ipl-logo

How Does Laura Esquivel Use Magical Realism In Like Water For Chocolate

1220 Words5 Pages

Like Water For Chocolate, written by Laura Esquivel, tells the story of a young daughter in a family living in Mexico. The daughter’s name was Tita De La Garza. The time era of this story is around the start of the twentieth century. A conflict arises when Tita’s love, Pedro Muzquiz, comes to Tita’s family's ranch to ask for her hand in marriage. Tita goes through a rough time with being the youngest child in her family, which means that she cannot marry. Tita is not allowed to marry because she has to stay and take care of her mother when all the other siblings leave. The story progresses with Tita taking care of Pedro’s and her older sister Rosaura’s child only to be taken away to an insane asylum for her change in attitude when her love is forced to leave. Like Water for Chocolate is a novel that is densely populated with women, and each woman represents a distinct version of femininity. The story goes through tough situations such as Tita having no say in her love, Tita creating a meal so amazing that it sends love signals everywhere, raising Rosaura's child, Tita being sent to the asylum, …show more content…

However, the specific way in which Esquivel utilizes magical realism negates this sort of accusation. One must note that she almost exclusively confines her usage of magical realism to the kitchen—a gendered space of which Gabriel García Márquez most likely would not readily take possession. By limiting her use of magical realism to her female characters and the female atmosphere of the kitchen, Esquivel demonstrates that women can appropriate the techniques of magical realism and make them uniquely female. Moreover, she makes her use of magical realism as a tool to subvert traditional female roles/attitudes more acceptable to her Mexican

Open Document