Dede 2nd

Papa says that she will grow up to be a millionaire. Always seemed passive. Analytical and organized, remembers the little things and describes the whole Mirabal story.

Dede sacrificed a part of her passive nature for the revolution, especially throughout chapter 9, as she begins to break out of her shell in order to support her family.

Dede was a normal mother for the time, however her willingness to care for her nieces and nephews during her sister's imprisonment and after their deaths is very respectable.

Dede is "the one who survived to tell the story" and her role in the revolution is to preserve their legacy and stand as a survivor in the Mirabal family

Dede did nothing. She for real just sat and watched as they died, knowing it would happen. Not only that, but she then capitalizes on their tragedy, turning it into her story.

I'll give it to Dede, she was an alright mother. She does end up taking care of her sisters children which is good, but I also don't think she does a ton of stuff that paint her out as good. Especially in her consideration for joining the revolution, where she was debating it knowing it would greatly affect her family ties.

On my life Dede does nothing. She is useless. Her only worth comes from her survivors guilt, after she makes the recognition that she was an absolute nobody. After he sisters death, she really just sees it as an oppurtunity. "I set aside my grief, and began hoping and planning." (310)

I think that Dede's greatest motivation is her comfortability in life. I think that she grew comfortable being a nobody and "follow[ing]" her husband (172). While fear could definitely play a factor, I see the courage and bravery of the other sisters as something comendable rather than Dede's laziness.

Dede and Jaimito, on pages 196-197, made a great effort to pardon or bust the sisters and husbands out of prison, even though they didn't do this out of concern for the revolution, but genuine concern for their family.

Dede was an average mother before her sisters were killed, but after their assassination, she took on the role of a mother to her sister's children, which made her an even better mother.

Dede has kind of always taken the observant, practically useless role. Even as a child while her father was "confessing what he thinks" of the childrens futures, he states that Dede was only there to bury the rest in fortunes (8).

Dede as a mother is probably average. She doesn't do anything necessarily bad or good. She has her kids best interest at heart at not joining the revolution but also doesn't want to push for a country that is free. She does help take care of her sisters kids when they are in prison.

Dede was seen as the solid ground of her family, with Papa at one point eerily mentioning, "'she'll bury us all... in silk and pearls.'" (Pg 8)

Dede is motivated by her constant sense of fear. Dede admits she felt pressured into marrying Jaimito, as she says, "she had married Jaimito, although she knew she did not love him enough" (pg. 184). I assume that Dede made the decision to marry Jaimito due to familial, societal, and personal expectations that led her to feeling an excess amount of fear regarding her decisions to get married and have children being considered timely.

Dede was depicted as a stereotypical middle child, in which she was considered "the docile middle child, used to following the lead" by her family (pg. 177).

Most of Dede's sacrifices towards the revolution came after her sister's deaths, as she was expected to uphold her sister's legacies while also experiencing grief and being a primary caretaker for her own children and her sister's children. Dede was viewed more as an exhibition for her sister's stories rather than their family member (pg. 5).

Dede's sacrifice is as Jamito says: "This is your martyrdom, Dede, to be alive without them". Her sacrifice comes after her sisters death as it is her responsibility to preserve their legacy.

Dede is motivated by fear for most of the book. On page 198 she debates back and forth with herself about running away from Jaimito and the audience gets to see her thought process, which is the first instance where she truly felt courageous.

"I followed my husband . I didn't get involved" pg.172

Dede refuses to get involved and stays in the shadow of Jamito's controlling nature

Was Dede a good mother?

What did Dede sacrifice to the revolution?

What was Dede like as a child?

What did Dede specifically add to the revolution?

What is Dede motivated by? Please support yourself.