Supernatural Elements in Like Water for Chocolate and the House of the Spirits
A supernatural event is an event which, according to the laws of nature, cannot happen. In the two works that I have studied “Like water for chocolate” by Laura esquivel and “The house of the spirits” by Isabel allende, magic realism has been used as a common literary device to give the book a fantasy-like twist, making it very interesting and engaging.
Magic realism stretches the boundaries of realism in order to stretch or widen the definition of reality. In Like Water for Chocolate, magic becomes ordinary, admitted, accepted and integrated into the rationality and materiality of literary realism. The first instance of magic realism in Like Water for Chocolate is Tita’s entry into the world, “Tita was literally washed into this world on a great tide of tears that spilled over the edge of the table and flooded across the kitchen floor” and Laura further goes to describe that the salt from her tears was used up as salt in the kitchen and “lasted a long time.” Magic realism is constantly used in order to express Tita’s emotions, which are revealed through food, her feelings of despair and hurt over her lost love which is transferred to the wedding guests by her tears that fell into the wedding cake prepared for Rosaura’s wedding which in reality is not possible. Another such incident is seen after Gertrudis eats the quail in rose petal sauce and goes for a shower, she feels that "her body was giving off so much heat that the wooden walls began to split and burst into flame." The dramatic imagery of the pink sweat, powerful aroma and evaporation of water exemplifies the novel’s magical realism. Although impossible to occur in real life, the details are written so descriptively that it projects a vivid picture in readers’ mind. Because the roses that Tita put into the quail were from Pedro and carried his passion for Tita in it along with the blood that had slipped into the quail. The sauce carried the desires of Tita’s intense love for Pedro and led to the
Magic realism stretches the boundaries of realism in order to stretch or widen the definition of reality. In Like Water for Chocolate, magic becomes ordinary, admitted, accepted and integrated into the rationality and materiality of literary realism. The first instance of magic realism in Like Water for Chocolate is Tita’s entry into the world, “Tita was literally washed into this world on a great tide of tears that spilled over the edge of the table and flooded across the kitchen floor” and Laura further goes to describe that the salt from her tears was used up as salt in the kitchen and “lasted a long time.” Magic realism is constantly used in order to express Tita’s emotions, which are revealed through food, her feelings of despair and hurt over her lost love which is transferred to the wedding guests by her tears that fell into the wedding cake prepared for Rosaura’s wedding which in reality is not possible. Another such incident is seen after Gertrudis eats the quail in rose petal sauce and goes for a shower, she feels that "her body was giving off so much heat that the wooden walls began to split and burst into flame." The dramatic imagery of the pink sweat, powerful aroma and evaporation of water exemplifies the novel’s magical realism. Although impossible to occur in real life, the details are written so descriptively that it projects a vivid picture in readers’ mind. Because the roses that Tita put into the quail were from Pedro and carried his passion for Tita in it along with the blood that had slipped into the quail. The sauce carried the desires of Tita’s intense love for Pedro and led to the