Summer of the Mariposas

In the beginning of the novel Juanita informs her sisters, “Did you know that seventy percent of men aren’t as attached to their female children as they are to their sons?” (20-21). This admission of rampant sexism sets the tone for gender dynamics in the rest of the book. Gabriel Pérdido, the dead man, turns out to be a wanted drug dealer and absentee father who brings pain and shame to his family. In many ways, Gabriel the dead man represents the deadweight of toxic masculinity. The Garza sisters begin their journey thinking they are searching for their father, Ernesto, but they later realize that they began the journey to leave him behind—to be a clan of confident, culturally aware women who know and rely on their own power.

Throughout the novel, women are the victims of this patriarchal mistreatment. The Garza sisters’ mother must work constantly to make ends meet in her husband’s absence. His departure also affects the girls’ sense of structure, and they run wild during the summer. When Ernesto does finally return, he does so with a second family and his mistress in tow, and demands their house. So, the girls’ quest becomes about regaining their sense of unity in the face of patriarchal mistreatment.