He doesn't want her involved in the revolution, and the conflict almost destroys their marriage.

While looking for her calling from God, she instead finds her husband, Pedrito, whom she marries at age 16.

She takes the miscarriage of her third child as God's punishment towards her, which drives her further into a religious depression.

She later regains her faith on a pilgrimage to Higüey that she takes with her mother and sisters.

A harsh ruler, he demands complete obedience from everyone and commits many cruel and unjust acts against his people, such as imprisonment without trial, confiscating land, possessions, and torture.

As his regime falls apart, he becomes even more vicious and cruel and eventually has the Mirabal sisters (all except for Dede) killed when they become too much of an opposition to his decaying power.

Manolo emerges as a leader of the revolution and is chosen as president of the June 14 movement.

Fela: A worker for the Mirabal family who claims to be a fortune teller.

Manuel does many of Trujillo's odd jobs, such as delivering messages and threats for him.

Sinita: Minerva's good friend, whom she met at Inmaculada Catholic School for Girls.

Rufino de la Cruz: The Mirabals' driver whenever they rented a car to go over the mountains to visit their husbands in prison, he was very loyal to the "butterflies", and they trusted him wholeheartedly.

"We believe that the purpose of education is to expose students to all areas of reality so that we can make our own judgments.

Isn't that why we are able to read Romeo and Juliet without committing suicide, or The Lord of the Flies without being violent?

stated a New York Times opinion piece written by two Schreiber High School students where the book was banned.

[non-primary source needed] The idea behind In the Time of the Butterflies originated in the 1960s when author Julia Alvarez was in the Dominican Republic.

The Mirabal sisters had been murdered just three months after her father got involved with the underground against Trujillo.