Shortly after her birth, Tita’s mothers breast milk dried up because of the death of her father. Subsequently, Tita was not breast fed as an infant, but fed by Nacha, the cook, and her concoctions from her vast knowledge of the kitchen. As a result, Tita grew up in the kitchen and developed a very strong relationship with food. Esquivel describes Tita as developing a “sixth sense about everything concerning food, from a very young age.” Tita is so powerfully connected with food that she couldn’t “comprehend the outside world. This connection created a divide between her and her sisters, who knew little about food. Esquivel writes that the kitchen was “Tita’s realm” and to her sisters “Tita’s world seemed full of unknown danger”. This divide grew when an unfortunate accident resulted in one of Tita’s sisters, Rosaura being burnt while playing with Tita in the kitchen. This event foreshadows Rosaura interfering in the love between Tita and Pedro.
Even faced with the knowledge that she is not allowed to marry, Tita is still hopefull when she falls in love with Pedro, a local boy. On the day that Pedro is going to ask for her hand in marriage, even before he asks, Mama Elena, Titas mother discards the idea with a cold indifference to Titas feelings. “The realization of her fate struck her forcibly as her tears struck the table”. This shows how before, even though she knew she wasn’t going to get married, she was hopeful that she could convince her mother to let her marry, but just at that moment, she realized that there was no hope. When Tita tries to argue with her mother about the unjustice that is being done to her, Mama Elena abruptly cuts her off before she can start, and states that Tita can under no circumstance break tradition. This shows that Mama Elena cares more about tradition than the happiness of her own daughter. The disobedience of Tita in talking back to her mother foreshadows the resilience which Tita displays towards her mother later on in the book.
Tita, although at first doesn’t voice her thoughts, thinks about the tradition which is stopping her from marrying Pedro in more detail. Esquivel describes the doubts and anxieties which spring to Tita’s mind concerning the tradition. She thinks about who thought up of the plan, who would look after her since she herself couldn’t bear children without a husband of her own, and why was it the youngest daughter, and not the oldest. She is bewildered as to why this tradition cannot be broken. When she first has these concerns, she realizes that these doubts which have manifested inside her mind will never be answered, simply because “In the de la Garza family, one obeyed immeditately”. However, with time, the refusal of Tita to submit to her mothers wishes grows she finally gains enough courage to manage to voice her opinions, unafraid of the consequences.
The somewhat supernatural aspect of Like Water for Chocolate is also established in the beginning of the book. There are two instances where magical realism is seen in the first chapter. First, when Esquivel describes Tita’s crying audible to others from inside her mothers womb. Esquivel describes how “the sobs were so loud that Nacha, who was half deaf, could hear the wails easily.” Secondly, when Esquivel describes that when the tears from Tita’s birth dried up, there was enough salt left to fill a 10 pound sack approximately 5 kilogram, “Tita washed into this world on a great tide of tears that flooded the kitchen floor.” This can be interpreted either of two ways. One, that she is using a hyperbole. Since 5 kilograms is more than the average babies birth weight it is an impossible amount of salt to be left over. If Esquivel does not mean to greatly exaggerate this figure, it can also be interpreted that she is being serious, evoking the sense of the supernatural which becomes more apparent throughout the book. This second explanation is more likely since there are repeated occurrences of the supernatural throughout the book, some of which include Tita’s tears causing everyone at a wedding to be sick and even the eventual death of Tita and Pedro at the end of the book.
The kitchen and food is the main focus of the book. Most of the first few pages are set in the kitchen and concerns the preparation of food. This is continued throughout the book. At various sections of the first chapter, the narrator of the book, the daughter of Tita’s niece Esperanza, describes the methods used to make Christmas rolls, in meticulous detail. Each chapter has its own recipe. The recipes are intertwined into the story, and closely follow the emotions of the Tita, the creator of these recipes. This is first introduced when she is happy that her favourite christmas rolls are going to be made since Pedro is going to proposed.
The theme of this first chapter is one of responsibility and control. Even though Tita loves Pedro, it is her duty to care for her mother until she dies, and she must obey. She has a responsibility to do so. The control which her mother has over her and her duty to comply supersedes any personal wishes of Tita. This control is what begins to waver as the novel continues.
In conclusion, the events of the first six pages of Like Water for chocolate foreshadow the events to come in the book. The magical realism is introduced. The relationships are also introduced; the tense relationships Tita has with her mother and her sister Rosaura as well as the close relationship with Nacha become apparent. However, the main focus of these pages is introducing the importance food and the forbidden love between Tita and Pedro.
