In Like Water for Chocolate magical realism is applied to food. One example of howmagical realism is applied in food is during the birth of Tita, the main character of the novel. The books states, “Tita was so sensitive to onions, anytime they were being chopped, they say she would just cry and cry…Once her wailing got so violent that it brought on an early labor” This is magical realism because there is no way that the Tita would have been able to be affected by the smell of the onions while she was still in the womb. Another example of magical realism being applied to food is during a wedding party held for Pedro and Rosaura. When the cake for the party is cut and eaten, all the guests who had eaten the cake became sick almost instantly, “The moment they took their first bite of the cake, everyone was flooded with a great wave of longing…But the weeping was just the first symptom of a strange intoxication-an acute attack of pain and frustration-that seized the guests and scattered them across the patio and the grounds”. The guests were overcome with this feeling because while Tita was preparing the cake, she had cried tears of longing for Pedro into the cake batter, and this is magical reaslism because a person’s tears cannot cause a crowd of people to be overcome by sickness.
As well as being applied to food, magical realism is also applied to love. One example of this is when Getrudis virtually bursts into flames, “she began to feel an intesnse heat pulsing through her limbs…Her body was giving off so much heat that the wooden walls began to split and burst into flame”. This shows that magical realism was applied in love as Getrudis was feeling a longing for intercourse, and because of this her temperature rose to dangerous levels. This is magical reaslism because if a person’s temperature was hot enough o set wood on fire, they would surely be dead. Also when the shower is set on fire, Tita and the other characters in the vicinity do not find it extrememly strange that a shower would set on fire.
To conclude, magical realism is applied in food and in love, as shown by the strange events that take place as a result of seemingly ‘normal’ events to the character in the book. The premature birth of Tita by the smell of onions, and the lustful fires which flow through Getrudis’s body are two examples of magical realism being applied in Like Water for Chocolate. This not only makes the novel more interesting, but it emphasizes the feelings portrayed in the novel.
Works Cited
Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. 1989. Trans. Carol Christensen and Thomas Christensen.
New York City: Doubleday, 1992.
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"Magical Realism." Answers.
