Like Water for Chocolate is a fictional novel
that takes place in Mexico at the turn of the century, during the Mexican
Revolution. The novel covers a time
span of around thirty five years and is organized in monthly instalments with
each month introduced by a traditional Spanish recipe. Most of the novel takes place on a Mexican
ranch and is about a family with a very traditional mother. Within this novel, food and love intertwine
to form a tale of forbidden romance.
Like Water for Chocolate is a romantic love
story about the frustration, heartache and joys of a true love that could be
passionate, but is forbidden and destroyed by a mother with traditional
values. Pedro confessed his love for
Tita and promised to be true to her, from then on they were bound together by
love at first sight. One thing held the
two from pursuing their love- a family tradition. This tradition states that the youngest
daughter born to Mama Elena must take care of her until she dies, meaning Tita
could not be married but must devote all her time to her mother. Pedro ends up marrying one of Tita¹s
sisters, Rosaura, in order to be close to Tita. Tita was practically raised in the
kitchen and she communicates her
love for Pedro through the dishes she
prepares, and he in turn shows his affectionate gratitude. Tita¹s quest to be with Pedro is shared only
with Nacha, the main cook and helper in the ranch. Nacha understands Tita¹s pain and consoles
with her. Nacha dies from sorrow of
loss of her love and throughout the story appears as a kindly ghost. Pedro and Rosaura move away from the ranch
leaving Tita alone. She then discovers
her love for a local doctor, John Brown, who cares for her deeply. Tita realizes her love for John could never
compare to her suppressed feelings for Pedro.
As the story progresses, many tragedies occur, but Tita and Pedro still
have undying love for each other.
Like Water for
Chocolate- Laura Esquivel
Each of us is
born with a box of matches inside us but we can¹t strike them all by ourselves;
we need oxygen and a candle to help.
The oxygen would come from the breath of the person you love; the candle
would be any kind of food, music, caress, word or sound that engenders the
explosion that lights one of the matches.
For a moment we are dazzled by an intense emotion. A pleasant warmth grows within us, fading
slowly as time goes by, until a new explosion comes along to revive it. Each person has to discover what will set
off those explosions in order to live, since the combustion that occurs when
one of them is ignited is what nourishes the soul. That fire is its food. If one doesn¹t find out in time what will
set off these explosions, the box of matches dampens, and not a single match
will ever be lighted.
This
theory that John tells to Tita is very symbolic in this tale of losing hope and
rekindling the flame that seems to be burning away.
Like Water for Chocolate is Laura Esquivel¹s
first novel. Originally she was a
screenwriter and appeared in Chido One when she was nominated for the Ariel
award for best screenplay.
Laura Esquivel
was born and raised in Mexico and may have written this novel with the hope of
portraying to her readers some Spanish background and history. As well, she may have used her novel to show her talent and creativity which she
could not portray in her previous screenplay.
She is a young author and is working on a current novel.
This novel is the kind of book anyone would
appreciate. It is full of suspense,
emotion and tradition. Some parts of
the novel are very far fetched but this unique style of writing is all part of
this fantasy. Like Water for
Chocolate is definitely worthwhile to
read. It will leave you with a sense of
knowledge of all the hardships that Mexican women once went through and a
better understanding of the pain love can possess.
Like Water for
Chocolate- Laura Esquivel
In Like Water for Chocolate, love, food and
magic are all joined together. Love is
expressed through food. The food is
magical and causes others to feel happy love, sad love, as well as sexual
love. Being able to feel the emotions
and pain of the main character is an incredible sense that can be achieved in
Like Water for Chocolate. This novel
will be hard to put down, the subtle climax¹s leave you hanging until the very
end. Just as Tita poured love into her
food, Laura Esquivel has poured love into her novel. After reading this book, a sense of
understanding can be grasped of the author as well as the main character.
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