Like Water for Chocolate: An Analysis Using Magical Realism

The novel follows the story of a young girl named Tita, who longs for her lover, Pedro, but can never have him because of her mother's upholding of the family tradition: the youngest daughter cannot marry, but instead must take care of her mother until she dies. Tita is only able to express herself when she cooks.

1. LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE By: Laura Esquivel An Analysis Using MAGICAL REALISM BALADAD, Jamie Anne R. GALLAN, Maezel V. SANTOS, Elsie Joy D.C. BSED-IIIA

2. Magical realism, chiefly Latin-American narrative strategy that is characterized by the matter-of-fact inclusion of fantastic or mythical elements into seemingly realistic fiction. Although this strategy is known in the  literature of many  cultures in many ages, the term  magical realism is a relatively recent  designation , first applied in the 1940s by Cuban novelist  Alejo Carpentier , who recognized this characteristic in much Latin-American literature.

3. PRINCIPLES OF MAGICAL REALISM Transformation of the common and unreal into awesome and unreal. The frame or the surface of the work maybe unconventionally realistic .

4. SIGNIFICANCE OF MAGICAL REALISM Bridging The Cultural Divide The Mexican writer Laura Esquivel makes the kitchen the site of magic in Like Water for Chocolate. Turning Proof On Its Ear Magical realism undermines our certainties, and we eventually accept (often without authorial explanation) the fusion, or co-existence, of contradictory worlds—worlds that would be irreconcilable in other modes of fiction. Magical realist fiction is not "either/or" but "both at once."

5. SHORT GIST OF THE NOVEL Tita De La Garza is the youngest in their family so she is tied to their family tradition wherein she is not allowed to marry because she have to take care of her mother until she dies. Because of that, Pedro Musquiz , the person she loves marry her other sister, Rosaura , so that they are still near to each other. Rosaura give birth to Roberto. Tita is the one who take care and feed the child. Because of that, Tita and Pedro become closer that make Mama Elena (the mother of Tita ) suspicious so she sent Pedro and Rosaura to San Antonio .

6. Tita feel depressed. It intensifies more when a news came that is telling the death of her nephew. Mama Elena ordered to put Tita in an Asylum but Dr. John secretly brings her to his home. Tita decided to not come back anymore but news came that their ranch is raided that leaves Mama Elena paralyzed. She goes back to the ranch to take care her mother but Mama Elena refuses. After a month, her mother died that makes her free so she decided to accepts the proposal of Dr. John .

7. Pedro and Rosaura go back with their second child, Esperanza. Tita and Pedro formed an affair. Tita thought that she is pregnant but after some days, she bleeds. After some time, Rosaura die, making Pedro and Tita to express their love for each other freely. Later, Esperanza and Alex (the son of Dr. John) got married. After that, Tita and Pedro make love. Because of the intensity of their love for each other, Pedro died that is followed by Tita . The ranch was set on fire and the only thing that survives is the recipe book of Tita .

8. CHARACTERS TITA DE LA GARZA Protagonist of the novel. The youngest daughter of Mama Elena. Prohibited by family tradition from marrying so that she will be free to take care of her mother later in life .

9. PEDRO MUZQUIZ Tita's true love, and the eventual father of Roberto and Esperanza. He was denied of marriage to Tita by Mama Elena, he agrees to marry Rosaura , breaking Tita's heart.

10. ELENA DE LA GARZA (MAMA ELENA) The tyrannical, widowed matriarch of the De La Garza clan. The prime source of Tita's suffering. She keeps Tita from her true love, Pedro.

11. ROSAURA DE LA GARZA The second daughter of Mama Elena. R osaura marries Pedro. Her first child, Roberto, dies as an infant; her second, Esperanza, prohibited like Tita from ever marrying, weds Alex after she dies.

12. GERTRUDIS DE LA GARZA The second daughter of Mama Elena. Returns to the ranch as a general in the revolutionary army. She is the offspring of a hidden, extramarital affair between Mama Elena and her true love, a mulatto man.

13. DR. JOHN BROWN An American doctor who cares for Tita when she experiences a breakdown, and the father of Alex. Tita was engaged to him, but eventually denies his marriage to pursue Pedro.

14. NACHA The ranch cook who was the mother figure of Tita . She is also the source for most of the recipes in the novel.

15. CHENCHA The ranch maid. She becomes Tita's companion in the kitchen after Nacha's death.

16. THEME TRADITION Like Water for Chocolate  focuses almost exclusively on the legacy of one family, the De la Garzas. The De la Garza family comes with its own set of traditions, which are both favorable and inhibiting. The cooking tradition is passed along from Nacha to Tita and later to  Esperanza’s daughter. By keeping alive the recipes, the future generations of De la Garzas are able to remember and honor their ancestors. However, the tradition of keeping the youngest child from marrying threatens to inhibit two of the work’s characters from finding true love. Unlike the cooking tradition which exists only to serve and please its adherents, this tradition is abandoned because of the displeasure it produces.

17. REDEMPTION Redemption for the victimized is a common theme in the work. Those who commit wrongs are typically punished for their actions later. Mama Elena, who disciplines her daughter and keeps her from marrying, must later rely on the care of that daughter after she becomes paralyzed. Rosaura , who steals her sister’s lover and is obsessed with her public image, dies while passing gas and is shunned by her husband and friends because of her foul odor. Tita , who withstands the most abuse in the novel from family and lovers, is also the most triumphant by the novel’s end.

18. LOVE At its heart,  Like Water for Chocolate  is the story of a girl trying to find and enjoy true love. Tita is the vessel through which the novel illustrates familial, passionate, and romantic love. Love, it seems, is one of the only things strong enough to light the “matchbox” within each of the characters.

19. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM JANUARY Christmas Rolls “The water had been dried up by the sun, Nacha swept up the residue the tears had left on the red stone floor. There was enough salt to fill a 10 pound sack – it was used for cooking and lasted for a long time.” (Page 4) Characters accept rather than question the logic of the magical element. MAGICAL REALISM FROM THE NOVEL

20. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM FEBRUARY Chabela Wedding Cake “When she finished beating the meringue, it occurred to Nacha to lick some of the icing off her finger to see if Tita’s tear affected the flavor. No, the flavor did not seemed to have affected, yet not knowing why, Nacha was suddenly overcome with intense longing.” (Page 34) Emotions and the sexuality of the human as a social construct are often developed in great detail.

21. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM MARCH Quail in Rose Petal Sauce “ Gertrudis was really stricken, her whole body was dripping with sweat. Her sweat was pink and it smelled like roses, a lovely strong smell.” (Page 49) An "irreducible" magic which cannot be explained by typical notions of natural law. “Her body was giving so much heat that the wooden walls began to split and burst into flames.” (Page 50) “By then the scent of roses given off her whole body traveled a long, long way.” “A pink cloud floated toward him, wrapped around him and made him set a gallop to Mama Elena’s ranch.” (Page 51)

22. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM APRIL Turkey Mole with Almonds and Sesame Seeds “She removed the boy from her breast, a thin stream of milk sprayed out.” (Page 74) The fantastic elements may be intrinsically plausible but are never explained.

23. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM MAY Northern-style Chorizo “ Chencha came down saying Tita was acting like a crazy person and refused to live the dovecote.” (Page 97) Phenomenological states may include the primitive or childless that seems to dislocate our initial perceptions/understandings.

24. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM JUNE A Recipe For Making Matches “Let me tell you something I’ve never told a soul” (Page 112) It can distort time so that it is cyclical or so that it appears absent. Another technique is to collapse time in order to create a setting in which the present repeats or resembles the past.

25. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM JULY Ox-tail Soup “ Tita’s voice stopped him. That melodious voice had not spoken a word for six months.” Inverts cause and effect, for instance a character may suffer before a tragedy occurs.

26. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM AUGUST Champandongo “A girl which meant, in the family tradition, that she was the one designated to care for her mother until the end of her days.” ( Page 143 ) Mirrors past against present; astral against physical planes; or characters one against another.

27. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM SEPTEMBER Chocolate and Three Kings’ Day Bread “You are worthless, a good-for-nothing who doesn’t respect even yourself. You have blackened the name of my entire family, from my ancestors down to this cursed baby you carry in your belly!” (Page 169 ) An “irreducible” magic which cannot be explained by typical notions of natural law.

28. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM OCTOBER Cream Fritters “Once and for all, leave me alone; I won’t put up with you! I hate you, I’ve always hated you!” Tita had said the magic words that would make Mama Elena disappear forever. The imposing figure of her mother began to shrink until it became no more than a tiny light.” (Page 194) Inverts cause and effect.

29. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM NOVEMBER Beans with Chile Tezcucana -style “It seemed they’d gone mad or developed a taste for cock-fighting. They were giving little pecks at each other, trying to snatch away the last chunks of tortilla left on the ground. They hopped and flew wildly in every direction, launching violent attacks.” (Page 211) The text may employ a “verbal magic” where metaphors are treated as a reality.

30. CHAPTER LINES FROM THE NOVEL ELEMENTS OF MAGICAL REALISM DECEMBER Chiles in Walnut Sauce “When the stones reached high enough, they exploded into multicolored lights. From miles away, people in neighbor towns watched the spectacle, thinking it was fireworks celebrating the wedding of Alex and Esperanza” (Page 240) An “irreducible” magic which cannot be explained by typical notions of natural law .

31. SYMBOLS FROM THE NOVEL FROM CHAPER I-IV

32. SYMBOLS FROM THE NOVEL FROM CHAPER V-VII

33. SYMBOLS FROM THE NOVEL FROM CHAPER I-IV