The Poryatal of Women in Like Water for Chocolate - Research Paper Example

The Poryatal of Women in ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ Introduction The novel Like Water for Chocolate has been penned by Maxican novelist Maura Esquivel and it was published in 1989. In 1992, a film was also made on this novel with the same name that earned all 11Ariel awards of Maxixan Academy of Motion Pictures. The story of the novel has been set in the turn of the twentieth century in Mexico and the protagonist of the story is a woman, Tita. There are several powerful and compelling themses presented in the novel like self-growth, traditions and norams and violent behaviours of individuals with others. However, the depiction of women and their treatment in the society is one of the more important theme of this novel. The following discussion aims to unfold the thematic depiction of women in the novel using different evidences from the novel. The very start of this story portrays how women were treated in Mexico; when Tita’s lover, Pedro, come to her family to ask for her hand in marriage, the family rejects Pedro, not because he is not a suitable match, because Tita is the youngest of the family and it is the duty of the youngest daughter, to take care of her mother, till she dies. Tita strives for freedom, for her love and individuality; however, she is bound by the traditions. Even though the women are shown bound by traditions, their freedom is shown in the kitchen, where whatever Tita cooked, affected the person who ate the food. This essay would highlight how Tita suffered at the hands of traditions, how her mother dominated Tita and even though the women are portrayed as weak, they are stronger than their male counterparts. Like in the quote from the novel, “Ah, and let me (Tita) suggest, next time you (Pedro) fall in love, don’t be such a coward!” (pg149). The novel is set in a time, when the Mexican Revolution took place, where many women were expected to stay silent and obedient. The story also portrays the relationship between Tita and her mother Elena; Elena was strict with her child and bounded her to take care of her, because she faced a similar situation in her past, where she had to give up her true love. Like she says in the novel,” Nacha! Don't say that. As my youngest daughter, Tita will care for me until the day I die. She won't marry” (p9).  The traditions, like recipes which Elena cooked and then Tita cooked, showed how they were followed from generation to generation and no one had the freedom to break these traditions (Umana); like the quote in the novel says, “Though she didn’t know how to read or write, when it came to cooking she knew everything there was to know”  (pg3). Like Water for chocolate, the title of the novel, is a reference to women, which is a Mexican expression and means extremely agitated. It was an expression to show the rage of women, who was irritated because they were confined to their homes. The novel did depict the Mexican revolution to some extent; Tita’s eldest sister, Gertrudis, runs away from home to a soldier, after she eats one of Tita’s mysterious recipes. The soldier she runs away with is a rebel; she then works in a brothel which was located on the Mexico-Texas border and when she returns back home, she returns as a general, who is working in the revolutionary army. She is the portrayal of someone who has masculine characteristics, she showed strength and freedom; the book quotes , “Gertrudis got on her horse and rode away. She wasn't riding alone--she carried her childhood beside her, in the cream fritters she had enclosed in a jar in her saddlebag”  (pg17). She broke the tradition of women not leaving their homes and she did something other than raising children and cooking for the family. She even provoked Tita to tell Pedro that she is pregnant with his child, and Tita followed her advice, after which Pedro felt happy to hear the news. The role of women in Mexico is such that women are empowered by their male contributes and the fight to get their rights is being fought, by the Mexican women. The time when Like Water for Chocolate was published, it was seen as a dishonor for women, to go anywhere without a male escort. However, even though Esquiviel has not shown the brutality of men in her novel, she has shown how women adapt the characteristics of a man, and can be equally harsh and brutal to other women. Perhaps the most brutal and cruel of all the characters is of mother Elena. She is a character who doesn’t depict the traditional picture of a mother, who is loving, caring and supportive. Mama Elena is someone who is in the category of an evil mother; she has an authoritative style, where she gives orders to her daughters. She is a twisted woman because she feels delight in the fact that her daughters are being destroyed. The line from the novel, which truly defines her character is, “When it came to dividing, dismantling, dismembering, desolating, detaching, dispossessing, destroying, or dominating, Mama Elena was a pro” (Esquive, p97). She didn’t listen to anyone else, and expected everyone to treat her word, as the last word, like when Mama Elena rejects Pedro’s proposal and Tita tries to reason with her, the novel states that, “a very angry Mama Elena left the kitchen, and for the next week she didn’t speak a single word to her” (Esquive, 9). Mama Elena is also a heartless woman, because when she rejects Pedro for Tita, she suggests that Pedro should marry a Tita’s sister, Rosaura; she treats marriage as if it is a business transaction. She even forbids Tita from crying and makes her responsible for all the wedding preparations. The novel points towards a revolution, as women in this novel, are shown stronger compared to their male counterparts. Tita is the one who stands up for her and Pedro’s future, in front of Mama Elena and her sister, before Rosura and Pedro get married. This power of women, is shown in how the cooking of Tita influences those who consume the food; the way she cooked a rose petal sauce and tender fish, penetrated the Pedro’s body, and made him totally sensuous. This can be understood by the quote in the novel, “It wasn’t enough he’d made his wife jealous earlier, for when Pedro tasted his first mouthful, he couldn’t help closing his eyes in voluptuous delight and exclaiming: ‘It is a dish for the gods!” (pg51). The men are shown as weak, like when Tita’s mother refuses Pedro’s proposal; he doesn't stand up for Tita and his relationship, but instead, marries Rosaura to stay close with Tita. At the type the book was written, most novel represented women as angels or monsters, however, like water for chocolate, presented women of all types. First, the novel showed Tita and presented her good side; she cared for her mother and she cared for the first child of her sister and Pedro. She took care of her nephew, and when her sister was dry, she even managed to breastfeed her nephew. Gertrudis, on the other hand, is shown neither as an angel, nor as a monster, she is shown as someone who is not submissive, she follows her own will, adopts masculine characteristics when she becomes a soldier and despite being in the troops, her sexuality remains the same and she doesn’t lose her attraction in front of the troops (Fernandez). Like it is quoted in the novel, “She [Gertrudis] had come back with the intention of showing Mama Elena how she had ‎triumphed in life. She was a general in the revolutionary army Leadership was in her blood” (pg ‎‎178).‎ She is someone who understands the position of Tita, someone who is independent and wants her sister to be independent as well, which is why she insists that Tita tells Pedro about her pregnancy. She is not an angel and neither a monster; in fact, she is a human being, who is also a hero. Rosaura, who is the second daughter of Mama Elena and the wife of Pedro, is a different character, who even though she knew that her sister was in love with Pedro and he also had feelings for her, marries him. Rosaura is a character who gets in between the love of Pedro and Tita; she is not shown as a good mother to her first child, who is in the constant care of Tita. When she fears that the baby, Esperanza is bringing Pedro and Tita together, she tells Mama Elena and is then sent to San Antonio. Even though she knew that the baby missed Tita because she used to breast feed him, she didn’t take him back and he died because of it (Dalke). Here, she is shown as a monster; so there are good characters, bad characters and heroic characters depicted in this novel by women. Mama Elena is perhaps the perfect monster of the story, who doesn’t leave Tita in peace, even when she is dead and her spirit comes to Tita, to take her away from Pedro and to remind her that what she is doing is wrong; the book quotes, “Mama Elena was merciless, killing with a single blow. But then again, not always. For Tita she had made an exception; she had been killing her a little at a time since she was a child, and she still hadn’t finished her off.” (pg47). The character of women is shown as honorable in novels; however, in like Water for Chocolate, the novel depicts women in a new light. Tita is the daughter of a man, who had an affair with Mama Elena; however, Mama Elena was not married to that man, because of the same ritual which Tita had to go through. Moreover, Tita has an affair with Pedro, when she slept with him, even when he was married to Tita’s sister. These are questionable morals of women, which are not usually found in Mexican literature. However, when Tita’s sister gets to know about her affair with Pedro, she doesn’t show any kind of disapproval, in fact, she encourages Tita to confide in Pedro about her pregnancy. Thus, the future of Mexican women has been portrayed as those who are strong, can stand up for their rights and have the power to be the same as man. A woman being a soldier, the other commanding people around her and another woman influencing people through her food, shows the power of women, which they would gain in the future of Mexico. Conclusion To sum it up, the novel shows women in a new light as it shows their suffering due to the traditions which have been going on and on for generations. The novel provide an insight to the differeculties and delicate issues that the women have to encounter in the Maxican society especially during the era in which the plot of the story has been set. The author very complellingly shows that the women show their power with the way they boss around other women. The novel also shows the weakness of the women that became even more prominent when they fall in love of a man. Most of the times, the men are shown stronger and dominating in the society but it is the unique aspect of this story that rather showing the stronger side of the males in society, it exhibits the strength of the women and this, it could be said that the most important point in this novel is how the men are shown weaker, as compared to the women protagonists of the novel. Works Cited Dalke, Anne. 'Hybridity And Subversion Of Gender Norms In Laura Esquivel’S Like Water For Chocolate | Gender And Technology Spring 2009'. N. p., 2009. Web. 12 May. 2014. Esquivel, Laura. Like Water For Chocolate. 1st ed. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Print. Fernandez, Delia. 'From Soldadera To Adelita: The Depiction Of Women In The Mexican Revolution'.McNair Scholars Journal 13.1 (2009): 6. Print. Umana, Luisa. 'Women And Gender In Like Water For Chocolate'. N. p., 2009. Web. 12 May. 2014. Read More