Like Water For Chocolate Magical Realism Analysis

An oppressed soul finds means to escape through the preparation of food in the novel, Like Water for Chocolate, "A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies," published in 1989, written by Laura Esquivel. The story is set in revolutionary Mexico at the turn of the century. Tita, the young heroine, is living on her family's ranch with her two older sisters, her overbearing mother, and Nacha, the family cook. At a very tender age, Tita is instilled with a deep love for food "for Tita, the joy of living was wrapped up in the delights of food" (7, Esquivel). The sudden death of Tita's father, left Tita's mother's unable to nurse the infant Tita due to shock and grief. Therefore Nacha, "who [knows] everything about
cooking" (6, Esquivel) offers to assume the responsibility of feeding and caring for the young Tita. "From that day on, Tita's domain was the kitchen" (7, Esquivel) Throughout the novel, food is used as a constant metaphor for the intense feelings and emotions Tita is forced to conceal.
Laura Esquivel uses magical realism, symbolism and conflict to postulate the idea that family tradition can hinder love but love surpasses any obstacles.
Upon the birth of Tita, her mother flooded the kitchen table and floor when her water broke.
The fluid had turned to salt and had to be swept up off the floor. This type of thing happening in the real world is not going to happen. The fluid turning into the salt was definitely a magical realism element. The mysteries of cooking are treated in Like Water for Chocolate. The magical realism has the definition of being magical and unreal. The love that Tita had for her sister's husband upon their marriage and throughout the time of their marriage lives. Tita's love never changed. It was the magical way Tita felt in her heart about the man she loved and the way she kept quiet to keep her mother happy, and not to hurt her sister's feelings about the love she had for Pedro. Love is magical any way one looks at it. Tita turned all of her feelings into cooking. The magical way of love that Tita felt went into the cake batter. As she mixed it she cried and the tears dropped into the bowl. The cake was baked, and people who ate it reflected each one's feelings toward each other. The cooking had a mystical power that seemed to have some magical realism involved because of all the strange happenings due to the
cooking.
The inner feeling of a person that has a boundary or threshold inside of them ready to ignite was what happened to the shower when Tita's sister was in it.
The threshold of the inner feelings of this girl was exploding. During her shower, the inner feelings of passion exploded, and flames from the passion that she was feeling caused the shower to catch on fire. In the excitement of the burning shower house, the girl ran out of the shower without any clothes, not even a towel. The magical realism was all the passion the girl had inside her that just erupted like a volcano. Tita's sister ran out of the shower while it was burning. At this time, a man riding a horse bareback came riding up and picked Tita's sister up kidnapping her. The fact that she had no clothes on was unreal itself. However, a person has to wonder where this man came from, all at once, at the right time to pick her up. It's as if the passion that the girl felt seemed to call out to this man to come and get her at this point and time. The magical realism was here in the fact that it was magical, yet it seemed so
real.
Symbolisms of heat and fire infuse the novel as expressions of intense emotion. Because heat is the medium that causes food to undergo chemical change, substantial waves of it are present at many of the moments when food is being prepared. In the science of cooking, heat is a force to be used precisely; the novel's title phrase " like water for chocolate" refers to the fact that water must be brought to the brink of boiling several times before it is ready to be used in the making of hot chocolate. However, the heat of emotions, cannot be so controlled. Heat is a symbol for desire and physical love throughout the text: in Gertrudis' flight from the ranch; Pedro's lustful gazing at Tita in the shower; and the post-coital death of Pedro, among many other instances. The inner fire of the individual constitutes an important theme in the novel, and much of Tita's struggle centers on cultivating this fire. These uses of fire point toward a duality in its symbolism, as a source of strength and a force of destruction. The coupling of death and desire that occurs when the love between Tita and Pedro is freed epitomizes this duality.
(Smith, Joan). The conflict between Tita and her mother is the novel's central point of emphasis. Throughout the novel Tita strives for love, freedom, and individuality, and her mother stands as the prime opposition to the fulfillment of these goals.