Like Water For Chocolate Character Analysis

Family traditions prevents a young Mexican girl, Tita from marrying her true love, Pedro, which causes her great suffering throughout her life in the hands of her mother, Mama Elena and her sister, Rosaura. In Like Water for Chocolate the family consists of three sisters and their mother. The story is mainly about Tita, the youngest daughter who is born in the kitchen surrounded by different smells, where she would become her mother servant until her mother’s death. Two days after being born her father died of an unexpected heart attack, drying her mother’s milk and drinking Nacha’s tea, the cook, who was like a mother to Tita. This destine Tita to live her life in the kitchen without the bond and nurture of her mother, and to learn all the family cooking recipes, which she uses to express her emotions and the love she has for Pedro. Laura Esquivel author

As mentioned by Mama Elena, “you know perfectly well that being the youngest daughter means you have to take care of me until the day I die” (10). Bounded to the kitchen to cook for the entire family, under Nacha’s care, Tita is in charge of preparing food including Pedro and Rosaura’s wedding. In the De La Garza’s family no one is allowed to question the traditions but Tita wants answers, who was capable of making such tradition. While Mama Elena is attempting to make Tita obedient and submissive to all of her demands with mistreatments and abuse. Tita can only think about Pedro’s words, “I am sure I will be, since through this marriage I have gained what I really wanted: the chance to be near you, the woman I really love….” (38). Tita expresses her feelings towards Pedro throughout her cooking that she has learned from Nacha. Every time Tita cooks a family recipe, her emotions are shown through her cooking, affecting anyone who eats