The novel seems to be primarily concerned with the feminine identity and contribution to the Mexican identity. The central focus of the novel is therefore the creation of feminine freedom, part of that is the kitchen which could be reflected to real women’s lives. It directs attention to the social situation of Mexican women in the early 20th century who were lower in rank in terms of their social status. This shows that women had probably stay at home most of the day and do all the household tasks, just like Tita had to stay in her kitchen and do all the cooking.
The community of Mexico during the Revolution had different expectations which can be reflected to some members of the De La Garza family. Rosaura, as the eldest daughter among the three, strives to maintain Mama Elena’s tradition and also barely cared about Tita as she married her lover. This can be compared to some people in the higher rank during the Mexican Revolution who wanted to maintain certain rules, for example the land reform which took away the land of farmers and indigenous people. They didn’t care about the people in the lower rank just like Rosaura didn’t care about Tita.
Gertrudis, who is the middle daughter, is the only one in the family who was probably so desperate for freedom that she ran away from her family, ignoring the tradition of Mama. Elena. She also participated in the revolution as she was married to a soldier in the novel. Again, this could be the people who were participating during the revolution in order to change certain things which will benefit the society.
Tita, the youngest daughter and the one who is closely involved in the tradition of Mama Elena, is fighting against her limitations caused by Mama Elena. She’s also a very hard working person and takes care of her mother. Tita therefore represents those people during the Mexican revolution who were struggling for freedom and more rights. These people also served the ones who were more superior, in the novel it’s Mama Elena, but still they were treated with less respect. Another reflection could be when Pedro was taken away from Tita by Rosaura. Pedro was Tita’s lover and would therefore represent valuable land to the owner who is Tita and she represents the people in the lower rank Rosaura could be the foreign companies or people in the higher rank who took the land away. Each of these three daughters represents a different approach to the social condition during the Revolution.
The love triangle formed by Pedro, John and Tita is also parallel to the Mexican Revolution. Both John and Pedro are trying to go for the same person, Tita, but yet they approach her differently as they are in different situations and have also have different personalities. Pedro seems to be more forceful with his sexuality and approach. He is also difficult to approach. On the other hand, John’s personality shows that he cares for Tita and treats her charmingly. He is patient and is always ready to support Tita which makes him an approachable person. He also ignores the tradition of Mama Elena who restricts the marriage of Tita and stands up for her, unlike Pedro who just accepted it and married Rosaura instead, showing little care for Tita.
This love triangle is parallel to the political situation during the revolution. Pedro has the same characteristics as those people who were forceful in achieving their goal to be president. John could stand for those revolutionaries who tried to achieve the same thing as the others but more calmly and thoughtfully.
One of the main characters in the novel who is also the antagonist is Mama Elena. She is closely related to Profirio Diaz because they share the same dictator-like behavior, especially towards Tita. When Mama Elena dies, it still has an effect on Tita because she appears again as a ghost, meaning that even after she’s dead Mama Elena still tries to pursue her tradition. It is similar to the death of Diaz because his death didn’t stop the suffering od the people but instead it continued even if some things became better.
All in all, Laura Esquivel showed a lot of parallels between her novel and the Mexican Revolution. Most of the materials in the novel seemed to have only one meaning, but after reading and comparing the novel with the actual Mexican Revolution, it became clear that almost every single character in the novel had their own role during the revolution. Even the kitchen and recipes can be parallel in some ways which makes this novel a very historical piece of literature which contains lots of truth about what life was like during the revolution.
Sources: http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/new_offscreen/water_chocolate.html
