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How Does Mama Elena Use Symbols In Like Water For Chocolate

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Throughout history, humans have expressed affection and feeling in many ways. Some may craft poetry or dance while others convey affection through speech. In addition, many cultural traditions stem from affection, whether it be for the craft or for the family in which a person comes from. In reference to cultural traditions, food often presents itself as the most prominent differing element between cultures. "Like Water for Chocolate" conveys the idea of using food to display emotion while also creating symbols outside of the range of culinary art. Examples of symbols in "Like Water for Chocolate" include food and one of the characters: Mama Elena. To start, food arises as a prominent symbol multiple times throughout the course of the novel. Whenever a character feels intense emotion towards a subject, the emotion transfers into the food the character is making. For example, Tita was assigned to bake a wedding cake for her lover, Pedro, and Tita's sister, Rosaline, because …show more content…

Mama Elena often displays the societal expectations and pressures on the characters. Tita becomes a main opposition to Mama Elena, constantly attempting to disobey her rules set in place in order to be with Pedro. Very early in the novel, Tita is refused the right to marry Pedro due to the fact that she exists in the family only to serve the members when they age because Tita is the youngest child. Due to this, Mama Elena imposes multiple restrictions onto Tita such as cooking, being forbidden to marry, having to serve Mama Elena in her old age along with Rosaline, and other rules. Even once Mama Elena passes, her spirit looms over Tita, constantly forcing guilt and dread onto her. In a moment of conflict, her spirit even causes Pedro to be ignited and severly injured. Mama Elena's place in the novel is to display the injustice of societal and the traditional familial expectations and expose the absurdities of

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The main character in this book, is Tita. She has two older sisters named, Gertrudis and Rosaura. Their mother is Mama Elena, who is strict and cold hearted, with some signs for care of the family. But, in general, the author portrays Mama Elena as a conservative and cruel mother who treats her as not a human

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Mama Elena arranges for the Rosaura family to move because she senses that Roberto is what is making Tita get closer to Pedro. Throughout the story “Like Water for Chocolate” you will find that imagery, flashback,

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Titas mother has a solution: She offers up her second oldest child to Pedro. This creates a divide between Tita and her mother and sister. Pedro shows his devotion to Tita by asking her to marry him, and settling for her sister. He knows that he will never be able to be with Tita and that this is the only way he can be close to her.

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Like Water for Chocolate is a radical novel which illustrates how male and female characteristics are interchangeable in a time period and culture where gender roles are all encompassing. The female characters depict characteristics typical of men such as authority, masculinity, and sensuality. While the male characters portray more feminine roles, therefore accentuating the way gender is presented. Through the reversal of gender roles traditionally represented as masculine and feminine, the author is able to show how gender roles are exchangeable and should not be based off of physical sexual orientation to directly define the personality of the individual. Mama Elena is forced to take on both the mother and father figure of the house.

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