Like Water for Chocolate

Laura Esquivel is not just an author, she also directs childrens theater, and writes children’s shows for Mexican television (Esquivel, Laura). Esquivel began writing “Like Water for Chocolate” as a screenplay, but when the producers told her the screenplay would be too expensive, she remade the story into a novel (Esquivel, Laura). “Like Water for Chocolate” uses magical realism, and domestic gothic to tell a romantic tale. The novel quickly became an international best seller.

Esquivel was born the third of four children, and when growing up storytelling was very important in childhood (Esquivel, Laura). She grew up in Mexico City with her father, Julio Caesar Esquivel, who worked as a telegraph operator, Her mom, and three other siblings (Esquivel, Laura). Esquivel and her father would make up stories together and record them with his reel-to-reel tape recorder (Esquivel, Laura). She grew up in a Catholic household, but she describes her religious background as “eclectic” (Esquivel, Laura). In addition, the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s greatly shaped Esquivel’s perspective on gender relations and artistic expression.

When writing her novels Esquivel used two types of writing, domestic gothic, and magic realism. The first type of writing is domestic gothic. Domestic gothic is a woman-centered hybrid of gothic horror novels that blends sensational with sentimental fiction (domestic gothic). Into the 20th and 21st centuries, domestic anguish pervaded literature as women reached for independence and self-fulfillment (domestic gothic). Esquivel’s novel “Like Water for Chocolate” uses domestic gothic when the mother mistreats Tita for being the youngest daughter in the family (domestic gothic).

The other f...

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...tale, and was Laura Esquivel’s bestselling novel. Domestic gothic and magic realism is what influenced Esquivel to write this book. Her husband also helped her out a lot by giving her inspiration to write screenplays. That is how “Like Water for Chocolate” was wrote.

Works Cited

Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. First Anchor, 1989. Print.

Gaydosik, Victoria. "magic realism." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

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Hutchinson, Glenn and Linda Loya. "Like Water for Chocolate." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. "domestic gothic." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. "Esquivel, Laura." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.