In The Time of the Butterflies - Response question #3

3) In the epilogue, Dede’s perspective is presented from a first person point of view,
unlike her previous chapters which were in third person. Why? Has she finally
found her “I”? What has she learned about herself by this time? Who is she and
how has her view of herself changed? Why does Alvarez dedicate the novel to
Dede?

Dede has finally found her “I” and her purpose which is to tell the story of her sisters. She has accepted her role as the sole survivor of the revolutionary murders. She now understands that her job is and was to keep everyone alive in retelling their stories. She knows she is the supporter who let them go do what they wanted in pursuing what they believed in. She is not feeling a sense of worthlessness anymore because she realizes she is an intricate part of the revolution, by holding the information of her sisters and her family. This is her part and it is an important one because she felt as if before she did not understand her role in the story of her sisters at all. She comes away from the book that Alvarez dedicates to her with a new sense of appreciation for the part she played in her sister’s lives. She understands it is necessary for their memories to live on in order for people to learn of their courage, bravery and passion for revolutionary change. In the beginning of her own story we learned that the interviewer asked “And where are you?” when they pass the pictures in the hall of the three sisters during the tour of the family house that Dede lives in. Dede recalled it was, “as if she had read her mind” which proved that she was unsure of who she was and the role she played even then. Now we know she has come to terms and is at peace with being interviewed, running the exhibit at the museum and retelling the stories of her sisters to honor who they were and what they went through because of their beliefs.