This post was authored by undergraduate student Angelica Perez for Professor Christine Wilson's ENG 335 assignment, Writing as Social Action. It is part of a “Student Speaks” series on the RCL blog.
Each new year, I find it important to set aside time to slow down so I can give energy and attention to the things that interest me most. This year my goal has been to start my own blog and write more consistently while also paying attention to the many ways other creatives perform the art of storytelling.
This has led to a desire to be more critically creative. To that end, I like to revisit stories I have already read through their visual adaptations. As a writer and artist, much is gained from observing the way human nature is portrayed in various forms of media. Last fall semester, I kicked off my senior year by reading Laura Esquivel’s 1989 novel Like Water for Chocolate, which was adapted to film a few years later.
Like Water for Chocolate follows the life of Tita de la Garza, a young woman from a matriarchally run home in Mexico around the early 1900’s. As Tita and her older sisters grow up to be socially considered women, each decides differently how they want to lead their lives. The story portrays how some people appear to have an ultimate destiny decided for them that they may find unfortunate. Such is Tita’s predicament. Early in the story her mother, Mama Elena, decides Tita is to stay home and take care of her until death, which she claims is Elena’s duty as the youngest daughter.
Despite her misfortune, Tita is the only one of her sisters to learn the recipes of Nancha, the maid who helps run the de la Garza household. Throughout the story, Tita’s cooking is a labor of love: she holds the power to deeply affect people emotionally through her food. In family gatherings where she is joyful, her food uplifts everyone's spirits as if she sliced a piece of her elated soul into each bite. Sadly, the practicality of her work forces Tita to cook while slowly losing the ability to live a fulfilling life that honors her desires and dreams.
Tita is haunted by a love for her neighbor Pedro Muzquiz, whom she isn’t allowed to marry out of sole obligation to her mother. In a cruel twist of events (spoiler!), Mama Elena elects her eldest daughter, Rosaura, to marry Pedro, which he does in a desperate attempt to stay close to Tita. The clearest example of Tita’s powerfully longing and aching heart comes during Rosaura’s and Pedro’s wedding ceremony. The sorrow from Tita’s tears affects the wedding cake batter; as the guests eat, they are overwhelmed by a melancholic force and shed their own tears thinking about past loves before they become sick. In this way, food is a vehicle for painful memories and the experiences Tita has gone through.
In the book, more detail is given about each recipe’s ingredients and the nature of Tita’s long-suffering spirit. For its own part, the movie features an overall warm tone in its imagery: the lighting in any given scene is a glowing orange, and the frames give an airbrushed feel. The wardrobes with lacey dresses and hats are also amazing to behold.
Both versions of the story center on the conflict which arises from the strict “traditional” values Mama Elena attempts to enforce. In what becomes a pivotal moment in the book, Tita no longer cares only for herself but for her niece Esperanza, Rosaura's daughter. Unlike Tita, Rosaura’s desire to keep the “family” together is to preserve a social self-righteousness that includes a hint of jealousy. Yet Tita, knowing what it is to have deferred dreams and desires, harbors much love for Esperanza and hopes her niece will have the opportunity to live a full life.
A theme running through both book and film adaptation is the possibility for improvement through incremental change. As the main analogy, cooking calls for small tweaks and improvements over time as a recipe is preserved. Conversely, Mama Elena quite literally lingers as a ghost because she cannot rest knowing that what she left behind was changing. In a lovely conclusion, Tita’s cookbook is passed on to Esperanza and her own daughter who are thereby given direct access to the trials, lessons, and legacy of Tita de la Garza.
