Feminism in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel Essay

Feminism in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel There are many different definitions of feminism. Some people regard feminism as the idea that women deserve the same amount of respect that men deserve. There are the other schools of feminist thought that hold women superior to men. Yet another believes that the gender roles controlling women are artificially created and not innate knowledge, and thus men and women are equals with only history the determining factor and how gender equality is established. There are clear feminist overtones in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. Esquivel pointes to a more radical definition of feminism in Like Water for Chocolate. The story focuses on mostly female characters that assume†¦show more content†¦Mama Elena goes on, for better or worse, attempting the best she can to raise a family in the tumultuous time of the Mexican revolution. She struggles against her rebellious daughter in her own attempt to keep her family’s heritage and traditions alive. Not only does she raise a family but she also runs the ranch on which the live and on derive their sustenance. Early on in the novel we see that Esquivel presents a character that deserves the same amount of respect normally giving to a male character in this same role. By placing this normally male role in a woman Esquivel questions the typical role of the woman in a home of just raising children by bestowing additional responsibilities. We see elsewhere in the novel the strength in Gertrudis, Tita’s sister. Gertrudis escapes the ranch after reacting mysteriously to one of Titas recipes. She runs away with a rebel soldier, works in a brothel at the Mexico-Texas border, and eventually returns to the ranch as a general in the revolutionary army. Here we witness the creation of a second strong female character. When we first see Gertrudis we see just another female character. But after her return we find that she has become a leader of in the revolution. Again Esquivel takes a potion that is typically male associated and fills that role with and equally respectable female character. There is then the focal character, Tita. Tita is the pivotal character in defining Like Water for Chocolate as a feministShow MoreRelatedRadical Feminism in Like Water for Chocolate Essay737 Words   |  3 Pagesof feminism. Some people regard feminism as the idea that women deserve the same amount of respect that men deserve. There are the other schools of feminist thought that hold women superior to men. Yet another believes that the gender roles controlling women are artificially created and not innate knowledge, and thus men and women are equals with only history the determining factor and how gender equality is established. 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In the novel, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, she explains the strengths and weaknesses over the character named Tita De la Garza. Within the context, Laura Esquivel develops Tita’s emotions through feminists. Tita is the novel’s protagonist, struggles her needs for belonging and security. As well as her desires for adventure, sex, and liberation. In Like Water for Chocolate, it simply explains that there is no such thing as a good or badRead MoreLike Water For Chocolate By Laura Esquivel1660 Words   |  7 PagesLike Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 1. a) In Like Water for Chocolate the novel deals with issues such as family relationships, the plight of women, sex, love, feminism, religion and to some extent morality. b) The author takes on a wide scale of real world subject and matters c) The characters as well as the plot are finely detailed. 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