Like Water For Chocolate By Laurel Esquivel

What are some of the required characteristics for a novel to be considered as a “feminist novel”? Feminism is the belief that all women should be allowed the same opportunities, power, and rights as men. After reading Laurel Esquivel’s novel, “Like Water for Chocolate”, the characters and their traits portray the femininity of the novel. In order to understand the feminist representation of “Like Water for Chocolate”, two characters of the novel are chosen to portray feminism due to their given characteristics that are seen in the text. By using the quality traits of Mama Elena and Gertrudis, it will prove to readers that “Like Water for Chocolate” was written as a feminist novel. Due to her authoritative and assertive personality, Mama

For example, when the revolutionary army stopped by the ranch in chapter five, “her gaze met that of the captain in charge, and he knows immediately from the steeliness of her eyes that they were in the presence of a woman to be reckoned with” (Esquivel 89). Because of this, it portrays Mama Elena as a fearless woman who stands on her own grounds against an entire army of men. Therefore, this quality helps define Mama Elena’s character in the novel as a figure of feminism. As Mama Elena points the gun out to the captain when he came to the ranch, she tells him, “I have a very good aim and a bad temper, Captain. The next shot is for you, and I assure you that I can shoot you before they can kill me” (Esquivel 90). IN doing so, this shows Mama Elena’s independence and valiant manner towards protecting her property against the army. Therefore, this also helps understand the femininity of the novel because of the courage Mama Elena takes up in this moment. Another reason why Mama Elena’s character is considered a depiction of feminism is because her traits are often described as being associated with a man’s characteristic. For instance, Tita discreetly explains that “when it came to dividing, dismantling, dismembering,

Even though she was only associated with music and rhythm in the beginning, her character develops into an independent woman who continues to play the role of being the eldest sister. For example, after running away from home, Gertrudis learns her position in her own life, and later comes back to the ranch as “a general in the revolutionary army” and had “fought like mad on the field of battle” (Esquivel 178-179). In doing so, Gertrudis depicted herself as an individualistic person, and was able to make decisions for herself. The goals she was able to reach when she found her own path support her character to be described as a feminist, thus help the reader understand “Like Water for Chocolate” was written as a feminist novel. Another portrayal of Gertrudis’ character of feminism is when her sister, Tita, confides to her about her problems, and suggests that she “has no choice but to stand up for the truth, right now” (Esquivel 190). Because of this, it shows that Gertrudis knows how to act under pressure, and guides Tita to confront her problems. Thus, depicts the intelligence that Gertrudis shares from what she obtains, showing the feminist side of character as intuitive. Another example of this situation is when Gertrudis was able to help push Tita to face her problems with Pedro by standing by the door,