Description of Magical Realism
Uploaded by spootyhead on Mar 05, 2007
Description of Magical Realism
Magical realism n. A chiefly literary style or genre originating in Latin America that combines fantastic or dreamlike elements with reality (Dictionary.com). In the novel, Like Water for Chocolate, written by Laura Esquirel, magical realism is used throughout the story to explain the impossible, within the daily life of the fictional characters. This magical realism is a continuous element of story, starting from when the main character, Tita, is born. Magical realism continues to work its magic when Tita’s love, Pedro, marries her sister and lives under the same roof as her, and when she dies at the very end of the story. However, Tita is not the only one within the book that is affected by the magical realism. There are also many other characters whose personalities are heightened by the magical realism. Esquirel creatively uses the magical realism to show the characters’ innermost desires, emotions, and personalities in order to make the novel a sweet and delighting romantic experience.
Desire is an emotion that describes a deep longing and wanting is chiefly crafted using magical realism within the novel. One of the many examples of this activity would be the pull of desires were brought by the magical dish of quail and roses. Gertrudis, one of the main characters within the novel, hadn’t been mention much until the entrancement of the dish where she became heated and hot, desperate for passion. In the spur of the moment, she “ran away with one of Villa’s men, on horse back … naked” (pg 58). This describes how the pent up desire that is deeply woven within Gertrudis could only become expose by through some magical means, hence the use of magical realism. It adds a tangy scent of romanticism and illustrates the characters need of love and desires. Gertrudis was not the only character within the story affected by the dazzling inclination of the dish, because Pedro and Tita felt this spark of exigency also. As they sat across from each other in the dining room, Tita penetrates “to the farthest corners of his being, and all the while they could not take their eyes off each other” (pg 52) causing them both to fall into a mutual sexual trance to form a mind link. As delicate meal entrances them,...