Literature, for me, is the mirror to understanding many issues that society faces today. It has a way of both introducing history and inspiring the future. While the novel “In the Time of Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez depicted the historical story of the Mirabal sisters, it also provided a secondary insight into the gender issues plaguing society. The novel touches on themes such as marital and family relationships, macho dictatorships and gender roles. It provides the reader with a clear lens into the social issues that many women faced during the mid-1900s and that even more women face today. Although many men have given the Mirabal sisters reason to distrust and dislike them, their husbands have shown them that not all men are inadequate. With their father's affair and Trujillo's considerable attention to women, the Mirabal sisters have had plenty of reason to believe that all men are equal. Minerva Mirabal is the third sister and the most involved in the revolution. She meets her husband Manolo Tavarez in Jarabacoa where they were both studying law, and discovers that he too is a revolutionary. Unlike Jaimito, Dede's husband, Manolo supported and supported everything his wife believed in. Manolo was imprisoned with the other men and, unlike his sisters, they could not get the good fortune of being placed under house arrest. After Minerva's death, instead of living in fear, Manolo continued to fight in the Revolution and did everything he could to uphold his wife's name. “After he became famous and drove around with bodyguards in that white Thunderbird she gave him an admirer. Most likely a woman. Our Fidel, our Fidel, everyone said. He refused to run for president in that first election... middle of paper... where she belongs, she's scared of the consequences that might come from it. Although Dedé kept her distance, she still chose to uphold her sister's name and tell their story rather than keep it in the past, even though she knew it was a burden she had to carry on her shoulders. Even though she wasn't with her sisters the night of her death, she was still around to tell the truth, rather than a story spun by the media. “It is I, Dede, it is I, the only one left alive to tell the tale” (Alvarez 321) After reading the novel, In the Time of Butterflies, I find that society plays an important role in gender divisions. When society faces difficulties, such as an authoritarian regime, critical issues become second-hand. The Mirabal sisters faced many issues such as loyalty and patriarchy which undermined many of their attempts to create social change.