Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel

Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel, is a novel about a family of three sisters and their mother. The three De La Garza sisters consist of Rosaura, Gertrudis and Tita who are bound by family traditions and their mother, Mama Elena is the strict and stern antagonist of the novel. This novel revolves around the trajectories of three sisters, who all possess different personalities, and their struggle for love drives the plot ahead in the novel.

Out of the three sisters, the eldest sister is Rosaura who is almost like a copy of Mama Elena. Just like her mother, she locks herself up in the cage of family tradition. The De La Garza family had a tradition that the youngest daughter in the family could not marry as she was supposed to take care of her mother all her life. This is the tradition that Mama Elena conforms to and Rosaura follows her footsteps. This makes the reader feel that even after Mama Elena’s death, her character is still living through the body of Rosaura.

Rosaura also seems to be selfish and pea-brained. Even though she knows that Pedro and Tita have an affair, she agrees to marry Pedro. She should have thought about the consequences of such a marriage and then make a wise decision. She tries to steal her younger sister’s love but she is unsuccessful as even after marriage, Pedro doesn’t stop loving Tita. This clearly shows us that Rosaura was egocentric and perhaps, because she had no one to turn to.

The second sister, Gertrudis is the rebel of the novel. Even though she belongs to a conservative family, she runs away with a man called Juan. Juan is a soldier of the rebel army and he “Without slowing his gallop, so as not to waste a moment, he leaned over, put his arm around her waist, and lifted ...

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...rst option is following the path of Rosaura and being selfish and conventional. This option is not advisable in today’s world as one needs to be open-minded to survive in this world. However, if this path is followed, one will have to face many miseries in life. The second option would be to break all the social and cultural barriers, like Gertrudis, and follow the command of their own heart. This may lead to happiness but eventually one becomes lonely as the society loses respect for such people. Above all else, the third option is to maintain a good balance between the first two options and follow the middle path, like Tita. This means that one should not totally restrict them self to traditions and customs, but at the same not cross all the customary boundaries and be unconventional. The middle path ensures stability in one’s life and according to me is the safest.