Like Water for Chocolate

Nacha is the De la Garzas’ elderly cook, who becomes a surrogate mother and mentor to Tita by passing on her knowledge. Though Nacha dies early, her spirit appears throughout the novel. In the absence of compassion from Mama Elena, Nacha mothers Tita with kind wisdom. Whenever Tita is in a difficult situation, it is Nacha whom she calls to, not her mother. Nacha’s ghost starkly contrasts with Mama Elena’s ghost, who also visits Tita. While Mama Elena’s ghost shames Tita, Nacha’s ghost provides her with comfort and helpful knowledge in the form of recipes for food and medicine.

Nacha’s life mirrors Tita’s. When Mama Elena cannot breastfeed, Nacha provides young Tita with gruel and tea; when Rosaura cannot nurse Roberto, Tita steps in. Though Tita does not nurse Esperanza, she feeds her with Nacha’s recipes. Mama Elena’s mother forbid Nacha from marrying her true love, condemning her to a life of service to the family; Mama Elena herself denies Tita the right to marry and raise her own family. Nacha’s ghost anoints Tita’s metaphorical wedding night with Pedro by filling the room with candles and offering her blessing—as the couple finally gets the moment she was denied. Nacha is a symbol of benevolent, nurturing female energy.

Mama Elena is the hardened matriarch of the De la Garza family and the primary antagonist of the novel. She takes over ranch operations when her husband suddenly dies after the birth of her third daughter, Tita. Left to manage a ranch and raise three daughters on her own, with a revolution raging just beyond their doorstep, she becomes abusive—leaving everyone in fear of her wrath. Though Mama Elena is a woman left in difficult circumstances, her hardships are no excuse for her physical and emotional abuse of Tita. She encounters little resistance to her rule, but when Tita comes of age and begins to rebel, the matriarch sets out to break her body and spirit. The conflict between Mama Elena and Tita symbolizes the Mexican Revolution happening in the background. Just as the rebels fight oppression, Tita fights her mother’s abuse.

The reveal of Mama Elena’s past humanizes her. Until her death, she comes off as a fairy-tale witch with no conscience or empathy. However, when Tita unlocks her mother’s secret box of letters, she unlocks the answer to her cruelty. Scorned for loving a Black man and forced to hide their union and offspring, Mama Elena developed a bitter, hard shell around her heart. Since she could no longer experience joy, she denied those around her from having it too. Ironically, Gertrudis, the child produced from her affair with her true love, is the daughter with no fear of cutting ties with her mother. After Mama Elena’s death, her ghost continues to haunt Tita. Even when Tita banishes her forever, she tries to have the last word by setting Pedro aflame. However, Tita tends to Pedro with surrogate mother Nacha’s remedies—ultimately defeating her biological mother’s darkness with love.

Pedro Muzquiz is Tita’s first love, yet he marries her older sister Rosaura to appease Mama Elena. Pedro’s decision has less to do with his character and is moreover an obstacle that Tita must overcome. He and Tita share a strong physical attraction and struggle to hide it while living in close proximity to each other. Forbidden from publicly expressing their love, Tita transfuses her desire for Pedro into meals she prepares for him and the family. The couple’s romance spans decades and provides the main conflict of the novel. Pedro and Tita’s love puts the latter at odds with her mother and sister Rosaura. Though Mama Elena bars them from starting a family of their own, Pedro and Tita form a secret family as she nurses his son Roberto and they work together to raise Esperanza after Rosaura’s death.

Pedro starkly contrasts with Tita’s second love interest, Dr. John Brown. While Pedro is physically and emotionally domineering, John is amenable and humble. Pedro expresses his desire physically, while John seeks to connect with Tita philosophically. John is a good match for Tita, and while he does help reignite her spirit after Mama Elena’s abuse, it is Pedro who sets her ablaze and fulfills her sexual desire. Tita is a character deeply connected to and grounded in her physical body; though Pedro sometimes objectifies Tita, it is this attraction to her body and passion that make him attractive to her. Though Pedro’s jealousy is often frustrating, his attraction to Tita never fades. He does not fight for her as fiercely as he should, but he is kept at bay by the vengeful tactics of Mama Elena.