Gender plays a significant role in family and societal traditions. Some families place such a large importance on that role that it is impossible for a person to achieve his or her goals or live his or her life. In Like Water for Chocolate, Tita De la Garza’s principle struggle steams from the fact that she has little control over her affairs. From the day she was born, her fate was already sealed, and she would be expected to acknowledge tradition. Her life was not hers to live. Her mother Mama Elena dictated everything that she did. Mama Elena De la Garza is a harsh, cruel woman who is far removed from the traditional view of mothers. Instead, Mama Elena is portrayed as an evil mother. An authoritarian, tyrannical, twisted woman, who takes …show more content…
Then, later in the novel a special bond grows between Tita and Esperanza. The intimate connection that usually naturally develops between mother and child is not granted. Nancha and Tita both share an exceptional gift at providing love and care. This is the opposite situation for Mama Elena. She and Tita seem more like enemies than a mother and daughter. One would think that a mother wants what is best for her child. Also that she would like to see her grow up, get married, have children, and, most importantly, be happy. However, Mama Elena only breeds resentment and jealousy for Tita. Tradition outweighs her daughter’s happiness, which is unusual from normal mother-daughter relationships. Since Tita’s birth, the two experience a fractured relationship, which grows downward. Despite the contemptuous relationship with her mother, Tita proves to be a natural nurturer and …show more content…
• It is not simply a matter of food sustaining life. Food nourishes not only the body but also passion. It transmits emotions and sustains culture.
• Tita’s special character as nurturer is revealed through the food she prepares. She also provides food from her body for Rosaura’s baby, despite never having given birth. But her food does not merely sustain physical life. It transmits her emotions and carries the culture forward, even into the next two generations.

Tia gets her great cooking skills from Nacha, this is there way of passing down the recipes from generation to generation. The recipes in Like Water for Chocolate are kept in the family. Tita then passes the recipes to Esperanza. Esperanza then passes them to her daughter who puts them in the book. The recipes that are passes down from generation to generation are also what tell us the story of Tita. The recipes are taught to the next generation. However, they are taught not only to be followed, but also how to know the different qualities of the ingredients that go into each dish. This is only something that can be passed down from generation to