Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is a powerful novel that serves as an excellent introductory guide to Latin American culture. The novel consists primarily of female characters, the De La Garza family, where each represents a female stereotype, or perhaps their role in society. The setting of the story takes place during the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which makes it easier to distinguish the roles of women and how they live their daily lives. Like Water for Chocolate can be seen as the story of two women, a daughter and a mother, Tita and Elena De La Garza. Tita, our protagonist, fights against her mother's tradition, to "serve" her until the day she dies, without having her own life. Tita fights desperately for her freedom and love, while Mama Elena forms a major opposition that prevents her from living her dream. The other two sisters are caught between two attempts to find their own purpose in life. The writing is filled with magical realism, where food plays an important role as it shows the true nature of the characters based on their relationship with it, while evoking all kinds of emotions. One particular chapter of the book that shows the absent mother- The relationship between girls is the first chapter, January – Christmas Rolls, which defines not only their relationship but also their personality which can be seen through their actions. From the outset, the narrator, Tita's great-niece, tells us a scene from Tita's birth: "And before my great-grandmother could let out a word or even a moan, Tita made her entrance in this world, prematurely, there, in the kitchen. table amid the smells of simmering noodle soup, thyme, bay leaves and coriander, steamed milk, garlic... middle of paper... anything. There is virtually no dialect in the novel, as she has little voice. When she asks Tita to put her on a special diet, it's so that Pedro finds her attractive. The only thing that seems to worry her is her appearance: she doesn't want to appear blind, and only at the end she chooses to speak openly about Pedro to Tita, "from now on you can do everything. you want. As long as no one knows, I don't care, because Pedro will have to do it with someone who knows, because as for me, he will never put his hand near me again. » (214) Here we see that she has become aware in some way, but she chooses not to resolve anything, but rather to hide it, because she does not want to be scorned by the public, regarding her failed marriage . the novel is dominated by female characters where each person embodies a female stereotype.