Like Water for Chocolate is a 1990 historical fiction novel written by Laura Esquivel. The story follows the life of Tita de la Garza, who is born with an intense love longing; she can literally feel everyone’s emotions and sense everyone’s feelings. This proves to be most difficult when she falls in love with Pedro, who is not only her first cousin but also her best friend, the man she has been promised to since birth. Like Water for Chocolate demonstrates what can happen when patriarchy meets matriarchy, and the patriarchy wins.
About Like Water for Chocolate : The Novel that Inspired the Motion Picture Like Water for Chocolate is a novel following the life of Tita de la Garza and her passionate love affair with Pedro while living in Mexico during the early 1900’s. As we follow Tita through life we learn that she is doomed to turn into stone if she does not get married by the age of twenty-four and that she can sense others’ feelings. Like Water for Chocolate is a tale of forbidden love, family secrets, and ultimately one woman’s struggle against traditional gender roles.
Synopsis: Like Water for Chocolate follows the life of Tita de la Garza from pre-birth to death and provides an intimate glimpse into her emotional world, where food is used not only as nourishment but also as communication and familial bonds are never severed despite distance or time. The patriarch of Tita’s household passes away shortly after Tita is born; this leaves his wife (Tita’s mother) in charge of the domestic affairs inside their home.
In accordance with tradition, each daughter in their family is allowed to marry only after the oldest daughter ( Tita) has been married. Because of this, Tita’s mother is determined to find a suitable husband for her and ultimately chooses Pedro, with whom Tita shares a close bond with and who happens to be both her first cousin and childhood friend. Like Water for Chocolate follows Tita and Pedro throughout life as they struggle with their forbidden love-affair that seems doomed from the start due to their family ties.
Plot: Like Water for Chocolate takes place in Mexico in the early 1900’s during a time when patriarchal tradition was still heavily influential. As such, women were expected to marry men who they shared no familial ties with in order to future problems within the home. This is why Tita’s mother forces her to marry Pedro after the death of her father, as he is not only Tita’s first cousin but also her best friend. Like Water for Chocolate is a tale that demonstrates the strength and endurance of women as well as their ability to adapt within a patriarchal society.
Main Characters:
-Tita de la Garza – protagonist throughout Like Water for Chocolate , often referred to as “la dependienta”, or “the store clerk” because she works at the family chocolate shop; forbidden love with Pedro; has an intense ability to connect deeply with others (can feel their emotions, sense their feelings)
-Pedro Muzquiz – childhood/first cousin of Tita; other half of Tita/Pedro relationship; forbidden love with Tita
-Gertrudis “Tru” Chan – sister of Pedro, youngest daughter in the family; also quite fond of Pedro
-Mama Elena – matriarch, very traditional woman who holds to old Mexican customs and superstitions yet is strong-willed underneath it all
-Papa Julio – patriarch, dies shortly after Tita’s birth, leaves his wife (Tita’s mother) to take care of the domestic affairs inside the home
-Rosaura Almanza – stepsister of Tita, eldest daughter in the family; married off to a wealthy man at a young age only to be divorced years later for an unknown reason
-Gertrudis “Tru” Chan – stepsister of Tita, youngest daughter in the family
Minor Characters:
-Mama Elena’s parents (Tita’s paternal grandparents)
-Rosa Luz Aurora Esperanza de la Garza aka Mamá Dolores- mother to Mama Elena; dies during childbirth while bearing another daughter after Tita is born
-Don Fernando Muzquiz aka Grandfather – father to Pedro and Gertrudis; dies while working on his farm when Pedro is very young
The feminist subtext of Like Water for Chocolate is rather pronounced. Like Water for Chocolate is not only the story of love and loss, but also that of women’s liberation (Esquivel 10). Tita de la Garza (the protagonist) begins Like Water for Chocolate as an elderly woman, reflecting on her life where she has remained chaste despite marriage proposals from countless suitors because she was never able to bear children due to Pedro’s decision to not consummate their marriage after their wedding night (de la Garza 59-60).
Like Water For Chocolate largely concerns itself with the lives of Mexican women in the early twentieth century. Due to the fact that men held power over land ownership, Mexican women were often married off into other families in exchange for food, money, or land. Like Water For Chocolate explores the ways in which women are oppressed by society’s gendered expectations that focus on their role as child bearers and servants within the domestic sphere (Esquivel 4). Women are valued according to this standard of womanhood since without men they would have no power at all (de la Garza 20-21).
Like many other Latin American societies, Mexican society at the turn of the twentieth century is patriarchal. Women are only respected if they marry and raise children properly. While Tita is still a young girl her mother tells her, “you’re going to be my right hand” (de la Garza), but once she is married off to her older sister’s fiance, Pedro, Tita becomes the main servant of her mother-in-law. While Like Water For Chocolate is not intended as a work of radical feminist literature, its strong thematic presence allows it to be interpreted as such.
It was very common for young women in Mexico at this time to be married off by their parents without consulting themselves because they are seen as part of the property that belongs to their fathers until they are given away in marriage (de la Garza 20-22). Like Water For Chocolate exhibits the way in which many Mexican families were organized around patriarchal structures where men controlled all aspects of life including family finances and community resources (Esquivel 4).
Women have no choice but to submit to their fathers’ mandates in order to gain a better life provided they are lucky enough to have a family that cares about them (de la Garza 20-21). Tita’s father, Juan Francisco, is a very kind and loving man who is willing to do anything for his daughters. However, he still believes that the most important thing for his girls is to find a husband with land and wealth because this will ensure financial security. Like Water For Chocolate explores how Mexican women were valued by society based on their ability to bear children and perform household tasks such as cooking or cleaning.
Tita knew from an early age that she was meant to become Pedro’s wife even though her mother forbade it until both of her older sisters had married (de la Garza 20-21). Like Water For Chocolate explores how many women were forced into roles that they did not want because of the patriarchal society in which they lived. Tita is born to cook and be a servant; it is all she knows. Like Water for Chocolate also explores feminism, particularly radical feminism. The heroines of Like Water for Chocolate assume power only when men alone cannot protect them against other men who are trying to take advantage of their vulnerability.
