The Folk Fairy Tale in Like Water for Chocolate
In Like Water for Chocolate, one might notice the many similarities it has to folk fairy tales of childhood. This novel, which also contains recipes, is about a coming of age girl, Tita De la Garza. Like Water for Chocolate recounts Tita’s first encounters with adult experiences like her first love, her first rebellious act against her mother, and the first time she had sex. The elements of fairy tales that be seen in the novel are the presence of an antagonist, the occurrence of magical and unrealistic events, and a happy ending. As the story progresses, the reader realizes that the fairytale elements are something that he or she can personally relate to their childhood or fantasies.
One of the classic fairytale elements that the reader becomes aware of is the presence of a heroine and a villain. The protagonist in LWFC is obviously Tita and she has two enemies that she faces: her mother, Mama Elena, and her sister, Rosaura. The enmity between Rosaura and Tita existed because Rosaura married Pedro, Tita’s love: “the rivalry between the sisters was now culminating in this wedding between Rosaura and the man Tita loved.” (Esquivel 30). However, Mama Elena is considered to be the main antagonist.” Mama Elena [was] the major obstacle to their (Tita and Pedro’s) union” (139). Mama Elena was the one who got Rosaura married to Pedro because of a tradition that said, being the youngest daughter, Tita wasn’t allowed to get married since she had to take care of her mother until she died. Like all evil characters, Mama Elena denied our heroine, Tita, her happiness because Mama Elena was “the castrating mother who had repressed Tita her entire life” (138). Even when Mama Elena passed away, she still haunted Tita: “I’m tired of you tormenting me. Leave me in peace once and for all!”(199). Therefore, we can see that readers would be able to associate Mama Elena to our childhood’s fairy tales’ stepmothers who would keep the...