Like Water For Chocolate
Traditions and culture has been part of people for a longtime now, people have held to the traditions even as some remain outdated. Traditions have remained encrypted on people’s thoughts in that they refer to them when they want to do anything. In Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel and Blood Wedding by Frederico Garcia Lorca traditions has remained a core theme in that it plays part of what people do and practice. In both books they speak of love turn sour by the effects of traditions that do not allow certain practices and decrees. They remain a hindrance to the lives of the characters and as the authors express it remains a total barrier that needs to be addressed accordingly.
In both novels, the roles between males and females …show more content…
are explicitly distinguished through tradition. In Blood Wedding, the roles of females are observable and limited; most of them do not leave home for ba very long time. It is society’s tradition that married women are in charge of all the household work. At the beginning of the play when the Mother meets the Neighbor, the Mother says “it’s been twenty years since I’ve been up to the top of the road” (12). From this casual conversation, there is an emphasis on the long period of time the Mother did not leave home at all, or was always very near home after marriage. This can elaborate to the fact that females were often in charge of the household chores because they did not leave the house regularly. Furthermore, the Mother provides another evidence of female roles. When her son, Bridegroom leaves to the vineyard to cut grapes, he asks for a knife; as soon as she hears this, she flashbacks the time when her first son and husband got murdered by the Feliexes. She says to the Bridegroom “How I wish you had been a girl! You wouldn’t be going down to the stream now. And we would be embroidering linens and little wool dogs” (7). This quote gives further details about the gender roles; females stay home doing safe activities such as embroidering, while males risk their lives by leaving home. The Mother’s desire underlines the difference of security and protection of each gender; if the Bridegroom was a female, then she does not have worry about safety issues.
Similar to Blood Wedding, Like Water for Chocolate also implies similar aspects of tradition and gender roles. The protagonist, Tita has solid roles to do in her family as the youngest daughter. As the youngest daughter of the family, she has to stay with and take care of Mama Elena until the day the latter dies. This family tradition is very fixed, as Mama Elena mentions that “for generations, not a single person in [her] family has ever questioned this tradition” (11). In the beginning chapter, Mama Elena clearly emphasizes to Tita about what she has to do as the youngest daughter: “You know perfectly well that being the youngest daughter means you have to take care of me until the day I die” (10). Technically, Tita had already been assigned roles to do since the day she was born.
Additionally, when the youngest daughter tradition is first introduced, the Mama Elena’s role as a mother is evident. It is mentioned in the novel that “Tita knew that discussion was not one of the forms of communication permitted in Mama Elena’s household, but even so, for the first time in her life, she intended to protest her mother’s ruling” (11). Unsurprisingly, Mama Elena replied back authoritatively: “You don’t have an opinion, and that all I want to hear about it” (11). From her reactions, the readers can relate it to gender roles that the mother is a very authoritative and influential figure in the family. Since the youngest daughter tradition makes Tita serve her mother with absolute respect, Mama Elena is possible to become a much stronger character.
The second major effect that tradition has on society is that it corrupts love. In most cases, the characters that are truly in love with each other are forbidden to be together, making tragedies that grieves the readers. In Blood Wedding, the relationship between Leonardo and the Bride is seen as a tragedy; the two characters are truly in love with each other, but are not allowed to marry. Instead, the parents assigns the Bride to marry someone who she does not love. From the Third Woodcutters quote “Do you think they will manage to break through the circle?” (80), it suggests that it has been a tradition since a long time, and breaking it will be a very big issue.
Like Water for Chocolate also has a similar aspect; the lovers are forbidden to love each other due to tradition. Both Tita and Pedro deeply love each other, and are willing to marry. However, because of the youngest daughter tradition that Tita has to carry out, they are not allowed to marry each other. Mama Elena rejects to give permission to Tita to marry Pedro, considering it as something not to even think about: “If he intends to ask for your hand, tell him not to bother” (10). Instead, Pedro decides to marry Rosaura, even though she is not his lover, for the purpose of staying in the same house and to be close to Tita. In short, tradition keeps the true lovers apart.
The third aspect that is affected by tradition is social expectations. In both novels, marriage was not about how much the bride and the bridegroom loves each other, but more about how much the parents are satisfied with it. Besides, the parents have full control over marriage. In the Blood Wedding, arranging a marriage seems more like a partnership deal between two firms. Even though the true lovers are Leonardo and the Bride, the Mother and Father already arranged a marriage between the Bride and the Bridegroom. The parents focus more on the benefits they get from marriage and the quality of the spouse than the emotions that their son and daughter feel. Furthermore, the Father boasts that his daughter “makes bread at three” (31) and “embroiders all kinds of embroidery” (31). His boaster implies the qualities of a good wife includes being proficient in chores, and that the society generally expects these qualities. The Mother replies that her son “has never known a woman” (31). Although this is exaggeration, this implies that the society highly values the male to have little contact with females before marriage. Such expectations are formed in society because of the tradition; parents want their children to have better spouses.
Like Water for Chocolate somewhat has a similar expectation in society.
Traditionally, virginity is considered sacred and essential in society for a women to marry. If a woman has lost virginity, it is unlikely that she would marry. After Chencha gets raped by bandits, she is worried and depressed that no men will marry her. Chencha says to Tita “you know how men are. They all say they won’t eat off a plate that isn’t clean” (134); this quote highlights the tradition that men do not marry women who lost virginity. In addition, later on in the novel, Tita admits that she cannot marry John because she had lost virginity to Pedro. When John proposes to TIta, she refused by saying “while you were gone, I had relations with a man I’ve always loved, and I lost my virginity. That’s the reason I can’t marry you anymore” (222); she admitted that she cannot marry John anymore because she had lost her virginity. In brief, certain expectations exist in society because of tradition.
In conclusion, the effect of tradition in literature is significant. In Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel and Blood Wedding by Frederico Garcia Lorca gender roles, love, and social expectations are noticeably affected by tradition. Lorca and Esquivel explore mostly the negative effects of tradition on society which is to question the morality of
it
Works Cited
Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate: a Novel in Monthly Installments, with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies. New York: Anchor, 1992. Print.
Garcia, Lorca Federico, Michael Dewell, and Carmen Zapata. Three Plays: Blood Wedding, Yerma, The House of Bernarda Alba. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1993. Print.
In both novels, the roles between males and females …show more content…
are explicitly distinguished through tradition. In Blood Wedding, the roles of females are observable and limited; most of them do not leave home for ba very long time. It is society’s tradition that married women are in charge of all the household work. At the beginning of the play when the Mother meets the Neighbor, the Mother says “it’s been twenty years since I’ve been up to the top of the road” (12). From this casual conversation, there is an emphasis on the long period of time the Mother did not leave home at all, or was always very near home after marriage. This can elaborate to the fact that females were often in charge of the household chores because they did not leave the house regularly. Furthermore, the Mother provides another evidence of female roles. When her son, Bridegroom leaves to the vineyard to cut grapes, he asks for a knife; as soon as she hears this, she flashbacks the time when her first son and husband got murdered by the Feliexes. She says to the Bridegroom “How I wish you had been a girl! You wouldn’t be going down to the stream now. And we would be embroidering linens and little wool dogs” (7). This quote gives further details about the gender roles; females stay home doing safe activities such as embroidering, while males risk their lives by leaving home. The Mother’s desire underlines the difference of security and protection of each gender; if the Bridegroom was a female, then she does not have worry about safety issues.
Similar to Blood Wedding, Like Water for Chocolate also implies similar aspects of tradition and gender roles. The protagonist, Tita has solid roles to do in her family as the youngest daughter. As the youngest daughter of the family, she has to stay with and take care of Mama Elena until the day the latter dies. This family tradition is very fixed, as Mama Elena mentions that “for generations, not a single person in [her] family has ever questioned this tradition” (11). In the beginning chapter, Mama Elena clearly emphasizes to Tita about what she has to do as the youngest daughter: “You know perfectly well that being the youngest daughter means you have to take care of me until the day I die” (10). Technically, Tita had already been assigned roles to do since the day she was born.
Additionally, when the youngest daughter tradition is first introduced, the Mama Elena’s role as a mother is evident. It is mentioned in the novel that “Tita knew that discussion was not one of the forms of communication permitted in Mama Elena’s household, but even so, for the first time in her life, she intended to protest her mother’s ruling” (11). Unsurprisingly, Mama Elena replied back authoritatively: “You don’t have an opinion, and that all I want to hear about it” (11). From her reactions, the readers can relate it to gender roles that the mother is a very authoritative and influential figure in the family. Since the youngest daughter tradition makes Tita serve her mother with absolute respect, Mama Elena is possible to become a much stronger character.
The second major effect that tradition has on society is that it corrupts love. In most cases, the characters that are truly in love with each other are forbidden to be together, making tragedies that grieves the readers. In Blood Wedding, the relationship between Leonardo and the Bride is seen as a tragedy; the two characters are truly in love with each other, but are not allowed to marry. Instead, the parents assigns the Bride to marry someone who she does not love. From the Third Woodcutters quote “Do you think they will manage to break through the circle?” (80), it suggests that it has been a tradition since a long time, and breaking it will be a very big issue.
Like Water for Chocolate also has a similar aspect; the lovers are forbidden to love each other due to tradition. Both Tita and Pedro deeply love each other, and are willing to marry. However, because of the youngest daughter tradition that Tita has to carry out, they are not allowed to marry each other. Mama Elena rejects to give permission to Tita to marry Pedro, considering it as something not to even think about: “If he intends to ask for your hand, tell him not to bother” (10). Instead, Pedro decides to marry Rosaura, even though she is not his lover, for the purpose of staying in the same house and to be close to Tita. In short, tradition keeps the true lovers apart.
The third aspect that is affected by tradition is social expectations. In both novels, marriage was not about how much the bride and the bridegroom loves each other, but more about how much the parents are satisfied with it. Besides, the parents have full control over marriage. In the Blood Wedding, arranging a marriage seems more like a partnership deal between two firms. Even though the true lovers are Leonardo and the Bride, the Mother and Father already arranged a marriage between the Bride and the Bridegroom. The parents focus more on the benefits they get from marriage and the quality of the spouse than the emotions that their son and daughter feel. Furthermore, the Father boasts that his daughter “makes bread at three” (31) and “embroiders all kinds of embroidery” (31). His boaster implies the qualities of a good wife includes being proficient in chores, and that the society generally expects these qualities. The Mother replies that her son “has never known a woman” (31). Although this is exaggeration, this implies that the society highly values the male to have little contact with females before marriage. Such expectations are formed in society because of the tradition; parents want their children to have better spouses.
Like Water for Chocolate somewhat has a similar expectation in society.
Traditionally, virginity is considered sacred and essential in society for a women to marry. If a woman has lost virginity, it is unlikely that she would marry. After Chencha gets raped by bandits, she is worried and depressed that no men will marry her. Chencha says to Tita “you know how men are. They all say they won’t eat off a plate that isn’t clean” (134); this quote highlights the tradition that men do not marry women who lost virginity. In addition, later on in the novel, Tita admits that she cannot marry John because she had lost virginity to Pedro. When John proposes to TIta, she refused by saying “while you were gone, I had relations with a man I’ve always loved, and I lost my virginity. That’s the reason I can’t marry you anymore” (222); she admitted that she cannot marry John anymore because she had lost her virginity. In brief, certain expectations exist in society because of tradition.
In conclusion, the effect of tradition in literature is significant. In Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel and Blood Wedding by Frederico Garcia Lorca gender roles, love, and social expectations are noticeably affected by tradition. Lorca and Esquivel explore mostly the negative effects of tradition on society which is to question the morality of
it
Works Cited
Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate: a Novel in Monthly Installments, with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies. New York: Anchor, 1992. Print.
Garcia, Lorca Federico, Michael Dewell, and Carmen Zapata. Three Plays: Blood Wedding, Yerma, The House of Bernarda Alba. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1993. Print.