Like Water For Chocolate
In Like Water for Chocolate, Nacha acts like a mentor and mother, changing Tita to view the world through the lens of the kitchen and establishing the centrality of food to the story, in addition to demonstrating the cyclical nature of time. Through childhood, Tita essentially lived in the kitchen. As a result, Nacha, being the cook, acted as a mentor to Tita, teaching her everything relevant to her life: cooking. Because all of Tita's experiences are tied to the kitchen, “for Tita the joy of living was wrapped up in the delights of food,” (Esquirel 7). Tita's ties to food through life and Nacha's ties to food through work together create a very strong link between the two characters. The strength of the link between Tita and Nacha, combined
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Nacha is a mentor to Tita, and then Tita becomes a mentor to Esperanza. The author makes the cyclic nature rather obvious, pointing out that “...several conincicences suggested that this child's fate would be similar to Tita's; for example, out of sheer necessity she spent the greatest part of the day in the kitchen, since her mother couldn't take care of her and her aunt could only take care of her in the kitchen,” (147). When viewed through the lens of circular time, Nacha's mentorship serves as a model for what Tita will do in the future. The mentors in Like Water for Chocolate also serve as bearers of the torch of information. Nacha taught Tita, and wasn't literate, so the line of mentors must extend backwards in time as well- with no one to teach her, where would Nacha have learned her craft? The end of the book also gives us evidence that the mentorship carries forwards in time, as Esperanza raises her daughter. “My mama! … How wonderful the flavor, the aroma of her kitchen, her stories as she prepared the meal, her Christmas Rolls!,” which also shows circularity through reference to the Christmas Rolls which Tita was also so fond of. Through the passage of the love of the kitchen from Nacha to Tita, then from Tita to Esperanza, then from Esperanza to her daughter, all showing the circularity of time through
Nacha is a mentor to Tita, and then Tita becomes a mentor to Esperanza. The author makes the cyclic nature rather obvious, pointing out that “...several conincicences suggested that this child's fate would be similar to Tita's; for example, out of sheer necessity she spent the greatest part of the day in the kitchen, since her mother couldn't take care of her and her aunt could only take care of her in the kitchen,” (147). When viewed through the lens of circular time, Nacha's mentorship serves as a model for what Tita will do in the future. The mentors in Like Water for Chocolate also serve as bearers of the torch of information. Nacha taught Tita, and wasn't literate, so the line of mentors must extend backwards in time as well- with no one to teach her, where would Nacha have learned her craft? The end of the book also gives us evidence that the mentorship carries forwards in time, as Esperanza raises her daughter. “My mama! … How wonderful the flavor, the aroma of her kitchen, her stories as she prepared the meal, her Christmas Rolls!,” which also shows circularity through reference to the Christmas Rolls which Tita was also so fond of. Through the passage of the love of the kitchen from Nacha to Tita, then from Tita to Esperanza, then from Esperanza to her daughter, all showing the circularity of time through