The power behind the power: Women’s roles in Like Water for Chocolate and The House of the Spirits
The power behind the power: Women's roles in Like Water for Chocolate and The House of the Spirits
"The very first
Of human life must spring from woman's breast,
Your first small words are taught you from her lips,
Your first tears quench'd by her, and your last sighs
Too often breathes out in a woman's hearing,
When men have shrunk from the ignoble care
Of watching the last hour of him who led them."1
Women have been historically considered inferior to men. Even religion subordinates them: in the Bible, Eve was created from Adam's rib. Women have been frequently considered the "weaker sex" and even less intelligent than men. Power in society is mainly exercised by men. Politically speaking, most presidents and prime ministers have been male. Even at a family level, men are often supposed to direct and guide the family; they seem to be the ones who have the final say in making decisions. However, the power of women should not be overlooked. Books like House of the Spirits and Like Water for Chocolate propose that women are the "power behind the power". In these books, women are portrayed as powerful beings who have control of the situation or that influence men's behavior.
One of the ways in which some females are controlling is through a strong character, being almost like dictators or absolute rulers. One example of this is Mama Elena, one of the main characters of Laura Esquivel's book Like Water for Chocolate. She is the mother of the main character, Tita, and is an authoritarian figure. She knows all that is happening and everything that she orders must be done promptly and without questioning. Even her physical appearance gives testimony of that: "... for the eagle eye of Mama Elena saw the spark that flew between them from twenty feet away, and it troubled her deeply."2 She controls the lives of the family members, even to the extent of prohibiting Tita from marrying until she, her mother, dies and proposing that Pedro marry Rosaura knowing that he does not love her. Mama Elena seems so powerful, that she even appears to Tita after her death and seems to be the cause of the burning of Pedro.
Gertrudis, Tita's sister, also presents a strong character. She defies society by running off with an army general and becoming a prostitute to give free reign to her sexual desires. Not content with that, she joins the revolutionary army and becomes a respected and authoritarian generala. "She wasn't part of Gertrudis's troop, she didn't have to obey blindly like the men under her command."3 However, that is not her only source of influence. She also has an impact on Juan Alejandrez and, especially, on Trevino because both of them fall in love with her. In Trevino's case, when ...
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Gertrudis, Tita's sister, also presents a strong character. She defies society by running off with an army general and becoming a prostitute to give free reign to her sexual desires. Not content with that, she joins the revolutionary army and becomes a respected and authoritarian generala. "She wasn't part of Gertrudis's troop, she didn't have to obey blindly like the men under her command."3 However, that is not her only source of influence. She also has an impact on Juan Alejandrez and, especially, on Trevino because both of them fall in love with her. In Trevino's case, when he realizes that Gertrudis does not love him back, he decides to become her watchdog so he can at least be near her and protect her, even when she does not ask him to do it in the first place.
In House of the Spirits, Clara, one of the main characters, controls her family. She is the power behind the power: she is seemingly weak and delicate; she does not possess a strong, macho-like, personality, or authoritarian features; she does not even look intimidating. "[She had] a sweet face and a mane of chestnut hair whose curls spilled from her coiffure, melancholy eyes that gave her a sparkling, half-mocking look when she laughed her frank, open laugh"4. However, because of her special abilities, she is almost omniscient, and can therefore control others more easily. Besides, even when she seems very fragile and weak when compared to Esteban Trueba, an ostentatiously virile figure, she is very influential to him. He strives to have her, to possess her. He does everything he can to please her: he even stops drinking, going to brothels, and raping women. He cannot be happy without her; he needs her to feel complete and to give meaning to his life. "I stopped eating at the house even a the weekends, because without Clara's catalyzing presence there was no reason why I should put up with my children's bickering."5 Clara is also the force that makes the family stay together. After she dies, the family starts falling apart and they no longer communicate with each other. "Everybody in the family sensed that without Clara all reason to stay together had been lost: they had almost nothing to say to each other."6
Transito Soto is an example of the great extent that a woman's influence can have: the power of sex. At the beginning of the book she is a young, poor girl that is one of Esteban Trueba's sexual companions from a countryside brothel. She asks him for fifty pesos and leaves the Red Lantern to become a prostitute at an important brothel. With that money and her own effort, she becomes the rich owner of a hotel. Even though her position does not seem as important as Trueba's, she has a greater influence. When Alba, Trueba's granddaughter, is arrested by the militaries, he is not able to free her, even with all his connections and high position (he was a senator). However, when he asks Transito Soto, who is 'only' the owner of a hotel, to help him liberate Alba in return for the fifty pesos, she is able to do it. "I know who has the power in this country... If there's anyone who can help Alba now, it's Transito Soto."7
Although unconsciously, Tita, the main character in Like Water for Chocolate, has the ability to influence people through her food, and, like Gertrudis, can influence others because of love. One of her abilities is to control people's emotions through her food. Unconsciously, she can transmit what she feels when she is cooking to the food, and, when people eat it, to them. Because of this, though unintentionally, she has the ability to make them react in ways that they would not commonly have, like crying in public, vomiting, or running off with a revolutionary. Like Gertrudis, Tita has a special influence on John Brown and Pedro because they fall in love with her. They try to please her and be with her as much as possible. Pedro goes to the extent of marrying Rosaura, knowing that he does not love her, just to try to be closer to Tita. John Brown tries to visit her house as much as he can and takes her to his home when she gets sick to take care of her even against Mama Elena's will. Although, albeit unconsciously, she has the ability to influence people, others also control her. Tita has to obey Mama Elena in everything. She cannot marry Pedro because her mother forbids her to do it; she has to follow her every instruction, and also be respectful and dutiful at the same time, bathing her and calling her Mami in the right tone. However, she sometimes rebels against Mama Elena and meets secretly with Pedro, and at the end, she is not able to marry him, but they do stay together.
Blanca is an example of the victory of persistence and perseverance. Blanca, similarly to Tita, has to obey her parents, in her case, Esteban Trueba. She has to comply to his every order. When she becomes pregnant, her father orders her to marry Jean de Satigny, and she does, even when she does not love him, but also deeply influenced by the idea that Pedro Tercero, the father of the child, is dead. However, she also rebels against her father's orders and has a sexual affair with Pedro Tercero, knowing that he disapproves of the relationship. In spite of this, they try to be together as much as possible and, ironically, at the end of the story Trueba helps them to stay together by assisting them to escape from Chile.
As we can see, feminine power should definitely not be overlooked. Sex proves to be extremely powerful; this animal instinct, which is part of human nature and more present in the minds of men, permits women to exert an undeniable influence in their behavior. Nevertheless, it is the deeper and emotional nature of love, the 'real' love, which really provides women with control. Women can also influence others the 'old-fashioned' way: through a 'masculine' authoritarianism. Besides, other 'magical' abilities like Tita's and Clara's helps them to control, albeit unconsciously, other people. However, as was mentioned before, female influence is rarely considered as important. Women are really very commonly considered the 'weaker sex'. Males do not seem to realize to what extent they are being induced by females. Perhaps, it is this fact what really makes women the 'power behind the power'.
449 words
Bibliography
- Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits.
Trans. By Magda Bogin. Black Swan. London. 1985.
- Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate.
Trans. By Carol Christensen. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. New York. 1992.
- Schopenhauer, Arthur. Essays and Aphorisms.
Trans. By R. J. Hollingdale. Penguin Group. London. 1970.
Schopenhauer, 1971. p. 80
2 Esquivel, p. 78
3 Esquivel. P. 186
4 Allende, p. 110
5 Allende, p. 358
6 Allende, p 338
7 Allende, p. 481
