In both novels, the roles between males and females …show more content…
Traditionally, virginity is considered sacred and essential in society for a women to marry. If a woman has lost virginity, it is unlikely that she would marry. After Chencha gets raped by bandits, she is worried and depressed that no men will marry her. Chencha says to Tita “you know how men are. They all say they won’t eat off a plate that isn’t clean” (134); this quote highlights the tradition that men do not marry women who lost virginity. In addition, later on in the novel, Tita admits that she cannot marry John because she had lost virginity to Pedro. When John proposes to TIta, she refused by saying “while you were gone, I had relations with a man I’ve always loved, and I lost my virginity. That’s the reason I can’t marry you anymore” (222); she admitted that she cannot marry John anymore because she had lost her virginity. In brief, certain expectations exist in society because of tradition.
In conclusion, the effect of tradition in literature is significant. In Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel and Blood Wedding by Frederico Garcia Lorca gender roles, love, and social expectations are noticeably affected by tradition. Lorca and Esquivel explore mostly the negative effects of tradition on society which is to question the morality of