English 11o
Professor Zollo
Like Water for Chocolate
During the 1920 Revolution, Mexican men became combined in new relationships to Mexican women. In Mexican history, women developed their potentialities on a large scale beside the men and won recognition as companions, mates, and partners. Mexican screenwriter Laura Esquivel In the book "Like Water for Chocolate," is a main revolution that develops between mother and daughter, Mama Elena and Tita. Like Water for Chocolate shows revolutions in traditions and are the major factor because tradition states that the youngest daughter must not marry, but must take care of the mother until she dies. However, when a young man decides to ask for Tita's hand in marriage, Mama Elena flat out refuses to let Tita get marry and allows her sister to marry him. The revolution continues to build until finally after many years of torment by her mother, Tita leaves the family ranch. Then after a while, when Mama Elena becomes paralyzed by bandits, Tita feels compelled to return to the ranch and care for her mother. In returning Tita felt that her return humiliated her mother because how cruelly she had treated her daughter in the past (130).
When Tita had made dinner for her mother, Mama Elena brutally rejected her kindness. Tita could not understand why her mother treated her cruelly, "she didn't understand Mama Elena's attitude . . . It was beyond her comprehension that one person, whatever her relationship with another, could reject the kind gesture in such a brutal manner . . ." (130-131). After all that they had gone through, Tita thought at least some things had changed. Of course nothing had changed because Mama Elena saw her daughter as she saw her self many years before. But after her mother's death Tita was enlightened when see discovered her mother's love letters from José, her mother's only true love (137).
As Tita read her mothers letters, she discovered the reason behind her mother's