Like Water for Chocolate

How does the author portray motherhood? Consider Mama Elena and Rosaura as well as Tita’s relationships with Nacha, Morning Light, Chencha, and Gertrudis. How does Tita become a mother despite never bearing any children of her own?

Compare and contrast Pedro and Dr. John Brown. Who do you think is the better match for Tita, and why?

An undercurrent of racism runs throughout the novel. Analyze the author’s attitude toward race with regards to Mama Elena’s true love and Gertrudis’s biological father, Jose Treviño.

Explain the significance of Tita unintentionally harming people with her recipes, from the wedding guests’ violent vomiting to Rosaura’s health troubles. How does Esquivel reconcile these consequences with Tita’s character?

Compare and contrast the author’s treatment of men in the novel. How do the women serve as foils to the men and their prominent traits?

In some ways, the novel resembles a fairy tale. How do its fantastical elements highlight the novel’s themes?

Tita’s mother and oldest sister often hurt her, yet she remains loyal to them. What motivates her loyalty—her culture or her morality? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

The novel takes place amidst the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, but the war never becomes the focus of the plot. How does the author intertwine the effects of war and Tita’s coming of age?