In the Lives of Puppets

The motif of butterflies supports the novel’s theme of Free Will and Intentional Action. In literature, butterflies are typically associated with change because of the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. This metamorphosis makes butterflies a fitting motif for free will, which empowers the characters to change themselves and their lives. The motif is closely associated with Victor’s love interest, whose transformation is the most pronounced. Butterflies make their first appearance in Chapter 7 when Hap sacrifices his chance of escape to save a monarch with “wings a deep orange bordered in black, the tips spotted in white and yellow” (99). The android describes the butterfly as pretty and nice, showing that free will allows him to choose what is good and beautiful over his cruel, violent programming. Hap’s selfless, protective act proves to Giovanni that his one-time creation is able to do more than destroy. As a result, he later makes the decision to ask Hap to watch over Victor. Throughout the remainder of the story, Hap and Victor both call the butterfly to mind when they want to remind Hap that he possesses free will. Just as a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, the former HARP wishes to change and “to be different” (320). The butterfly motif signals that Hap has achieved this transformation by consistently choosing to protect, love, and sacrifice himself for others.

The butterfly motif also weaves through key plot moments including Victor’s visit to Heaven, the climax, and the resolution. The exterior of Heaven is decorated with a holographic butterfly, and the Blue Fairy possesses “wings like the butterfly’s except larger, so much larger” (326). These visual references to free will are fitting because Heaven is a haven for machines who develop independent thought. The Blue Fairy creates the virus that dismantles the Authority’s neural network. Hap exercises his free will and chooses to sacrifice himself by uploading the virus during the novel’s climax. In Part 4, the sight of a tree covered in “gold and orange and black” monarchs prompts Victor to show the others the heart he’s rebuilt (403). The butterflies inspire him to take decisive, intentional action even though he’s afraid he won’t be able to bring his father and Hap back. At the very end of the novel, Victor and Hap admire a kaleidoscope of monarch butterflies “dancing among the trees, a slow, silent tornado” (417). The butterflies enhance the happy, hopeful ending, making it clear that Victor and Hap will continue to choose one another after all they’ve been through. The motif of butterflies plays an important role in the novel’s theme of free will, plot, and character design and development.