The Significance of Food in "Like Water for Chocolate"
Carlos Vela
Food equals memory and memory equals immortality. In the recipes we pass
down from generation to generation, in the food of our mothers, we reawaken the
past, make the present more real, perhaps capture a bit of the future. Food is
about history, with handed down recipes such as in Like Water for Chocolate, the
chef can remember the past. Tita when she cooked could remember, Nacha and her
mother. Food is a major part of the story, and is somewhat obvious as the title
itself is about food.
The title (Like Water for Chocolate) itself, is a Mexican expression
that refers to the making of hot chocolate: Water is used rather than milk, and
must be brought to a vigorous boil. Therefore, an extremely agitated person is
said to be "like water for chocolate," so is a person in a state of sexual
arousal.
A recurring symbol in Like Water for Chocolate is food (the title is a
good tip-off of that). Hardly a scene goes by without someone eating or
preparing a meal and some of the more hilarious sequences surround a pair of
banquets. Each of these scenes has a meaning beyond the obvious, however. Food
is equated with life and excitement, two subjects into which this story pursues.
Sex, food and magic are mixed in sparingly in the story, which revolves about
Tita, third daughter of a Elena.
The time is the early 1900's and the Mexican Revolution is raging, but
in the kitchen of the family ranch, the emphasis is on cooking. The family
servant, Nacha, Tita's surrogate mother, teaches the her secrets and makes her
the next in an ancient line of great family chefs. From Nacha and her mother
Tita learns the art of cooking. While all the food did not center around Tita,
most of it was. Even from the time of birth of Tita she was a part of the
cooking, for example when she was born and Nacha scooped up the salt left behind
from the broken water of Mama Elena after the birth of Tita. This salt was used
by... [continues]
Carlos Vela
Food equals memory and memory equals immortality. In the recipes we pass
down from generation to generation, in the food of our mothers, we reawaken the
past, make the present more real, perhaps capture a bit of the future. Food is
about history, with handed down recipes such as in Like Water for Chocolate, the
chef can remember the past. Tita when she cooked could remember, Nacha and her
mother. Food is a major part of the story, and is somewhat obvious as the title
itself is about food.
The title (Like Water for Chocolate) itself, is a Mexican expression
that refers to the making of hot chocolate: Water is used rather than milk, and
must be brought to a vigorous boil. Therefore, an extremely agitated person is
said to be "like water for chocolate," so is a person in a state of sexual
arousal.
A recurring symbol in Like Water for Chocolate is food (the title is a
good tip-off of that). Hardly a scene goes by without someone eating or
preparing a meal and some of the more hilarious sequences surround a pair of
banquets. Each of these scenes has a meaning beyond the obvious, however. Food
is equated with life and excitement, two subjects into which this story pursues.
Sex, food and magic are mixed in sparingly in the story, which revolves about
Tita, third daughter of a Elena.
The time is the early 1900's and the Mexican Revolution is raging, but
in the kitchen of the family ranch, the emphasis is on cooking. The family
servant, Nacha, Tita's surrogate mother, teaches the her secrets and makes her
the next in an ancient line of great family chefs. From Nacha and her mother
Tita learns the art of cooking. While all the food did not center around Tita,
most of it was. Even from the time of birth of Tita she was a part of the
cooking, for example when she was born and Nacha scooped up the salt left behind
from the broken water of Mama Elena after the birth of Tita. This salt was used
by... [continues]
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