Like Water For Chocolate Character Analysis

The irony of Tita and Clara’s means of refuge in Like Water for Chocolate and
House of the Spirits

As humans we have had different methods of coping with pain and sorrow. Some find happiness in alcohol, sex, or by partying while others simply find joy in writing, drawing, through cooking, or by singing. Whatever the case maybe, we escape to a place, a place of comfort where no one can hurt us. However, a few rare exceptions may occur where our sanctuary, the place where we may find sacred, ends up causing us the greatest amount of misery. Tita in Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel and Clara in House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende are the epitome of how their means of refuge has caused them hurt. I am going to demonstrate the irony of Tita’s submission in food, as well as the irony of Clara’s isolation with the spirits.
Neither a stab in the heart or death can be as harmful to a person as to hear terrible news in a place of refuge. Throughout Tita’s childhood, she never experiences feelings of melancholy while she cooks. From birth, she
“…she had seen her own destiny…[and] she had already made up her mind to marry without love.” This is ironic because when people think about a psychic many people may think that a person who is able to communicate with the spirits will ask for love, however Clara does not want this. Throughout the novel, Clara lives a life devoted to the spirits. Allende chose to display Clara this way to illustrate that she is a spiritual person that believes in the afterlife. Although Clara has a joyous spiritual life, she is not truly happy while she is with Esteban and even refuses to talk to him after he hits her. The common aspect Tita and Clara both share is perhaps, if they would have found love, the plot of the story in LWFC and HOTS would be