Victim and Victimization
When Mama Elena imposes her severe demands on Tita, she turns her into a victim. Tita falls prey to Mama Elena's unyielding drive for dominance and authority. She confines Tita to the kitchen, where her life centers on serving the needs of others. Mama Elena dismisses Tita's uniqueness and tries to quash her identity. Tita's development as a person depends on her capacity to escape from this role of victimhood.
Blending of Culinary and Literary Arts
In the end, the blending of culinary and literary arts, which triumphs most obviously in the survival of Tita’s cookbook and diary at the novel’s conclusion, offers would-be cooks and writers new recipes for creative expression.
Feminist Theme of Women's Freedom
The importance of freedom for women is the novel’s central feminist theme. Central to conveying a message of liberation for Mexican women is the choice of a traditionally female space in Mexican society, the kitchen, as defining characters’ lives. To this end, the novel’s action is set temporally around the time of the Mexican Revolution, when women’s rights in Mexico were also being redefined and reevaluated. Clearly, however, it is not the kitchen but societal codes that have restricted women’s independence. Mamá Elena’s miserable death from poisoning and Rosaura’s grotesque demise testify to the evils of unquestioning allegiance to tradition in the name of keeping up appearances. The novel suggests that Gertrudis’s uninhibited happiness, by contrast, is the direct consequence of her rebellious freedom. The plainest evidence of this novelistic message of liberation, even if it applies principally to amorous freedom, appears in the marriage of Rosaura’s daughter Esperanza, who, through Tita’s guidance, refuses to succumb to the family tradition that has enslaved her aunt.
Celebration of Food and Cooking
Like Water for Chocolate playfully imitates the steamy romances included in Hispanic women’s magazines and simultaneously pays tribute to the arts of the kitchen. The novel begins and ends in the kitchen, where Tita’s grandniece prepares one of Tita’s recipes, illustrating that the plot is above all a vehicle for the author to celebrate food and cooking as the center of daily lives and destinies. This message is also evident in the fact that cooking is the root cause for the events of Magical Realism or fantasy that pervade the novel.
Tita learns the most important lessons about life in the kitchen from the Indian cook Nacha. As in the book’s title, descriptions of how characters feel in various situations are presented in imagery from food and cooking. In addition, the unique ways in which food is prepared and the ingredients employed are shown as determining or redefining people’s fates, as with the wedding cake prepared by Tita that spoils Rosaura’s reception and destroys Nacha’s life. The novel equates understanding these secrets of the power of food with understanding life. In its language, food-related events, characterization in terms of attitudes toward food and cooking, and cookbook-like form, this novel makes culinary activity itself the captivating stuff of literature.
Supernatural
An essential element of the novel is Esquivel's use of the supernatural. Tita’s enchanted dishes, which stir deep yearning and irresistible desire, represent creativity and personal expression. Much like an artist, Tita pours her soul into her cooking, crafting culinary wonders that evoke powerful emotions in others. Her careful preparation of food also highlights her affectionate character. The spirits of the deceased that visit Tita throughout the narrative imply that a person's impact continues after death. Nacha's spirit offers Tita reassurance when she needs it, much as she did during her lifetime. In contrast, Mama Elena's spirit tries to manipulate Tita from the...
(This entire section contains 114 words.)
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afterlife, making her feel guilty about her love for Pedro.
Creativity and Imagination
Through her culinary artistry, Tita finds a unique way to express her suppressed emotions. Ironically, while Mama Elena tries to control Tita by confining her to the kitchen and making her responsible for all the family meals, this very environment enables Tita to form deeper connections with others and gain a better understanding of herself. She infuses all her love for Pedro into her dishes, which strengthens their relationship. Furthermore, her cooking talent helps her build a bond with Pedro's children, easing her heartache over not having her own children with him. Tita's creative cooking also acts as a subtle rebellion against her mother; she recalls that whenever she strayed from a recipe, "she was always sure ... that Mama Elena would find out and, instead of congratulating her on her creativity, give her a terrible tongue-lashing for disobeying the rules."
Sanity and Insanity
Tita's struggle to follow her mother's demands while suppressing her own wishes leads her to the edge of madness. After Mama Elena sends Rosaura, Pedro, and Roberto away, Tita loses all zest for life. The devastating news of Roberto's death pushes her to a breaking point, causing her to isolate herself in the pigeon house, refusing to leave. John rescues her from this oppressive situation, and with the support and affection from him and Chencha, Tita regains her sanity. In stark contrast, Mama Elena never questions her own mental health, despite her relentless need to dominate her daughters. When Tita is discovered in the pigeon house, Mama Elena ironically proclaims, "there's no place in this house for maniacs."
Love and Passion
The tension between love and duty is evident in Tita's struggle to comply with her mother's wishes. To adhere to her mother's demands, Tita must suppress her feelings for Pedro. In contrast, her sister Gertrudis openly embraces her desires, eloping with Juan and working in a brothel. The passionate nature of both sisters is reflected in their shared love for food. While both enjoy delicious meals, only Tita has the skill to prepare them. At one point, Gertrudis brings the revolutionary army to the De la Garza ranch to savor her sister's hot chocolate, cream fritters, and other culinary delights.
The theme of food also parallels John Brown's affection for Tita. Despite being captivated by her beauty, he does not harbor a jealous passion concerning her relationship with Pedro. John comes from a North American family whose food, as Tita observes, "is bland and didn't appeal."
Sex Roles
The novel closely ties Tita's victimization to gender roles. Her mother restricts her to the kitchen, confining her to a domestic sphere. In this environment, Tita takes on a traditional female role as a selfless caregiver, putting the needs of others before her own. Within these boundaries, she struggles to find her own identity. When Tita is taken to Dr. Brown's home, she is amazed by her hands, realizing "she could move them however she pleased." At the ranch, "what she had to do with her hands was strictly determined." She learns about Dr. Brown's grandmother, Morning Light, who experimented with herbs and gained respect as a healer.
Cruelty and Violence
Mama Elena often uses harshness and aggression to ensure Tita's compliance. The tasks she assigns to Tita, especially those concerning Pedro and Rosaura's wedding, are acts of sheer cruelty, considering Tita's heartache over losing Pedro. Mama Elena reacts to Tita's slightest objections with furious outbursts and physical violence. For instance, when she suspects Tita of deliberately ruining the wedding cake, she punishes her with a beating. When Tita confronts her mother and blames her for Roberto's death, Mama Elena hits her with a wooden spoon, breaking her nose. This regular cruelty is not considered unusual in a place where a widow must defend herself and her family from bandits and revolutionaries.
Obedience
To fulfill her obligations to her mother, Tita must follow her commands, a difficult task given Mama Elena's controlling personality. Mama Elena imposes strict demands on Tita throughout her life, expecting her to comply without question. She feels that Tita has never shown the "proper deference" towards her, leading her to treat her youngest daughter with particular harshness. Even when Tita creates a "perfect creation" for the wedding, Mama Elena forces her to undo the seam and redo it because she did not baste it first, as instructed. After deciding that Pedro will marry Rosaura, Mama Elena demands that Tita prepare the wedding feast, fully aware of the emotional pain this will cause her. Following Nacha's death, Mama Elena assigns Tita complete responsibility for preparing the ranch's meals, leaving her with little time for anything else. Tita's struggle to balance her obedience to her mother forms a central conflict in the novel.
Duty and Responsibility
The opening chapter explores the themes of duty, responsibility, and tradition, which are central to Tita's main struggle. Family tradition dictates that Tita must reject Pedro's proposal in order to stay home and care for her widowed mother indefinitely. If she goes against this tradition, she will fail to meet societal expectations concerning her obligations to her mother. Rosaura decides to enforce this same tradition on her daughter, Esperanza, preventing her from marrying Alex Brown. However, Tita sees the injustice in this practice; if she is unable to marry and have children, who will care for her in her old age? She tells Rosaura that she will challenge the tradition "as long as this cursed tradition doesn't take me into account." Nonetheless, she and Pedro honor his duty to his wife and child, keeping their love discreet as long as Rosaura is alive.
Free Choice and Breaking Rules
Esquivel provides hope by suggesting that individuals can adapt to whatever challenges life presents. However, she compellingly argues that simply adapting isn't always enough. Although she acknowledges the importance of rules and believes they should generally be followed, she highlights in her interview with Loewenstein that "everyone always has another possibility of doing as one chooses, of breaking the rules, of transgressing them." Tita defies the rules but lacks the courage to truly break free from them. After her mother's passing, she contemplates the difficulties: "Life had taught her that it was not that easy; there are few prepared to fulfill their desires whatever the cost." Esquivel appears to champion the importance of free choice in evaluating these costs and deciding on a course of action.
Cyclical Nature of Time and Intertwining of Past and Present
This final observation highlights an essential theme: the cyclical nature of time and the connection between the past and the present. The narrator reflects, "I don't know why mine [the rolls] never turn out like hers, or why my tears flow so freely when I prepare them—perhaps I am as sensitive to onions as Tita, my great-aunt, who will go on living as long as there is someone who cooks her recipes." The past doesn't need to be called upon; it is always present. Scents consistently bring the past to the forefront, not just for Tita but also for her sister Gertrudis (the smell of chocolate), her lover Juan (the scent of roses), and Pedro (Tita's fragrance of jasmine mixed with cooking aromas). As Tita notes, "smells have the power to evoke the past, bringing back sounds and even other smells that have no match in the present. Tita liked to take a deep breath and let the characteristic smoke and smell transport her through the recesses of her memory." This connection is unintentional. While recovering at John's, Tita is rejuvenated by a bowl of oxtail soup from Chencha, which provides more than mere physical sustenance:
With the first sip, Nacha appeared beside her, stroking her hair as she ate, just as she had done when Tita was young and unwell, kissing her forehead repeatedly. . . . As always throughout her life, with a hint of onion, the tears began. She cried as she hadn't cried since the day she was born. How wonderful it was to have a long talk with Nacha.
The merging of Nacha and Tita, and Esperanza and Tita's great-niece into a unified consciousness, is rooted in their shared experiences of the kitchen, food, and scents, which is tangibly represented by the recipe book that miraculously survives the fire:
When Esperanza, my mother, returned from her wedding trip, all that she found under the remains of what had been the ranch was this cookbook, which she bequeathed to me when she died. Each recipe within it tells the story of a love buried.
In this way, the past and present become one.
Strong Bonds Between Women
Strong connections also exist among women, especially between Nacha and Tita, and Tita and Esperanza. Nacha and Tita share a profound understanding that goes beyond words, and their bond even surpasses death. Nacha nurtured Tita during her childhood, giving her a "sixth sense" about "everything concerning food." Tragically, Nacha dies on the day of Rosaura and Pedro's wedding, succumbing to the longing Tita infused into the cake. However, Nacha reappears whenever Tita needs her—most notably, to help prepare the wedding bed and light candles for Tita and Pedro's ultimate night of passion.
In turn, Tita develops a close relationship with her niece Esperanza, whom she loves, feeds, and protects, just as Nacha had done for her two decades earlier. The biological mothers, Mama Elena and Rosaura, fail to show love to their children until the third generation, when Esperanza breaks the cycle by raising her daughter with affection. "My mama! . . ." the narrator writes in the final paragraph, "how wonderful the flavor, the aroma of her kitchen, her stories as she prepared the meal, her Christmas rolls."
Various Forms of Love
Esquivel's novel delves into different expressions of love. John Brown's gentle affection stands in stark contrast to Pedro's fiery passion. After rescuing Tita from the dovecote, "John's large, loving hands had taken off her clothes and bathed her and carefully removed the pigeon droppings from her body, leaving her clean and sweet-smelling." His love is characterized by restraint, respect, and an endless capacity for forgiveness.
When Tita confesses to John her uncertainty about whether she loves him or Pedro more, he reacts calmly, stating, "I would be delighted to be your companion for the rest of your life—but you must think over very carefully whether I am the man for you or not." By granting Tita the freedom to make her own choices, he steps back, allowing her to decide independently. Even though his tranquility and rationality cannot match Pedro's fervent passion—leading to his loss of the woman he loves—his dedication remains steadfast throughout his life. Esquivel clearly shows Tita's decision. As Gertrudis observes, her love for Pedro "is one of the truest loves I've ever seen. Pedro and you have both made the mistake of trying to keep the truth a secret, but it will come out in time." Such love cannot be hidden forever. John grasps this and lets her go as his final act of love.
Love as a Potent Force
Love emerges as the most formidable force within this story. It is associated with bright light and warmth, whereas its absence brings a chilling cold. A simple glance can spark a fire. Tita, feeling lonely and cold, pictures Gertrudis, who left the ranch in a fervent escape, looking at a star: "Surely the heat from her body, which was inflamed by love, would travel with that gaze across an infinite distance, with no loss of energy, until it landed on the star she was watching." The strength of this force is so great that
those immense stars have survived for millions of years by ensuring they never absorb any of the passionate rays sent up by lovers around the world, night after night. To avoid this, the star generates immense heat within itself, breaking the rays into countless fragments. . . . This is why the stars shine so brightly at night.
Like fire, love demands careful handling. As John Brown explains to Tita,
each of us is born with a box of matches inside us, but we can't strike them all by ourselves. . . . Each individual must discover what will trigger those explosions to live, as the combustion that occurs when one is ignited nourishes the soul. ... If one doesn't find out in time what will set off those explosions, the box of matches becomes damp, and not a single match will ever be lit.
Once ignited, however, the fire can become uncontrollable. John cautions,
You must of course take care to light the matches one at a time. If a powerful emotion should ignite them all at once, they would produce a splendor so dazzling that it would illuminate far beyond what we can normally see, and then a brilliant tunnel would appear before our eyes, revealing the path we forgot the moment we were born, and summoning us to regain the divine origin we had lost.
That powerful emotion is, of course, love. At the height of their passion, when they finally have the freedom to express their love, it opens that tunnel for Pedro and Tita, sending out radiant sparks and setting the ranch on fire for everyone to see. The flames consume the ranch for a week, and the resulting ashes fertilize the land, making it the most productive in the area. Such intense love is both stunning and dangerous, but without it, we are incomplete. When asked why she had Tita and Pedro die at their moment of ecstasy, Esquivel explained that there's no room in the world for their kind of love. Their love, so intense and long-repressed, erupts uncontrollably. However, when handled with care and allowed to grow naturally, love can and should be the ultimate joy in life.