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I spoke right up, “I don’t think it’s fair if you just make an exception for us.”
Here in Chapter Two, Minerva describes how she tells Sor Milagros that she believes it’s unfair that she and Sinita get to choose who they sleep near. Even at such a young age, Minerva has a strong sense of justice and fairness, and she refuses to go against these ideals even when it benefits her. Furthermore, she is not afraid to speak back to authority figures like Sor Milagros, even if it could get her in trouble. This innocent and sweet incident prefigures the brave revolutionary Minerva will become.
I asked Minerva why she was doing such a dangerous thing. And then, she said the strangest thing. She wanted me to grow up in a free country.
In Chapter Three, Mate writes in her diary about how Minerva secretly sneaks out of Immaculada Concepción at night to meet with her revolutionary friends. Minerva’s comment that she wants Mate to grow up in a free country feels like the words of someone much older than the still-teenage Minerva. Seeing the fate of Lina Lovatón, plus her own experience giving the play for Trujillo’s birthday, have activated Minerva’s innate sense of justice, leading her to dedicate her life to the cause of freedom at an extremely young age.
We could have been out with Miriam and Dulce a whole week ago. But no, we Mirabals had to set a good example. Accepting a pardon meant we thought we had something to be pardoned for. Also, we couldn’t be free unless everyone else was offered the same opportunity.
Mate writes these words in her prison diary in Chapter Eleven, describing how Minerva won’t let them accept a pardon. Minerva’s behavior in prison exemplifies the way she attempts to mold herself into her revolutionary principles. If she and Mate had accepted the pardon, they would be home with their sisters, mother, and children. Instead, Minerva attempts to be a “good example,” essentially prioritizing the symbolism of their actions over their human needs.
I’d sit up, shocked at what I was letting happen to me. I had been so much stronger and braver in prison. Now at home I was falling apart.
Throughout Chapter Twelve, Minerva deals with the traumatic emotional fallout of her prison time. Because Minerva is so used to ignoring her own desires and emotions to focus on her political principles, these feelings are compounded by her belief that she should be too strong to have them. However, her inability to jump right back into the fray is painfully human, an expected and understandable consequence of her ordeal. She simply has a difficult time accepting her human limitations.
