Thesis Statement n Like water for chocolate is about submission. Where woman are there worst enemies and role reversals are common n Forbidden love and food go hand in hand with self discovery rebellion and hidden pasts. Patriarchal values rule and femininity takes a strange twist

nTnTnTnThe principle characters in Like Water for Chocolate are mostly female. nTnTnTnTita nMnMnMnMama Elena nGnGnGnGertrudis nRnRnRnRosaura nNnNnNnNacha and Chencha n Males are usually more feminine in their behaviour n Pedro - Sooky n John - Matronly

Society - Suppressed and Oppressed n The society is repressed by the patriarchal society in which everyone’s lives is dictated by the head of the family. n Tita is therefore restricted by her mothers weird and wonderful attitudes in which she cannot escape

TITA’S REBELLION n Tita’s rebellion is seen in the use of Magic Realism throughout the novel. n The wedding Cake n The rose petal sauce n Flatulence and fat n The blanket

Recipes and Romance n The concept of the recipe is central to the novel. n It represents passion, romance, lust, love, anger and betrayal the recipe can be used in any setting to provoke one or all of these emotions in the consumer. n It is in the recipe that Tita can express herself - it becomes a part of who she is, for eg. Christmas Rolls n Roses and recipes create romance and and other explosive situations

The Passion n “The passion with which Pedro had torn away her clothes, causing the flesh beneath her skin to burn at the touch of those incandescent hands. The blood simmered in her veins. Her heart burst into a seething passion.” (p198)

THE FAMILY AND THE FUED n Tita and Pedro always seem to come against opposition to their union and it always comes from the family members.

n Tita finds this opposition in Rosaura; “You had no right to have a boyfriend.” “I had the same right to marry as you did, and you had no right to stand between two people who were deeply in love.”

n And from Mama Elena: “You and Pedro are shameless. … Behave like a good woman, or a decent one at least!” (179)

The Idea of FEMININITY

To the table or to the bed – you must come when you are bid.