The relationship between Tita and Gertrudis is only mentioned briefly at the beginning of the novel but similar to the relationship of the siblings in The Metamorphosis, the relationship of these siblings seems to be close. The beginning of Like Water For Chocolate discusses Tita’s childhood and her relationship with her siblings and the people around her. From the moment that Tita’s sisters Rosaura and Gertrudis are introduced into the novel, Gertrudis’ understanding of Tita’s feelings and emotions can be seen. “While Tita was singing and waving her wet hands in time, showering drops of water down on the griddle so they would “dance,” Rosaura was cowering in the corner stunned by the display. Gertrudis, on the other hand, found this game enticing, and she threw herself into it with the enthusiasm she always showed where rhythm, movement, or music were involved.” (Esquivel, 8) This shows that unlike Rosaura, Gertrudis had a special bond with Tita. This bond continues to develop in the story to show the strengthening relationship between the siblings.
By the middle of the novels, the relationship between Grete and Gregor begins to disintegrate but the relationship between Tita and Gertrudis stays close and loving. Towards the middle of The Metamorphosis, we begin to see a change in the way that Grete is treating Gregor. She becomes less amicable towards him and starts to feel as if caring for her brother is not worth her time. She does, however, continue to care for her invalid brother at times when she is the only person who will even approach him. “‘Hey, Gregor!’ the sister shouted with a raised fist and a penetrating stare.” This is taken from a part in the novel where Gregor’s mom discovers his change of state. At this point in the story, Grete is still caring for Gregor and bringing him food; however, as he has just startled their mother greatly Grete is starting to become upset due to her family’s situation. This part of the story initiates the downfall of Grete and Gregor’s relationship which will never change.
The relationship between Tita and Gertrudis can still be seen as a very close relationship in the middle of Like Water For Chocolate. Gertrudis is able to sympathize with Tita, especially at one point when Tita creates a fantastic meal of Quail in Rose Petal Sauce. The connection between Tita and Gertudis acts as a natural conduit for love for Gertrudis. “But something strange was happening to Gertrudis. On her the food seemed to act as an aphrodisiac; she began to feel an intense heat pulsing through her limbs.” (Esquivel, 51) Tita makes the rose petal sauce using the rose that Pedro gave her as a symbol of his love. When Gertrudis eats the quail, the love that has been embedded in the sauce through the love in the rose is transferred throughout her body and puts her into a sexual trance. This transfer of love shows the ability of the siblings to sympathize and understand each other’s feelings. Gertrudis also represents free spirits as she is able to gain freedom from Tita’s love. Gertrudis is able to share Tita’s feeling of lust strictly through the way that Tita uses her feelings to cook.
Comparing the relationships at the end of the novels, the relationship between Grete and Gregor has disintegrated in comparison to that of Tita and Gertrudis, who continue to be affectionate towards each other. The previously loving relationship between Grete and Gregor can be seen to fall apart completely. Even though Gregor loves his sister, their relationship is forced apart due to the difficult situation at hand. Gregor, even as a bug, begins to fantasize about his sister. He dreams of sending her to the conservatory for violin. He also thinks about how he wants to protect her gift of talent. Gregor reflects on how he always used to love when his sister played violin lessons. He dreams of hearing her play again. One day when she is playing Gregor decides that he must be near her to be able to hear her better. He crawls into the sitting room where she is playing her violin. Unfortunately for Gregor, Grete does not understand that he just wants to be near her to hear play and she assumes that he is trying to attack her. She becomes very frightened and no longer has any interest in spending time with him, caring for him or going anywhere near him. “‘My dear parents,’ said the sister, pounding her hand on the table by way of introduction, ‘things cannot go on like this. You may not realize it, but I do. I will not pronounce my brother’s name in front of this monstrosity, and so all I will say is: We must try to get rid of it.’” (Kafka, 179). At this point, Grete has become fearful of Gregor and she is also irritated by the amount of junk and garbage that has taken over Gregor’s room. While at the beginning of the novel, Grete is always seen with Gregor and she is always the figure who is protecting him, at the end Grete has given up on him and she fears for her life and therefore decides that their family must leave Gregor to die. This is a huge change from her relationship with Gregor at the beginning of the novel.
Unlike Gregor and Grete in the story of The Metamorphosis, at the end of Like Water For Chocolate,, the relationship between Tita and Gertrudis remains close and adoring, and has even become noticeably stronger. When Gertrudis returns from a brothel as an army general, she spends time in the kitchen cooking with Tita. While in the kitchen, the two discuss everything that has happened since Gertrudis left after eating Tita’s entrancing meal. Gertrudis notices that Tita seems distant and she is naturally interested in assisting Tita by forcing her to deal with her love for Pedro. “‘You’ve seemed distant for quite a while. Tell me what is it? It’s about Pedro, right?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘If you still love him, then why are you going to marry John?’ ‘I’m not going to marry him, I can’t.’ Tita hugged Gertrudis and cried on her shoulder, without saying anything more.” (Esquivel, 188). Even though Gertrudis has been gone for many months, she is still able to sympathize with Tita and understand her feelings of love. Their relationship is very strong which is important in keeping the bond between these two sisters.
Through the quotations and reasoning above it can be clearly seen that that even though Tita and Gertrudis are physically distant their relationship is very strong, and important to both of the sisters. This explains why over time, their relationship remains unharmed even through hard times when they did not have each other nearby for support. This differs from the relationship of Gregor and Grete, who are emotionally distant and are unable to come to terms with their relationship. This explains why their relationship is not able to stay together during hard times. This analysis of the relationship between the siblings shows that the two pairs both reflect and divert from each other.
