Food as a Central Theme in Como Agua Para Chocolate

Evaluate the importance of food in Como Agua Para Chocolate with direct reference to both the narrative form and content of the novel.

Food and love two things humans cannot live without. This book deals with both, at times it is hard to differentiate between the two. Tita our protagonist is indelibly linked to the kitchen and all it's parts that make up her own world where she is destined to spend most of her life.

This essay will discuss the importance of food in Como Agua Para Chocolate.

The food in this book makes it totally different from any other romance novel and the device of treating the book as a cook book serves to parody ' Novelas Rosas '. The book is split into 12 monthly chapters each one starting with a recipe. This immediately sets the book apart from a normal ' Novela Rosa ' as it firmly anchors the chapters around domesticity and obviously cooking. These monthly instalments divide the book into distinct episodes thus directly affecting the narrative and the content of the novel. The recipe ingredients are given in a very formal presentation as per a normal cooking book. The most fascinating aspect of the recipes is the ' Manera de hacerse '. Tita's recounting of events is directly influenced by her sensations caused by the food she is preparing.

Titas emotional involvement in the preparation of the food also causes some weird and wonderful effects on those who consume it and are thus consumed by it. The consumption of food prepared by Tita brings out a lot of magic realist episodes in the story as Tita's emotions are so strong they diffuse into the food and are received by those who eat it, causing the weird and wondrous effects.

Food is the first element we encounter at the start of the story. Titas great niece is recounting a recipe and more importantly the method of one of the recipes in Tita's book. This shows that food is used as a metaphor for traditions and customs. I believe also that food is an integral part of identity. We associate certain foods with certain groups, socially economically and geographically. We can assume from the foods consumed in the story and the effort that goes into it that The De Graza family has the money and the time to indulge in good food therefore they must be rich.

Tita wrote the book to pass on her knowledge that she had received from Nacha who in turn had received the knowledge orally from a long line of cooks, ' Though she didn't know how to read or write she knew everything there was to know about cooking ' (P. 10). Tita also uses her book as a diary to note events. The event given most prominence as a physically noted event is in March when Tita's love and passion transmitted in the quail in rose sauce turns Gertrudis into a rose scented beacon of unbridled passion signalling to the nearby Juan to come and get her. Tita served this dish every year as a tribute to Gertrudis escaping the ranch and notes in her book, ' Today while we were eating this dish Gertrudis ran away... ' (P.56). This starts a trend in the book of small victories for Tita against Mama Elena - Tita bound by destiny to be a subordinate to her mother starts to use the kitchen as her ally and main weapon of attack against her mother. I know if I was going to start a war no matter how subtle it was I would always turn to my oldest most trusted friend as she does.

By being such a good cook Tita starts to court attention she would otherwise be deprived of by her mother. Mama Elena wants to control her fate totally, ' You know perfectly well that being the youngest daughter means you have to take care of me until the day I die. ' (P. 14). Titas amazing talent for cooking impresses all. I am sure Mama Elena is not appreciative of the praise Tita receives but as the quality of food served in the Household is of such importance to her (and what others think of it) she allows Tita's creative outpour. This shows an aspect of the food related to social standing and appearances one of the main themes in the novel.

Another main theme in the novel is pent up sexual feelings as is suggested by the books title. As with all Tita's feelings this comes out in her cooking. The quail in rose sauce is the most explicit example of this,

' Pedro didn't offer any resistance. He let Tita penetrate to the farthest corners of his being, and all the while they couldn't take their eyes off each other. He said, ' Thank you I have never had anything so exquisite'.

This in turn caused the aforementioned naked horseback exit of Gertrudis.

The magic realist effects of Titas food are what sets this book apart from all other romance novels. Titas inner feelings are so repressed that they have become concentrated, the strength of these feelings has become so condensed that they become amplified. As Tita is inseparable from the food that she was born into it becomes her agent carrying out her bidding unto others. If the quail in rose sauce is an example of joyous communication through food then the wedding banquet preparation is surely the direct opposite, showing Titas deep feelings of longing and hurt. I feel this whole chapter epitomizes the importance of food in this book it drives the story on and provides the context for the chapter. Tita is forced to make a wedding cake for her sister and the man she loves. The food that she normally loves is used as punishment by Mama Elena. This chapter shows the gruelling lengths she is forced to in order to please others,

The family had decided to serve capons at Pedro's and Rosaura's wedding because they would impress everyone with the quality of the dinner, as much for the amount of work required in the preparation as for the extraordinary flavour of the birds them selves. ' (P. 28)

The gargantuan efforts could be seen as an act of appeasement towards her mother, Tita knows if she does not aid in the preparation of the banquet her life in the house would become intolerable. Tita's effort comes at a cost and we start to see the first signs of her mental instability. The demonstration of this physically and mentally tortured state manifests itself in two ways (obviously food related) firstly in the imagined presence of a chick in one of the eggs, ' ...because there is a chicken inside this egg! Of course Nacha can't hear it but I can. ' (P. 30). This could also be a metaphor for Nacha being past the age of child bearing but Tita still young has maternal instincts which is also mirrored in her ability to be able to supply Roberto's milk. The second Manifestation of Tita's resentment is her tears that are incorporated into the fondant. I do not believe that Tita consciously wanted to make every body at the wedding long for lost loves and vomit but her subconscious will is so strong it resonates with all at the wedding who eat the cake and inadvertently they taste Tita's Malaise,

But the weeping was just the first symptom of a strange intoxication - an acute attack of pain and frustation - that seized the guests and scattered them across the patio and the grounds and into the bathrooms, all of them wailing over lost love. (P. 39)

It is not the intent of this essay to detail all the food related events in the story,these examples merely illustrate the bond between Tita the protagonist and the food. I will now examine the wider cultural and social meanings of food in the book.

In Mexico at the time of the book cooking as illustrated in the story is a clearly dominantly female activity, The opening epilogue of the book further anchors the role of the 19th century woman, 'A la mesa o a la cama una sola vez se llama. ' It would be where women were away from men and social protocols. Giving them the chance to discuss female topics. The kitchen was the women's domain and in it's own way gave the women some control as food is essential to living and the men relied on them to provide the food. I believe the role of food in the book is representative of bodily and spiritual needs, we all know the common phrase, ' man does not live on bread alone '.

In conclusion I would like to say that the use of this food is multi-faceted. It can be taken on face value and just seen as Tita's job so most of her thought processes and memories do occur while she is cooking as more often than not it is what she is doing. The food can also take on meanings and a life of it's own and shows the human spirit even if incarcerated will find forms of expression and emotional release as Tita does with the food,

' Just as a poet plays with words Tita juggles quantities and ingredients at will... ' (P. 64). While Esquivel shows Tita's Role as cook to be slavery I believe she is also celebrating the tradition of cooking and the creativeness of women,

Cooking, sewing, embroidery and decoration were the usual creative outlets for these women, and, of course the conversation, storytelling, gossip, and advice which pervaded the daily life of the Mexican lady of the house. Writing for other women was quite naturally an extension of the intrahistoric conversation and gossip. Therefore, if one has the social codes of these women, one can read these novels as a way of life in nineteenth - century Mexico. Laura Esquivel's recognition of this world and it's languagecomes from her Mexican heritage of fiercely independent women who created a women's culture within the social confinement of marriage. (1)

I think this quote illustrates beautifully that as Tita used the cook book as her cathartic outpour so did the women of Mexico. As Pancho Villa and the Zapatistas went on with their heroics to be recorded in the history books. The women had to create their history within their own social boundaries and have their events recorded by their own, logging their own victories and defeats interspersed with the odd handy hint on how to chop an onion.