Vanessa Mendoza

Midterm Essay

English 2400/Section O552 Professor Scanlan

October 29, 2020

 

Like Water for Chocolate 

After reading “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel published in 1989 and watching the film directed by Alfonoso Arau released in 1993 we can compare them according to Linda Cahir’s definition of translation. The book “Like Water for Chocolate” is a love story between two characters: Tita and Pedro whom despite their love are not able to marry. According to Linda Cahir, literature to film translations can be literal, traditional, or radical. What type of translation would the book and the film fall under?  

The plot of the film version “Like Water for Chocolate” is identical to Laura Esquivel’s text version besides some minor details. The emotion, main ideas of love between Tita and Pedro, rivalry between the two sisters: Rosaura and Tita, and what seems to be magical elements are portrayed throughout the film just like in the book. The focus remains on Tita and Pedro in the film just like in the book through the use of shots and camera movement. In addition, the use of narration in both the film and the book makes the translation almost identical. But there are missing scenes that are in the book but not present in the film. For these reasons, the translation of the book to the film is traditional. The translation is not literal because the details from the book are not maintained as closely as possible being that there are missing scenes. It is not a radical translation either since the plot is not reshaped to an extreme. 

In order to prove that the translation between the book and the film is traditional  I will explore the scene where Tita makes a dinner with the rose Pedro gives her, the scene where  Rosaura and Tita argue. Third, I will compare the final scene where both Tita and Pedro die. 

One of the major ideas/themes in the book that translates over to the film is Tita’s and Pedro’s love. This is shown in the book when even though Pedro is married to Tita’s sister Rosaura, gives Tita a rose. The difference here between the film and the book is what happens when Tita makes dinner with this rose. In the book, we read that “With that meal it seemed they had discovered a new system of communication, in which Tita was the transmitter, Pedro the receiver, and poor Gertrudia the medium, the conducting body through which the singular sexual message was passed.” Whereas, in the film we see how everyone in the table : Tita, Pedro, Gertrudis, and Mama Elena start fidgeting in their chairs. This minor detail does not interfere with the emotion we find in the text, through the shots of everyone’s face gestures we are able to tell that everyone at the table is feeling sensuous. The book also says: “He let Tita penetrate to the farthest corners of his being, and all the while they couldn’t take their eyes off each other.” The shot of Pedro and Tita looking at each other while eating adds to show how they feel attracted towards each other.  This scene was not identical to the book but is still able to capture the main idea of love that preserves between Tita and Pedro, therefore making the translation between the book and the film a traditional translation. 

Another major idea that is present in the book and film is the rivalry or tension that exists between Rosaura and Tita. It is a rivalry that goes back to when Rosaura married Pedro, the guy Tita wanted to marry. Time after Rosaura marries Pedro, she confronts Tita “You saw how Pedro switched to me at the least opportunity. I married him because that’s what he wanted.” This feeling of rivalry portrayed over in the film with both of them yelling at each other, bringing things up, and confronting one another. The only thing we hear in the film is their arguing making the scene tense just like in the book. The same narration and dialogue the reader finds in the book between the sisters is present in the film. There is no added music, the dialogue is not omitted in the film therefore allowing the viewer to get more insight into the story and how the characters interact. This close translation between the book and the film makes it a traditional translation. 

At the end of the book, the reader is left a bit confused as to what happens. This is clarified in the film. Years later Tita and Pedro seem to finally be able to live their love but we are presented with an idea that John had brought up earlier. “If a strong emotion suddenly lights all the candles we carry inside ourselves, it creates a brightness that shines far beyond our normal vision and then a splendid tunnel appears that shows us the way that we forgot when we were born and calls us to recover our lost divine origin. The soul longs to return to the place it came from, leaving the body lifeless.” The lighting in the film is darkened keeping Tita and Pedro in focus, as if nothing else existed. The camera closes up on them making sure their love is what the viewer should focus on and nothing else. The dim lighting also helps transmit the romantic mood that we find in the book.

All in all, the essence of the text version “Like Water for Chocolate”, is maintained throughout the film. There are missing details in the film but this does not interfere with the overall plot of the story. The narration, the lighting, the camera movement all contribute to recreating the scenes from the book as closely as possible focusing on the love story.