Like Water for Chocolate (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Laura Esquivel
- First Published: 1989
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy
- Time of Work: Early in the twentieth century
- Setting: Coahuila, Mexico
- Principal Characters: Tita de la Garza, Mamá Elena, Gertrudis, Rosaura, Nacha, Pedro Muzquiz, John Brown
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire, Magical Realism, Fantasy
- Subjects: Tradition, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Gender roles, Supernatural, Marriage, 1910’s, 1920’s, 1930’s, Emotions, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Duty, Food, Cookery or cooks, Mexico or Mexicans, Latin America or Latin Americans
- Locales: Piedras Negras, Mexico
Form and Content
Like Water for Chocolate is divided into twelve chapters, one for each month of the year. Each chapter is preceded by a recipe that corresponds to the action that follows. The structure of the novel suggests the tradition of women’s magazines that came into vogue during the mid-nineteenth century. These periodicals included, like Esquivel’s novel, recipes, home remedies, and, often, sentimental novels in monthly installments.
The novel takes place on a ranch in northern Mexico at the time of the Revolution. Just as the country is in a state of...
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See Also:
See Also:
- - Like Water for Chocolate summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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