Chosen Passage

From Pages 48-49 of Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

1 Titas blood and the roses from Pedro proved quite an explosive combination. Everyone was a little tense as they sat down at the table, but thats as far as it went until the quail were served. It wasn't enough hed made his wide jealous earlier, for when Pedro tasted his rst mouthful, he couldnt help closing his eyes in voluptuous delight and exclaiming, Its a dish for the gods! 5 Mama Elena knew that the quail was exquisite; none the less, Pedros remark did not sit well with her, and she replied, Its too salty. Rosaura, saying she was feeling sick and getting nauseous, barely took three bites. But something strange was happening to Gertrudis. On her the food seemed to act as an aphrodisiac; she began to feel an intense heat pulsing through 10 her limbs. An itch in the centre of her body kept her from sitting properly in her chair. She began to sweat, imagining herself on horseback with her arms clasped around one of Pancho Villas men: the one she had seen in the village plaza the week before, smelling of sweat and mud, of dawns that brought uncertainty and danger, smelling of life and of death. She was on her way to market in Piedras 15 Negras with Chencha, the servant, when she saw him coming down the main street, riding in front of the others, obviously the captain of the troop. Their eyes met and what she saw in his made her tremble. She saw all the nights hed spent staring into the re and longing to have a woman beside him, a woman he could kiss, a woman he could hold in his arms, a woman like her. She got out her handkerchief and tried to wipe these sinful thoughts from her mind as she wiped away the sweat. 20 But it was no use, something strange had happened to her. She turned to Tita to help, but Tita wasnt there, even though her body was siting up quite properly in her chair there wasnt the slightest sign of life in her eyes. It was as if a strange alchemical process had dissolved her entire being in the rose petal sauce, in the tender esh of the quails, in the wine, in every one of the meals aromas. That was the way she entered Pedros body, hot voluptuous, totally sensuous. 25 With the meal it seemed that they had discovered a new system of communication, in which Tita was the transmitter, Pedro the receiver, and poor Gertrudis the medium, the conducting body through which the singular sexual message was passed. Pedro didnt offer any resistance. He let Tita penetrate to the farthest corners of his being, and all the while they couldnt take their eyes off each other. He said, Thank you, I have never had 30 anything so exquisite.

This extract was taken from Mexican novelist Laura Esquivels post-modern romance Like

water for Chocolate in March. Her novel is set upon the De La Garza ranch against the backdrop of the Mexican revolution during the 1910s. In this scene, Esquivel uses the transubstantiation of Titas quail in rose petal sauce to represent the consummation of Tita and Pedros forbidden love. Esquivel purposefully integrates magical realist stylistic elements to this scene to effectively communicate her critique on the struggle for freedom against the societal constraints of 19th century patriarchal Mexico to her intended 20th century audience. In this extract, Esquivel uses sensual diction and imagery to elucidate that Titas culinary talent, whilst being the product of her domestication, is also her outsource for expression. This is a thematic concern that is central to the progression of the novel. Furthermore, Esquivel juxtaposes each characters experience of Titas meal to create antithesis between their politically allegorical representations relevant to the dictatorial nature of patriarchal Mexico prior to revolution. This antithesis is demonstrated in terms of each characters capacity for passion. Finally, the structure of this extract on a literal level, illustrates the conditions of revolutionary Mexico and on a gurative level, parodies both the hyperbolic sexual potency abound in boom time literature1 and the tradition of highly masculine literature about during the Mexican revolution.

Esquivel uses the transubstantiation of food to illustrate an unmistakable connection between

the preparing and consumption of food and sexual tension. The consummation of Tita and Pedros forbidden love is the driving force within this scene. This, in turn, engenders the need for hyperbolic sexual diction and sensual images. In the passage, that was the way she entered Pedros body, hot, voluptuous, totally sensuous 2,, Esquivel employs catachresis with the term voluptuous to exaggerate the sexual implications of the meal. This same technique is used in the passage

On Recipes, Reading and Revolution: Postboom Parody in Como agua para chocolate Author(s):

Kristine Ibsen Source: Hispanic Review, Vol. 63, No. 2 (Spring, 1995), p. 136
2

Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 24 of extract.

closing his eyes in voluptuous delight3, to depict delight as a physical, sexual entity. The effect of this repeated adjectival reference emphasises the importance of sexual tension to Titas sexual maturity through food. Esquivel characterises sexual tension as an electrical current with the terms transmitter, receiver, conductor and resistance4 . The association of love with an electrical force is central to the progression of Tita and Pedros relationship. Love, like electricity, needs two active bodies, and a conducting body, represented by Gertrudis; the conducting body through which the singular sexual message was passed5. Yet in reality, the consummation of love is not between two active bodies, but two passive bodies, representative of the struggle for expression within the social strictures of patriarchal Mexico. Ultimately, Esquivel explicates love as a force, beyond a human commodity, by appealing to her audiences preconceived scientic ideas and effectively using them to legitimise the extremities of Tita and Pedros love. Furthermore, Esquivels clich sensual imagery intensies the sexual implications of the meal. The sexual image of sweat6 is repeated throughout the text. For instance, in the passage, wipe these sinful thoughts as she wiped away the sweat7, Esquivel uses the literary technique of zeugma to not only achieve a farcical representation of Gertrudis erotic response to the meal but also to parody the romance genre, effectively delineating her critique on the social strictures of patriarchal Mexico. Moreover, Esquivel uses vivid gustatory and visual imagery to heighten the literal and gurative signicance of the dish in the passage in the rose petal sauce, in the tender esh of the quails, in the wine...8 . Enumeration and the poetic technique of anaphora visually augment the components of the meal for the reader, highlighting their sexual connotation; tender esh of the young bird, roses and wine, whilst parodying the romance genre by associating culinary art with poetry.
3

Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 48. Line 4 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Lines 26 and 28 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 26-27 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 48. Line 11 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 19 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 22-23 of extract.

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Although Esquivel establishes all of her characters on the De La Garza ranch in the same

social context, she juxtaposes their experiences of Titas meal to create antithesis between their politically allegorical representations. This antithesis is demonstrated in terms of each characters capacity for passion. The way in which Esquivel portrays Mama Elenas reaction to Titas dish characterises her as a suppressive dictator, parodying the strictures of patriarchal Mexico. This characteristic is evident in her response salty9. The dismissive tone and truncated syntax of this retort hint at her lost capacity for passion, or more so, her denial of intimate feelings. This notion is synonymous with her denial of Gertrudiss birth out of wedlock with another man, ergo, her suppression of passionate desire. In contrast, Esquivel uses the abstraction of an itch that kept her from sitting properly in her chair10 to chracterise Gertrudiss desire for rebellion as a burning physical passion germinating inside her. The effect of this kinesthetic imagery is a sense of physical discomfort instilled within the reader. Ultimately, Esquivel characterises Gertrudis as the rebel archetype to provide conrmation of Mama Elenas indiscretion. Gertrudis herself is the product of
such indiscretion, thus is rebellion embodied. On the other hand, Rosauras reaction is unequivocally

dispassionate, suggesting that she does not have the capacity for passion. Even the concept of passion made her feel nauseous11. The effect of the word nauseous is again an example of kinesthetic imagery implying more than just queasiness but revulsion. This revulsion illustrates Rosauras inadequacy to comprehend love. This is an essential tool of characterising Rosaura as an ideological conformist and as unreceptive to passion. This trait is only understood when contrasted to Mama Elena who understands such passion yet chooses explicitly not to express it. Furthermore, this inadequacy for passion directly foreshadows Rosauras failed attempt to entice Pedro. Esquivel characterises Pedro as the antithesis of the traditional masculine hero through sexual role

Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 48. Line 6 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 48. Line 11 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 48. Line 7 of extract.

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reversal; emasculating him whilst sexually transforming Tita. This concept is established by the apposition of dehumanised nouns intended as their sexual roles, depicting Tita as the transmitter 12 and Pedro, the receiver13 . Thus, Tita assumes the stereotypical sexual role of a male as Pedro assumes the female. Pedros emasculation is heightened by characterising Tita as an inevitable force with the violent sexual diction in the line He let Tita penetrate to the farthest corners of his being14. Esquivel uses the word penetrate to physically characterise Tita as a masculine gure whilst characterising Pedro as submissive with the word let. Not only does Esquivels diction guratively castrate Pedro, but also it stylistically parodies the type of hyperbolic sexual diction that permeated the highly masculine literature about during the Mexican Revolution. Additionally, Esquivel uses syntactical inversions throughout the paragraph to structurally enhance Titas sexual dominance over the emasculated Pedro. The characterisation of Pedro as submissive juxtaposes the image of the macho man representative of Juan Alejandrez; one of Pancho Villas men15, envisaged in a pot-modern interlude from reality. The effect of the phrase riding in front of the others16 is the creation of an alpha male mentality, demonstrating Juans sexual dominance. This in turn directly juxtaposes Pedros depiction as sexually inadequate. Esquivel uses magical realist narrative to elucidate Culinary Eros 17 through which Tita exhibits her desire to abscond from the commonplace societal constraints imposed upon her. Yet despite her desire, Titas expression against oppression is achieved through the culinary arts, which ultimately lie within the parameters of the patriarchal construct of the kitchen, thereby rendering her as obedient and conditioned by societal constraints.
12 13 14
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Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 26 of extract. ibid Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 28 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 12 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 15-16 of extract. Zubiaurre, Maite. Culinary Eros in Contemporary Hispanic Female Fiction: From Kitchen Tales

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to Table Narratives, Vol. 33, No. 3, 2006, p.29-51.

The structure of this extract, typical of post-modern literature, abandons linear time and in

turn, abandons factual constructions of the De la Garza reality. The line, she began to sweat, imagining herself on horseback...18, transitions the scene from the present setting of the De La Garza ranch to Gertrudis intimate memory of Pedras Negras. This structural interlude from realtime allows the reader to not only explore for the rst time, Gertrudis perspective of life, but also to regard an image of the Mexican revolutionary milieu. Fragmentation of time as a post-modern structural device is a reoccurring feature throughout Esquivels novel. In this way she juxtaposes the social concerns of romance and domesticity with the political concerns in the reality of the mexican revolution. Parallel structure in the phrase smelling of sweat and mud... smelling of life and death19 has a dualistic function. Firstly, the poetic technique of anaphora with the repetition of smelling creates rhythm, parodying the hyperbolic poetic nature of the erotic novel genre. A similar technique is used in the phrase a woman beside him, a woman he could kiss, a woman he could hold in his arms, a woman like her20. The poetic repetition and romantic diction effectuate a purposefully saccharine ambience. Secondly, this parallel structure functions as an apparatus to associate the terms sweat and mud life and death with the reality of revolution, ultimately painting for the reader, an image of revolutionary Mexico.

18

Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 11-12 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 13-14 of extract. Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 49. Line 17-18 of extract.

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In conclusion Esquivel uses passion as an instrument to substantiate Titas expression despite

domestication, to create antithesis between her characters, and nally to parody erotic literature about in the context of patriarchal revolutionary Mexico. Consequently, Esquivel communicates a moral message to her intended audience; encouraging women to express themselves despite societal constraints. This extract progresses from a state of sexual tension evident in the understated phrase everyone was a little tense as they sat down at the table21, to the metaphorical consummation of Tita and Pedros forbidden love. Gertrudis characterisation throughout the extract progresses to the point at which she is recognisable as the rebel archetype. Gertrudiss passion is ultimately fullled. Yet the passion shared between Tita and Pedro is only consummated metaphorically, depicted vividly as a explosion of electrical energy. Through this metaphor Esquivel offers her critique on revolution in Mexico. Like Titas love for Pedro, it did not achieve its ultimate consummation. It remains, for Esquivels intended 20th century audience, an unfullled goal22 . Ultimately, the layered meanings of this extract achieve a literary confrontation between the societal constraints of revolutionary Mexico and two lovers.

21

Esquivel, Laura. Like water for chocolate: p. 48. Line 1-2 of extract. The Political Allegory: The De la Garza Ranch as Dictatorship. "Like Water Notes & Analysis."

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