Feminsim in Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

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How does the author of Like Water for Chocolate depict her feminist views and how do they contribute to two different themes of the novel? In the novel Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel exposes her strong feminist attitude through a controlling first person limited narration and a detailed, descriptive portrayal of the characters. This exploitation of feminist views supports two major themes: change in traditional attitudes towards authority and freedom of expression. In this novel, Laura Esquivel shows how Mexican women can overcome the powerful traditional authority of men and the traditional mindset of women; and how women can overcome society's suppression and express themselves freely. . These two themes have a direct correlation to women's breakthroughs all over the world; especially throughout Latin America. Laura Esquivel uses a first person narrator to tell the story through a flashback in a way where she can manipulate the readers point of view and opinion. The novel is narrated by the daughter of Esperanza, which is Tita's great niece because Esperanza is the daughter of Rosaura, Tita's sister. This creates a sense of incredibility throughout all of the novels events and the characters feelings. The narrator wasn't even alive when the events occurred; they were passed down to her through a "grape vine" of stories that were ultimately influenced by Tita's cookbook because it was the only thing that was left after the fire burned down the house. This literary genre in which the author creates an Garcia 2 ambiguous case in respect to the credibility of the events in order to manipulate them so she can emphasize and exaggerate certain points in the story to exploit her theme is called Magical Realism.... ... middle of paper ... ...en can understand the concepts of individualism, and they can probably understand it at a higher level than men, showing women's power and potential in society. Mama Elena and Rosaura are characterized as the traditional, suppressed Mexican women. Rosaura is mocked by Esquivel because she portrays her as the dumb sister that has no control whatsoever over her choices and that can't change, and think for herself for once. Esquivel uses a first person narration and a clear portrayal of the characters to show her feminist view. Her feminist view backs up two major themes of the book, which sends a message to all Mexican women out there: change the traditional attitudes towards authority and express yourself freely. Through Tita's characterization and the way she presents the character's around Tita, Esquivel shows her commanding presence over the ruling man of Mexico.

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