Osubor 1

Isy Osubor
World Literature
Ms. Getz
19 May 2015

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is a novel that follows the
life of the de la Garza family. It is a novel that links together love, family and
tradition. The de la Garza family consists of Mama Elena, the mother, and
her three daughters, Gertrudis, Rosaura, and Tita. Tradition dictates that the
youngest daughter, Tita, is destined to take care of her mother and in order
to do that, she is forbidden from marriage and love. However, when Tita falls
in love with Pedro Muzquiz, Mama Elena forbids their union and makes
Rosaura marry Pedro instead. Tradition holds back many characters in this
novel and stops them from achieving their full potential. While tradition is a
major theme in Like Water for Chocolate, it is ultimately criticized by Esquivel
because of its blinding and restricting nature.
When tradition is followed, characters end up unhappy. Upon leaving
the ranch for the first time in her life, Tita returns six months later to take
care of her paralytic mother. This decision to take care of her mother fulfills
the family tradition and makes Tita sad. She says: She felt an urge to run
far, far away, to shield the tiny flame John had coaxed up inside her from her
mothers chilling presenceInside she felt the effects of snuffing the flame;
smoke was rising into her throat, tightening into a thick knot and clouding

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her eyes and making her cry (131). Esquivel critiques tradition through the
actions Titas mother, Mama Elena, who is the embodiment of tradition. The
tiny flame is the little bit of happiness Tita finds while away from the ranch.
Tiny suggests that her joy is unstable, therefore her happiness is susceptible
to the cold presence of Mama Elena and by proxy, tradition. Tradition is the
antithesis of warmth and love as it is only done out of a sense of duty,
therefore it brings no happiness or joy, instead it snuffs out the happiness
that Tita finds. Esquivel critiques tradition by portraying how tradition is toxic
to Tita, just like Mama Elena is. Titas decision to adhere to tradition and to
take care of Mama Elena results in her dampening of her flame. The tradition
she has to follow brings her sadness, makes her cry, and is a thick knot in
her throat that doesn't let her breathe and it is a weight on her shoulders
that cannot be alleviated. Esquivel alludes to the blinding nature of tradition,
similar to the way Tita's eyes are clouded by the smoke. Tita takes care of
her mother and this makes her want to run far away from the ranch where
neither the weight of tradition nor Mama Elena can hold her down. Esquivel
critiques tradition by demonstrating how following tradition
restrains and suffocates Tita. An unspoken tradition is to leave the last
chile on the plate uneaten. Eating the last chile is seen as gluttony, therefore
it is thrown away. As a result, even though theyd really like to devour it,
they dont have the nerve to take itthat stuffed pepper, which contains
every imaginable flavor;Within it lies the secret of love, but it will never be
penetrated all because it wouldnt be proper (58). Esquivel relates the last

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chile to tradition; the way that no one eats the chile relates to how there is
reluctance to break tradition. Although many would like to break it, tradition
holds them back, implying that they aren't able to reach their full potential.
Regardless of how strong the want to break tradition is, many are too scared
of what the public will say. Esquivel critiques tradition by demonstrating how
those who break tradition find the secret[s] of love and these secrets would
not be experienced if tradition was broken. If tradition was broken, it
wouldnt be proper; in the same way, eating the last chile is frowned upon.
Tita isn't allowed to eat the last chile when she is with her family and has to
do it in secret. This is a parallel to how she loves Pedro in secret, but cannot
share it for fear of breaking tradition and hurting her sister. Tita has the
opportunity to find the secrets of love because she breaks tradition and eats
the chile, however, she does this and loves Pedro in secret. Tita doesn't fully
break tradition and is not able to fully break the chains of tradition, if she
were to completely disobey tradition, she would not have to hide her love for
Pedro and could be with him in public. Esquivel portrays Titas obedience of
tradition as constricting as she cannot truly experience life while she is being
suffocated by Mama Elena and she cannot truly experience love if she is too
scared to break tradition. Esquivel critiques tradition by demonstrating how
constricting it can be when it is followed and how freeing it is when broken.
Esquivel demonstrates the constricting nature of tradition by proving . During an attack
on the family ranch, Chencha, the maid is raped by bandits. After this event, she is scarred and
becomes a shadow of her old self. Months later, she returns with a husband and is happier than

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ever. Tita exclaims, What a surprise it was to see Chencha standing in front of her. The Chencha
of old, smiling and happyIt was amazing to see the recovery Chencha had made after the state
of misery and despair in which she had left. No signs remained of the trauma she had suffered
(151). After being raped, Chencha was no longer a virgin and as social tradition follows, women
who marry must be virgins. However, Chenchas new husband, Jesus, marries Chencha
regardless of this fact and in doing so breaks tradition. This severing of tradition brings back the
old Chencha and infuses her life with joy. Jesus makes Chencha happy again and this would not
have happened without the breakage of tradition. By breaking social traditions, Jesus draws
Chencha out of her depression and brings happiness to her life again. Tradition also restricts the
minds of the characters and makes them unwilling to try new things. John tells Tita the story of
his grandmother, Morning Light, a Kikapu Indian who was captured by his grandfather. Morning
Light was shunned by Johns family for many years and was only referred to as the Kikapu.
When Johns great-grandfather gets sick, his wife Mary does her best to save him. [Mary] felt
quite proud of herself for being up-to-date with the best scientific knowledge, which allowed her
to protect her familys health using an appropriate modern methodnot like the Kikapu and
her herbs! (112). Mary thinks the only way to save her husbands life is to use modern medicine
and gives no thought to trying other methods of medicine. She insults Morning Lights method
of healing and implies that it is impractical. Social tradition according to Marys family dictates
that only scientific knowledge gives a person the ability to heal those who are. Her unwillingness
to try new methods and her disdain for Morning Lights treatment affirms how tradition leads to
narrow-mindedness. However, after she tries her to apply her scientific knowledge to treat her
husband, it fails and he starts to bleed out. Morning light hears screams of pain and placed one
of her hands on his wounds, the bleeding stoppedshe spent the entire afternoon at her father-

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in-laws bedside, singing strange melodies and applying curing herbs, wreathed in the smoke of
the copal and incense she burned (113). Morning lights method of treatment is unconventional
and is frowned upon by societal norms and tradition. She places her hands on his wounds and she
is does what scientific and traditional knowledge cannot: stop the bleeding. She debunks the
prejudice that has been placed on her and breaks tradition by healing him through her unusual
methods. Esquivel emphasizes Marys inability to heal her husband through traditional methods
in order to highlight the confines tradition places the characters in. Mary could not heal him
through leeches, a normal way of treatment during those times, but Morning Light is able to by
burning incense and applying the curing herbs that had been laughed at. Tradition restricts
Marys will to try other methods of healing, almost at the cost of her husbands life. Esquivel
contrasts the way in which tradition is portrayed and critiqued reiterates her view of tradition as
blinding and binding. In Like Water for Chocolate, Esquivel ultimately critiques tradition
because when tradition is followed, the characters are restricted to a narrow form of thinking but
when it is broken, the characters are liberated and become more accepting.
Esquivel ultimately critiques tradition because it when the characters follow tradition,
they are lead to unhappiness in their lives, however when it is broken, they find more fulfillment.
Tita come back to take care of her mother when Mama Elena becomes paralyzed; this decision
leaves her sad and suffocated. When the last chile on the platter isnt eaten, the joys of life cannot
be experienced. Esquivel compares it to the constricting nature of tradition. On the other hand,
when tradition is broken by the characters, they find new ways of looking at things and find love
in their lives. Tradition is portrayed as the ___ that drags the characters down, never letting them
achieve their full potential.