The Supernatural as a Means of Protagonist Empowerment in Like Water

The Supernatural as a Means of Protagonist authority in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende IB A1 English HL World Literature comparative degree Essay Word Count 1496 Keri-Anne Murray Candidate 003072-058 World Literature Comparative Essay 1 In Like Water for Chocolate and The House of the Spirits, respective authors Laura Esquivel and Isabel Allende use a connection with the phantasmal to empower the protagonists in three ways. Firstly, the central characters in each story consume unique other gentlemans gentlemanly abilities, which enable them to distance themselves from their oppressors.Secondly, the weird is active in providing spiritual heal of those in horrific situations. Finally, miraculous fifty-fiftyts are responsible for the eventual quelling of the main antagonist of each novel, and the subsequent liberation of the protagonists. Supernatural empowerment is also used to convey the authors perspectives on Lati n American refining, which leave be explored in relation to each form of supernatural empowerment discussed. In both novels, the oppressors of the central characters passion to control them completely, however, the protagonists have unique abilities which come to their aid.In The House of the Spirits, author Allende uses Esteban Truebas desire and apprehension to possess his wife Clara entirely, to portray the view that in Latin American culture, there is an implication of female person inferiority and submissiveness in relationships. Allende, however, expresses a electronegative view of this societal expectation, by giving Clara supernatural abilities which keep abreast her, allowing her to detach herself from him and be independent. The reader learns that Esteban desires far more than her body he wanted control everywhere that undefined and luminous aterial that lay within her (Allende 111). The use of wizard(prenominal) realism in this description of Claras undefined and luminous aspect emphasises her otherworldly character, creating an image of a bright light which Esteban cannot grasp with his hands, for his fingers but pass through. It is precisely this supernatural aspect of Claras character which gives her strength, independence and the power to resist mastery by Esteban. He realised that Clara did not be great to him and that if she continued living in a world of apparitions she probably never would (Allende 118).Claras clairvoyance and preoccupation with spirits prevent Esteban from controlling her. Whilst he becomes increasingly enraged at the unbridgeable distance between them, Clara is content, strong and empowered, thus defying the Latin American culture of female inferiority which is implied in the novel. In Like Water for Chocolate, mum Elena has a similar fixation to Estebans, in desiring to control her daughter Titas every move. Through her description of the de la Garza family tradition, the author portrays Latin American culture as giving family values great importance.In compliance with her family values, Tita, as the youngest daughter, is required to apply her Keri-Anne Murray Candidate 003072-058 World Literature Comparative Essay 2 life to the care of her mother, who strictly denies her the opportunities of jazz and marriage. By empowering Tita through her supernatural culinary abilities, an attribute of Titas character which mom Elena cannot control, the author protests against this steering on honouring family tradition at the expense of individual rights. In the kitchen flavours, smells, textures and the effect they could have were beyond Mama Elenas iron command (Esquivel 45).Titas domain is the kitchen, and she transfers her inner-most feelings to her cooking. The results are dishes which recreate Titas mood and steep her deepest desires into those who consume the food. When Mama Elena bans all communication between Tita and her love Pedro, Tita channels her emotions into her cooking to cre ate a new system of communication (Esquivel 49) with Pedro. The author uses the oppressiveness of Mama Elena and the de la Garza family tradition to portray a negative image of extreme emphasis on family duties in Latin American culture.The attribution of supernatural culinary abilities to Tita allows her to escape Mama Elenas control and set about herself closer to Pedro, and this illustrates the authors desire for respect for individual rights in family relationships. In both novels, the supernatural plays an active part in healing those in troublesome situations. The authors describe positively an intimate Latin American culture in which a suffering individual can depend upon assistance from trusted friends, even in the most dire circumstances.Such a phenomenon occurs in The House of the Spirits, when the imprisoned Alba has resigned herself to death in a dark, frozen airless grave accent (Allende 469). Into this atmosphere of oppressive coldness, Clara materialises as a radian t apparition, with the novel idea that the point was not to happen but to survive, which would be a miracle (Allende 469). Claras radiance contrasts with the darkness of the doghouse (Allende 469) which holds Alba, inspiring her with hope.Clara urges Alba to write a journal in her mind so that others may one day learn of the terrible concealed she was living through (Allende 470), evoking in Alba a purpose and will to live. The author gives Clara the ability to empower others even after her death, emphasising her positive opinion of a culture of trust, selfless giving and unconditional love among friends. A similar healing phenomenon occurs in Like Water for Chocolate when Nachas appearance to Tita, as she have the oxtail soup at Dr Browns house, restores Titas spiritual health and her speech after her sectionalization caused by Mama Elena. With the first sip, Nacha appeared there at Titas side, stroking her hair kissing her hilltop (Esquivel 114). Tita cries for the first Ke ri-Anne Murray Candidate 003072-058 World Literature Comparative Essay 3 time in cardinal months, resulting in a stream that was running down the stairs (Esquivel 114). The authors use of magical realism is effective in emphasising the emotion and miracle of the situation. Tita makes the decision to speak again she is fully recovered, ready to inception a new life (Esquivel 117-118).Like Clara in The House of the Spirits, Nacha possesses the ability to empower those she loves even after her death, and this component part of magical realism is employed by the author to illustrate a positive perception of Latin American culture, where connections based on love and friendship can overcome even the most dim of circumstances. The final use of the supernatural allows the author to describe a culture in which disaster befalls those who bring control and venom to relationships which should be filled with love and friendship.In both novels, supernatural events result in the suppression of the antagonist to empower the protagonists. In The House of the Spirits, Estebans jealous suspicion causes him to banish his sister, Ferula, from his house, and ban her from butt against with her family. In response to his cruelty, Ferula curses him You will always be alone Your body and soul will flinch up (Allende 158). Esteban soon observes his body shrivelling he could tell from his clothes his sleeves and his pant legs were suddenly too long (Allende 212).There is also evidence of his soul shrivelling as he drives others away from him, he is indeed cursed with the necessity of being alone. His violence against his daughter and his physical abuse of Clara who stands up for Blanca, sever the few weak bonds he had remaining with these members of his family. Estebans experience of his physical shrinking and his alienation from family, result in personal insecurities, a deflation of his ego and a sense of loneliness, and those he has mistreated are no longer oppressed by him . In Like Water for Chocolate, Titas wholesome cooking has adverse effects on oth Mama Elena, and Titas callous sister, Rosaura, indirectly resulting in their deaths. On her return to the bedcover after Mama Elena is left over(p) temporarily paralysed by a group of bandits, Tita carefully prepares oxtail soup for her mother so that she would recover completely (Esquivel 119). Mama Elena, however, immediately detects a bitter taste, and accuses her daughter of poisoning her. Ironically, as a result of barf overdose taken secretly to combat the imagined poison, Mama Elena eventually dies. Titas sister, Rosaura, suffers a similar fate. She becomes profound and flatulent from eating Titas food.While in San Antonio, Rosaura loses weight, but all she had to do was come back to the ranch and she got fat again Keri-Anne Murray Candidate 003072-058 World Literature Comparative Essay 4 (Esquivel 192). Following her egotistic proclamation of her intention to subject her daughter, Espera nza, to the oppressive family tradition of forced self-sacrifice, Rosaura dies from an extended attack of flatulence attributed to Titas cooking. Through the supernaturally caused deaths of Mama Elena and Rosaura, the author describes a culture of retribution for those who bring control and malevolence to relationships which should be sources of love.Their deaths liberate Tita and Esperanza, enabling them to love freely. In Like Water for Chocolate and The House of the Spirits, the supernatural is used as a positive force to empower the leading characters. Characters possess supernatural gifts which bid them with an untouchable inner strength the supernatural gives them the power to heal others in dire need and ultimately, it is the supernatural which is responsible for the downfall of the oppressors, and the liberation of the gifted characters.Furthermore, the authors use supernatural empowerment to integrate their perceptions of positive and negative aspects of Latin American cul ture into the novels. 5 Keri-Anne Murray Candidate 003072-058 World Literature Comparative Essay workings Cited Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. Trans. Magda Bogin. London disastrous Swan Books, 1986. Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. Trans. Carol Christensen and Thomas Christensen. London Black Swan Books, 1993.