The possessions and belongings of ancestors hold special value to the Trueba and De la Garza family, mainly as relics reminding them of an age of prosperity and solitude. Faced with tragedies and grief, Esteban stubbornly states that he will go to Tres Marias, the property of his forefathers. As Ferula emphatically argues against it, Esteban states “land is something one should never sell. It’s the only thing that’s left when everything else is gone” (Allende 44). He is revolted at the indigence of the land and considers it a personal insult. By feverishly working the land and re-establishing the Trueba name in Tres Marias, Esteban soon forgets about Rosa and envisions a life as the patron of his new land. That decision eventually turns out to be the pivotal point of Esteban’s life, leading him to a life of great wealth and prosperity, however superficial it may be. The dedication and passion that is demonstrated by Esteban serves as an example of the importance of lineage in Latin American society. In Like Water for Chocolate, as Tita’s relationship continued to deteriorate with Mama Elena due to Tita’s conflict against family tradition, Tita remembers the instance where she found the box containing Mama Elena’s letters. Through those letters, Tita learns of the forbidden passion that Mama Elena kept concealed in her heart, simply because a similar emotional tragedy. The newly discovered emotional connection between mother and daughter was stimulated by an object as unadorned as a letter. Consequently, she goes on to vow “that come what may, she would never renounce love” (Esquivel 138). Ironically, the tragedy that Mama Elena swore would never fall upon her children was driven by her own clandestine actions, further provoked by her chastisement and strict discipline. Such an event demonstrates the genuine significance of what seem to be inconsequential heirlooms or possessions in the lives of future generations.
The nurturing and affectionate atmosphere provided by the families of both novels promotes the character’s desire to fall back on traditional practices of consolation and solace in the time of need. The recipes and preparations provided in Like Water for Chocolate are routinely used as forms of comfort and support for the entire family, especially Tita. Throughout Tita’s childhood, she cultivated a deep feeling of attachment towards food and the kitchen, which began even while she was inside her mother’s womb. Whenever Tita got sick or upset, “Nancha, with all her experience, knew that for Tita there was no pain that wouldn’t disappear if she ate a delicious Christmas Roll” (Esquivel 19). As a maturing woman, many of Tita’s problems and tribulations were often alleviated through the use of an old recipe, such as ox-tail soup(Esquivel 125). When she had learned of Pedro’s marriage with Rosaura, “in despair she would invent new recipes, hoping to repair the connection that flowed between them through the food she prepared. Her finest recipes date from this period of suffering” (Esquivel 69). In The House of the Spirits, Clara’s childhood was one of spirituality. Also, her childhood contained a paradoxical relationship between her isolation and her independence. Her seclusion from the outside world and the “normal” environment somehow managed to increase her imagination, and consequently, her freedom. “She so successfully compensated for the lack of friends with her own total dedication, however, that Clara grew up happily and in later years would recall her childhood as a luminous part of her existence, despite her solitude and muteness” ( Allende 79). Even as she grew older, Clara still maintained a subsistence of relative loneliness, surrounded only by her loved ones. Her independence and admirable stature as matriarch of the Trueba family left a lasting impression on future generations, such as Blanca and Alba.
The role of a housemaid, for centuries considered a lowly position in Latin American culture, ironically played an extremely essential role in the permanence of the De Valle and De la Garza families. The Characters of Nancha and Nana symbolize a recurring theme of stability and steadiness that held the families of Like Water for Chocolate and The House of the Spirits together. Nana, originally part of the De Valle family, could not bear the loneliness and sudden independence that resulted from being freed from the chains of servitude. “She had been born to cradle other people’s children, wear their hand me down clothing, eat their leftovers, live on borrowed happiness…and be buried in a common grave in the public cemetery” ( Allende 124). By being entrusted with the care of the children, she came to notice each of their unique personalities and understand their mannerisms, more so that their actual mothers. Through traditional child rearing practices along with a maternal passion and tenderness for each child, Nana provided a foundation of tranquility and harmony that remained with each generation throughout their lives.
Word Count: 1, 114
Works Cited
Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. Trans. Magda Bodin. New York: Bantam Books, 1993.
Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. Trans. Carol Christensen. New York: First Anchor Books, 1992.
