Research Paper

In literature, gender is symbolic not only because it differentiates the actions of male and female but also because it communicates a certain message from the author to the reader. In Like Water for Chocolate, The Odyssey and The Book of J, certain characters use food and their gender qualities as an advantage to become in control. Hence, in these books, we see how the author emphasizes through food how male or female take control of a situation and become dominate. However, we also see how the author emphasizes the actions that male and female make amidst using food as a control method, which can lead to an unwanted surprise and effect.

In Like Water for Chocolate, Josefita known as Tita is born into a traditional Mexican family where she uses food as a control method because it’s the one thing she can use in these old patriarchical societies. She is a character that leaves the reader with anticipation throughout the story, hoping she can finally be reunited with her long love, Pedro, though he is married to her older sister, Rosaura. Yet, what is so amazing and differentiates Tita from her sisters and other characters is not only her great cooking ability, but that the emotions she undergoes before or while cooking are in some way instilled into the food while it is being cooked. She came out of the womb in that kitchen, on a table, surrounded by the smells of thyme, bay leaves, and cilantro and has made an identity for herself in that kitchen. Being the youngest of all sisters, she was cursed with the tradition of never being able to marry because she would have to take care of Mama Elena. Mama Elena is practically “the man” of the house because she who demands things to go her and nobody else’s. It’s no surprise Tita had to find a place to dominate and though Nacha taught her all she knew, Tita surely took control of the kitchen. A great example of Tita taking control with her magical emotions in food is when she is preparing the meringue icing for Rosaura’s wedding cake. She can't help herself but cry and cry so much that the color of the icing turned pink. Later, everyone who ate from the cake also began to cry, with “an acute attack of pain and frustration-that seized the guests and scattered them across the patio grounds and in the bathrooms, all of them wailing over a lost love” (39). Tita’s tears were so powerful that all the guests who feasted on the cake became sick to their stomachs throwing up with an immense uproar of nostalgia in their hearts. This after effect only happened because Tita prepared the cake heartbroken knowing she must now accept the notion of her never being allowed to be with her newly wedded love. Another great example of Tita taking control through food is when she made “Quail in Rose Petal Sauce” from roses Pedro had just given her. The feelings she imputed into this meal from Pedro watching her body sway as she cooked turned the food into an aphrodisiac for Gertrudis. Gertrudis had an intense heat running through her body that when she went out to take a refreshing shower she could not enjoy it because the drops would evaporate before they hit her: “Her body was giving off so much heat that the wooden walls began to split and burst into flame” (54). Gertrudis began to panic because she didn’t want to burn to death that she began to run completely naked. Yet, she did not know that the heat running through her body let out a strong aroma which had attracted the man she fantasized at dinner. She rides off with the soldier, Juan, while making love on his horse. Tita’s emotions while cooking augmented a wave of eroticism for Gertrudis that she finally let out her inner sexual desire. In Like Water for Chocolate, “cooking becomes a new semantics, through which women learn about themselves, exert collective influence on the male establishment, and acquire an inebriating sense of empowerment (30)”. Food spoke the thoughts and emotions of Tita and cooking will always be her outlet of expression and a way of identifying with herself. However, in the end Tita finally stood up to her domineering mother or in other words “father”. Through food Tita became dominant, doing things her way with an unconscious effect, where Mama Elena could not stop the aftermath of those who ate from her food.

In The Odyssey, we are given a great example of how cleverness and food create a security for Odysseus. However, Odysseus being male also plays a huge part of how he overcomes such dramatic events. Odysseus, the leader of his men on seas, uses his clever ways and food to stay the “leader”. He and his men sail to the land of the Cyclopes, where there are one-eyed giants. They proceed to the mainland and see a cave full of sheep and crates of cheese and milk. Odysseus’s men advise Odysseus that they should hurry off with some off the food and board the ship. Yet, Odysseus himself wanted to see if the Cyclopes would give him a “gift of hospitality”. However, I believe Odysseus, as clever and cunning as he is, had a plan from the start because inside the cave were future humans for the Cyclopes to eat, and generally one-eyed giants aren’t known to be the friendliest. I believe he was testing the waters and wanted to take some more control being confident in himself as a great man of twist and turns. Nevertheless, the owner of this cave named Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon, comes and not with a welcoming sight. When Polyphemus sees Odysseus and his men he is not at first over raged but after some talking with Odysseus he becomes hostile and eats two of his men, imprisoning the rest in the cave for future meals. Odysseus wanted to draw his sharp sword in Polyphemus when he thought realistically. “We would die to a man in that cave, unable to budge the enormous stone” (IX, 96-97) which was blocking the entrance. Now was Odysseus chance to devise a quick and witty plan in order to take control. The next day, while Polyphemus is outside with his sheep, Odysseus takes a wooden staff with a sharpened tip and hardens it in the fire. Later, when Polyphemus returns, Odysseus offers him an ivy wood bowl filled with dark wine (which he brought from the ship) causing Polyphemus to get drunk. Clever enough, when the Cyclopes asks for Odysseus’s name, he replies that his name is noman. Once, the giant has fallen by his intoxication, Odysseus and some of his men drive the wooden staff in Polyphemus’s only eye. The Cyclopes shrieks with pain calling for help, yet, when other Cyclopes’ gather and ask who has hurt him he yells out “Noman”. The Cyclopes are confused and think that if no one is hurting Polyphemus, then it must be a “Zeus-sent illness” and so the Cyclopes’ advise Polyphemus to pray to his father, Lord Poseidon. This is interesting because the Cyclopes’ tell Polyphemus to call his upon his father rather than the supreme Olympian. However, these monsters are far stronger than Zeus, and “have no regard for him. For in this ecocentric culture, each household acknowledges no higher authority than the father” (2). It is evident that though the reader may belittle these one-eyed giants, they live in a sense with the same common ethic that human beings live with. The simple ethic, of a father being the “man of the house” or living in a male-dominate society. The next morning, Odysseus and his men escape from the blind Polyphemus, by holding on to the bellies of the Cyclopes’ sheep as they are daily taken outside. Finally, they are safe to head back and board on their ship. If Odysseus would have not given the Cyclopes the wine, they would have never gotten out alive. Therefore, it was essential for Odysseus to use food (wine) in order to stay alive and maintain in control, which added more experiences to his list of prevailing in cleverness along the way.

In George Herbert Palmer’s introduction he said “When the heroes of The Iliad have nothing else to do, they fight; under similar circumstances those of the Odyssey eat (xix – xxiii)”. We constantly see Odysseus’s men feasting on wine and food, which of course is wonderful for them. However, Homer maybe trying to tell the reader that excessive eating represents a lack of self-control and that fate stops for no one. This is evident because all of Odysseus’s men die from their lack of control by gorging on food that moreover was not theirs. Though, Odysseus does feast with his men, his use of power of cunning over strength benefits him, when rather that is what Odysseus’s men lacked. Hence, many readers may think that Homer lets Odysseus’s men slide off with being gluttonous because they are men but instead death does meet all of them soon enough.

Another great example of food being used to control a situation or others is when Odysseus and his men arrive at the island of Aeaea. Odysseus sees “smoke rising up through the brushy wood” on the island and asks half of his men to go and see what is occurring. The men go about and hear the voice of a beautiful goddess singing as she was weaving. They call to her and she, Circe, calls them in to her glorious home. She offered them food and they feasted eagerly. Yet, she lavishly feeds them Pramnian wine, "she laced this potion with insidious drugs that would make them forget their own native land. When they had eaten and drunk, she struck them with her wand and herded them in the sties outside. Grunting, their bodies covered with bristles, they looked just like pigs, but their minds were intact" (X, 253-58). She was cunning and enticed them with delicious food and great wine when she struck them with her wand and turned them into swine, ironically enough becoming food themselves. There can be numerous reasons to why she did this, but dominance is where I’m lean toward with Circe. She is a goddess, yet still a woman who must prove herself, so she lured them with her food and turned them into one of the lowliest forms an animal could be-pigs. The potion also made them forget their native land, causing them to lose the knowledge of their families and future destination, though they couldn’t go far being pigs. By having Odysseus’s men forget their home land it is almost as if Circe took away the “pigs” manhood not only because of their form but also because men who felt homesickness were looked up as more manly. She definitely has a feminine agenda because she wanted to show who was boss through food and her magic. Therefore, by her powers she made these men feel inferior and she became in control. This is also why Hermes explains to Odysseus that once Circe knows who he is and asks him to go to bed with her that he must make her swear not to un-sex him once he is naked. Circe took control through means of her food, magic, and her feminine agenda, making her dominance something she upheld virtuously.

Homer may say that women are in control because of their sexual charms; though this control leaves once they fall in love. Circe however, will always be some-what dominate because of her magical powers but she did lose some control because she changed Odysseus’s men back to humans once Odysseus asked her to and they were more beautiful than before . Therefore, by having some sort of emotion for him, she gave into his desire and became equal or less than Odysseus because of her love for him. Homer may also say that women lead men astray of their journeys. Examples of women who have lead men astray are for example Circe who companied Odysseus in her island for a year though Odysseus thinks it has only been a few days. The beautiful and seductive Calypso also accompanied Odysseus in her island for 7 years. Another example of seductive women as an obstacle trying to lead men astray is The Sirens. The Sirens lived in an isolated island that allure and enchant others on sea by their beautiful signing. However, Odysseus was prepared as his men had wax in their ears and Odysseus was tied strongly upside down on the boats mast. Yet, Odysseus knew he could fall victim to The Siren’s beautiful voices so he told his men not to obey him if even if he cried to be untied.

The story of Adam and Eve is known worldwide, yet in The Book of J only the oldest Hebrew words are chosen. In this translation of the beginning of Genesis gender is quite important because we can interpret the actions of male and female as they come together with the forbidden fruit used as a domain of obtaining control. Yahweh told “the man” (Adam) he can eat of any tree but forbade the tree of knowing good and bad. Nevertheless, Hava (Eve) partook of the fruit because the snake told her death will not touch her if she eats from it. She saw how “good” the tree looked and reached for it, ate, then gave to man. Is the author of The Book of J trying to tell the reader that women are rebellious as shown by Eve’s disobedience? In Jewish folklore there is a tale of who is believed to truly be Adam’s first wife, Lilith, known as a powerful and independent female. Lilith created from the same dirt Adam was made from considered herself to be equal to him but Adam disagreed. Yet, troubles began as Lilith was not happy with Adam being more dominate to what is told “in their sex life because she would always be underneath him”. Arguments continued to arise so Lilith left the Garden of Eden. Adam called upon his creator and complained that he has been abandoned, so “the creator” sends 3 angels to convince Lilith to return. As this tale goes she was seen on the shores of The Red Sea giving birth to hundreds of baby demons.

Meanwhile, Eve was created since Lilith’s relationship with Adam did not work out. Eve was created from Adam’s rib: “This one is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh,” said the man (4). It is said that this is done with the hope that this will “bind her more dutifully to him”. Robert S. Kawashima wrote about Ph. Trible’s book, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality that Trible states that “the human” a.k.a Adam is not a man but an “earth creature”: no physical features are specified apart from the reference to nostrils (46). Hence, this earth creature is not male and is so far sexually undifferentiated. Only when the creation of Eve is made then “from a part of the human’s body” is when the male emerges because now a rib or human part is specified. In other words, the new creature is female (Eve) and the old creature is “transformed to male” (47). Taking into consideration Trible’s theory it makes me think that maybe the Jewish folklore is not completely accurate if Adam was only an “earth creature”. Hence, what could have actually happened was that Lilith did feel dominated by him in other means and could have also been sexually frustrated since Adam is not sexually identified. Therefore, she independently chose for herself to leave the Garden of Eden. This may be why once she left the Garden of Eden she mated with Archangel Samuel, though it is debated since she was found giving birth to hundreds of demon offspring.

Analyzing what the author of The Book of J may be trying to say is that there is a punishment for what is thought to be a “crime. This is why when Yahweh realized of Hava and the man’s disobedience he had realized Hava and the man knew they were naked. Then Yahweh said to Hava that she would have "Pain increasing groans that spread into groans: having children will be labor. To man's body your belly will rise, for he will be eager above you"(8). Hard and heavy labor just was not enough because now she is also ruled by her husband. Hava is a great example of the imperfect nature of not just woman but human beings in general because we desire to be in control. Now Hava ate out of curiosity and desired to gain wisdom out of the tree of knowing good and evil, which made her more dominate in the moment than the man. Yet, one of the many results in tasting the fruit is her husband shall rule over her. Yet, one of the many results in tasting the fruit is her husband shall rule over her. Therefore, as a punishment she lost her dominance or "equality" to man by food and had an unwanted surprise.

Through all these examples from Like Water for Chocolate, The Odyssey, and The Book of J, we can quickly tell that food is an essential tool that characters use to obtain authority. By being in control through food it makes tasks and responsibilities of both male and female more possible. Tita, Odysseus, Circe, and Hava all used food and their gender qualities to stay in control. However, these gender qualities always came with a twist: Odysseus was strong in the mind rather than relying on his strength, Circe was a goddess yet she wanted to prove herself as a woman, and Hava let her own mind and desire guide her. The reasons on why they used food as their control is simply that both female and male want things to go their way. That is why food comes so handy in literature, because these characters can easily be differentiated by their gender but both effortlessly took food and made it a domain of obtaining control.


Works Cited:
The Book of J. Trans. David Rosenberg. ED. Harold Bloom. New York: Grove, 1990.
Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. New York: Double Day, 1989.
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. George Herbert Palmer. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1921. Print.
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Stanley Lombardo. Indiana: Hacket Publishing, 2000
Kawashima, Robert S. "A revisionist reading revisited: On the creation of Adam and then Eve." Vetus Testamentum 56.1 (2006): 46-57.
Newton, Rick M. "Assembly and Hospitality in the Cyclôpeia." College Literature 35.4 (2008): 1-44.
Osherow, Michele. "The dawn of a new Lilith: Revisionary mythmaking in women's science fiction." NWSA Journal 12.1 (2000): 68-83
Zubiaurre, Maite. "Culinary Eros in Contemporary Hispanic Female Fiction: From Kitchen Tales to Table Narratives." College Literature 33.3 (2006): 29-51