The saying ‘change comes from within’ applies to nearly everyone, however, Patria Mirabal’s change of faith occurs as a result of the events she witnessed. Patria, the most religious of the four Mirabal sisters, also is the sister who undergoes the largest transformation. At the start of the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Patria shifts from aspiring to become a nun, losing and regaining her faith, and ultimately to be a committed member of the 1J4 movement. Patria’s initial shift occurs when she marries and loses her son, but predominantly occurs when she witnesses a young boy get shot inside a church. This strengthens her faith, because now, more than ever, she truly understands what is the right course of action.…show more content… Patria loves her family and would do anything to protect them, especially because her sisters “...needed a place to meet, and so [Patria] offered them [her] land” (158). This illustrates how she gave some of her faith to her sisters as she risks being caught by SIM and brutally punished. Patria also gave up her land for their meetings to protect them from Trujillo’s spies and other collaborators as the last thing she wanted was for her sisters to be arrested, or worse: killed. This tells the reader that although Patria sees the wrong being done in her country, she will protect her family first before taking action. Shortly after, Patria finally understands where her faith should be when she allows for the meetings to be held in her home “‘Come on in, now. I mean it this time’” (165). Although this puts her family at risk, causing Pedrito “to worry…[and feel] most vulnerable” (165), she believes that there is only one way to end Trujillo’s regime: fighting it. By investing her faith into the movement, Patria sacrifices her life for the lives of millions out of faith that her country will
