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Summary Of Like Water For Chocolate By Laura Esquivel

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The novel Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is surrounded by food, and everything in the novel is connected by Tita and the meals she cooks. Each chapter begins with the recipe for a dish Tita cooks later in the chapter. Food and the preparation of said food in the novel is the only constant present.

Throughout the novel Tita’s mother, Mama Elena, is repeatedly forward and upfront with her hatred for Tita. Mama Elena believes that Tita must follow tradition, and therefore forbids Tita to marry. Any form or rebellion, whether it was intentional or not, was met with abuse from Mama Elena, “Mama Elena went to her, picked up a wooden spoon, and smashed her across the face with it" (5, 355). Mama Elena leaves Tita in the kitchen with …show more content…

Whereas the opposite; having a inability to digest, lack of interest in cooking and food in general, are often associated with not having a full spirit, being incapable of love, and being less alive. The characters in the novel that have the best relationships with food are Tita and Rosaura. From birth Tita is willing and wanting to try all of the dishes and meals Nacha makes. Tita’s willingness to eat and try new foods is a symbol for her desire to experience life fully. However, Rosaura is described in the novel as a ‘picky eater’, as she shows little to no interest in the kitchen and the meals Nacha makes. Rosaura is often described as nauseous, and later in the novel dies of chronic indigestion. She dies with her "lips purple, body deflated, eyes wild, with a distant look, sighing out her last flatulent breath" (12.810). When Tita cooks, the food is infused with the emotions she feels at the time whether it be lust and desire, or sadness. This element of magical realism, effects other characters. When her food is infused with feelings of lust and desire, both Pedro and Gertrudis states of being are affected positively. ”[Pedro] let Tita penetrate to the farthest corners of his being and all the while they couldn't take their eyes off each other”(3, 180). Pedro experiences this when he and Tita both eat the rose petal

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In Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate, she utilizes personification to accentuate the heavy impact emotions can bring to the preparation of food. Tita thought back to advice Nacha had given her about how tamales “can be heated day after day and still stay raw, because the tamales are angry” (219). Similar to humans, foods have emotions that cause them to be unwilling to perform tasks. After witnessing Tita and Rosaura’s fight, Tita’s raw anger caused the distraught of the tamales, which led them to be uncooperative. To cure this, Tita “[has] to sing to them, which makes them happy, then they’ll cook” (219).

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