my fingers, knotting everything.”(pg. 52)

                Patria’s ultimate fate lay in the hands of the persons who murdered her for standing up for what she believed in.   I do believe, however, that she was granted a great justice in Julia Alvarez’s interpretation of her life.  The ability to choose her freedom.