In The Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez

I believe Trujillo needed to kill the Mirabal sisters because he could not bear the fact that no matter what he did he could not get away from the Mirabal shadow that was cast over him.  He could not kill them in prison because that would have caused too much attention and that was the last thing he needed or wanted.  When this so-called accident occurred, three of the Mirabal sisters instantly became martyrs.  

I think that during the Trujillo reign these girls were victims first.  Then they decided to make their own choices as to how they wanted to help the cause.  Little did they know that they would have to give up so much.  I also believe they became a symbol of hope, justice and a beacon of light to those who had no hope.  All of this created the legend of the Mirabal sisters.

I also believe the men were spared because Trujillo was using them like pawns in a chess game.  By keeping them away from their wives, they all had other things on their minds like seeing each other while in prison.  Trujillo was able to control the Mirabal sisters by using his powers to keep the husbands away from their families especially the wives.  This reinforced to everyone just how powerful Trujillo was.   

Once their purpose was fulfilled, they were released from prison.  Unfortunately, Manolo passed away a few years after being released.  Pedrito got his land back but lost himself in the process.  Leonardo left the political arena and went into building buildings in the capital.  (How ironic is that – he was building buildings in the same capitol he was trying to remove the power from the dictator.)  He was also very successful.  Clearly, it was unnecessary to kill the men because the weight on their souls would be much more than any one person could bear.  Plus, they already had outlived their purpose.  They truly had little or nothing to go back for.

Let’s think about this for a moment.  We have been so consumed by the story of the Mirabal sisters that we have forgotten what these men have been through and what they gave up.  Even if they knew what they were getting into, would you, as a parent, give up your entire life to something else other than your own children?  These are just a few crosses these men had to bear for the rest of their lives.