Like Water for Chocolate

[mhamley]

In what way do you think chapter 1 of Like Water for Chocolate sets up the use of magical realism?
What other symbolic aspects of chapter 1 seem like they will be important for the rest of the novel?

[tymper]

This entire novel is so weird! But I really like how the magical realism mixes in with the actual story; it definitely adds to it. The way that the other just throws random things into the text kind of surprises me for the moment, but then she just goes on. I like this style of writing because it doesn’t dwell on a certain topic for too long, it just states the “fact” and moves on. This is very unlike other books we’ve read, like Heart of Darkness. In that book, Conrad would spend pages and pages describing one thing. In contrast, Esquirel just says it and moves on, and I as a reader accept it. Magical realism is a good excuse to not have to explain everything.
I think that a major aspect of magical realism in this novel was the arrival of the ghosts and spirits. There were three main ones- Mama Elena, Nacha, and Morning Light (John Brown’s dead grandmother). The significance of these characters were that they were all maternal figures. Mama Elena was Tita’s actual mother, Nacha was the woman that taught her how to cook, and Morning Light reminded Tita of Nacha, and was a motherly figure for John Brown. Nacha and Mama Elena had two totally opposite personalities, and both brought up Tita with their own ways. Mama Elena was really mean and rude towards Tita, while Nacha provided love and support. It is ironic that the two were the ones that came back as spirits into Tita’s life. The conflicting characters might have been fighting, even in the afterlife, to have a hold over Tita. Nacha always showed up when Tita needed her to help with cooking, and also was the one that decorated the room for Tita and Pedro’s final love making session. Mama Elena, however, haunted Tita even after she was dead. She still tried to make her life terrible, and she still tried to keep her and Pedro apart. Even when Tita was pregnant, Mama Elena said and did all that she could to make Tita’s life horrible. Even when Tita said she hated her, Mama Elena used her last bit of spirit to hurt Pedro as an attempt to keep the two lovers apart. This showed how the oppressive nature of Tita’s biological mother stayed with her all throughout her life and beyond.
At the conclusion of the novel, Tita also became a spirit when she found the light at the end of the tunnel. This symbolized Tita’s freedom from the materialistic world around her. It signaled the beginning of an afterlife that would be with Pedro, free of all the eyes watching them.
“Little by little her vision began to brighten until the tunnel again appeared before her eyes. There at its entrance was the luminous figure of Pedro waiting for her. Tita did not hesitate. She let herself go to the encounter, and they wrapped each other in a long embrace; again experiencing an amorous climas, they left together for the lost Eden. Never again would they be apart” ( Esquirel 245).

[pink591]

Throughout the entire novel, magical realism has played an important role, but the hard part for the reader, I thought, was actually understanding that all of the things she said were under the category of magical realism and that they were actually happening. For example, when Tita was serving Pedro's family the feeling that came over is explained as "the heat that invaded her body was so real she was afraid she would start to bubble" (Esquirel 16). This was actually how she felt, and this could have acutally happened. At first, the reader might think that this is used as a metaphor, but it is actually magical realism.
In chapter two, when Mama Elena decided that Pedro would get married to Rosaura, although Tita was never able to show her true emotion in front of everyone, "when she looked at Rosaura, who was writing out some invitations, she saw only a snowy ghost" (Esquirel 35). This was because, even though she did not say this out loud, but her own sister was marrying the man that she loved. She was kind of in a confusing situation because she could not say anything because of her mom's authority of making any and all decisions. Mama Elena's words would be the LAST words. Furthermore, when Tita kept all of these emotions locked up in herself, this is what reflected as the picture of Rosaura when she looked at her.
In chapter three, magical realism is seen after Gertrudis eats the quail in rose petal sauce. When she goes to take a shower, she feels that "her body was giving off so much heat that the wooden walls began to split and burst into flame" (Esquirel 54). Because everytime Tita cooks a food and her emotions are nestled in it, anyone who eats the food she cooks, reacts in that manner. This is what is shown here. The roses that Tita put into the quail were from Pedro which included her feelings in it along with the blood that had slipped into the quail. All of this combined is reflected in Gertrudis's reaction.
In chapter four, magical realism occurs after Rosaura's son had been born. He needed mother's milk, which Rosaura was not able to provide; when Tita attempted, her attempt came out successful! She was able to feed Rosaura's son and calm him down. She was able to extraordinarily provide him with milk. This was important because magically his mother was not able to do it, yet Tita, who was not even supposed to have this ability within her, had this within her!
In chapter five, Tita became overcome with grief because the one thing she loved dearly in life had been taken away from her, Roberto. She was so sad that "the milk in her breasts had dried up overnight from the pain of her separation from her nephew" (Esquirel 93). Roberto had become an essential part of her life because with time, she basically became his mother. She was the one who took care of him, fed him, and attended to his every needs. So, when such a huge part of her life was taken away from her, she was caused a lot of pain, and this was understood. To anybody, if such grief was to occur in their lives, this would effect them in a tremendous way.
In chapter six, when Tita is sent away from her home, she feels as if "she could do anything or become anything" (Esquirel 109). Her feelings were described as "seeing her hands no longer at her mother's command, she didn't know what to ask them to do, she had never decided for herself before...She would like them to carry her far away..." (Esquirel 109). This portrays that she finally reveals that the authority her mother displayed on her was too much for her and she yearned to finally be free of her mother and her authoritarian rule. She wanted to be a free bird, free to fly where ever she wanted.
These are a few of the exerpts from the reading that I observed to either be important or contain magical realism.

[BABi 0G]

I believe magical realism is an important element of Like Water for Chocolate in the way that it gives the book a fantasy-like twist, making it very interesting and engaging. The magical realism used in this book convey to the readers the thought that anything is possible. Yet, the ideas in the book do not seem as far-fetched as they are because the book still has the reality aspects, but intertwines the two together. Magical realism is constantly used in order to express Tita’s emotions, which are then revealed through food. The use of magical realism in this way, incorporating food, which is universal to all people, allows Tita's emotions and struggle to take on a more physical concrete form. Some examples of these are her feelings of despair and hurt over her lost love which is transferred to the wedding guests through by her tears that fell into the cake and also her passionate feelings when preparing the quail with roses. The bizarre events that occur emphasize the points that Esquivel is trying to make to the readers. These instances, because they are strange, are more impressionable on the reader, and in a way, allow the reader to connect to the character or emotion on a personal level. Ex: if i was forced to cook for the my sister's wedding to the love of my life, I would definitely be crying my eyes out, and I know my emotions will probably negatively effect other people like my sister or family. Esquivel just pushes it to the next level not only does Tita's attitude affect some, it affects all through the wedding cake. So ultimately, although aspects of certain events that occur throughout the book have magical aspects, they are also very realistic.

[hp 4ever!]

Well, this is off topic...yet, I really do enjoy her use of symbolism. It seems to me that the imagery in this text is used as symbolic means of either communication amongst Pedro and Tita, or to the readers. The beauty in Esquivel's imagery is that she utilizes the sense of smell and the sense of vision. We've already discussed the sense of smell and its symbolic meaning (communication between Pedro and Tita). Yet, I really enjoy her use of color symbolism in chapter 2.


Particularly, I am referring to the color symbolism of the color white. On page 34, Tita describes the color of white and how she was afraid of it. Later in her description, she affiliates whiteness to marriage and the church. So, I think that the color of white could represent her fear of being empty without the love of Pedro. This seemed to make sense to me because Tita loves to mix things together because she is cook (used to seeing color and mixing them to get new colors). Yet, later she could not even sense that the pink color was made in the frosting: “Nacha realized something was wrong with Tita when she asked if Nacha was going to add the red food color to the icing” (Esquivel 35). Even though the icing was already pink, Tita could not notice that because she could only see white due to the void she felt (she was blinded by the whiteness). Not even cooking could help her. Yet, the white seemed to represent purity as well because later on, Rosaura’s white wedding dress becomes stained with puke. In a sense, I found this extremely fitting for I felt that it was exactly how we were supposed to feel towards Rosaura and Tita. Rosaura was supposed to be the stained character in the reader’s eyes, and Tita was supposed to be the pure and chaste character that we all at least sympathized with since we are getting Tita’s perspective (means of communicating to readers). It could be foreshadowing the fact that Rosaura later loses her virginity, which she does. Perhaps by using the color white to represent purity and emptiness (since Tita is not wearing the wedding dress nor is the cake for her…but she’s seeing this whiteness in Rosaura’s marriage to her lover), which is what it traditionally represents, Esquivel was demonstrating the traditional customs that Tita was being forced to adhere to (she was blinded by it but perhaps later she escapes…).


In relation to magical realism, I think her imagery in relation to symbolism is quite intriguing because it stresses the carnivalesque aspect of magical realism. I feel like though that the imagery serves as a recipe that portrays Tita and her strong relationship with Pedro.

[mzmarymack]

Did you guys find it weird that Mama Elena's lover's name is Trevino and so is Gertrudis's wannabe lover, Sergeant Trevino? I wonder what the significance behind that was.

Also, going with names, De la Garza, the family's surname, means "of the heron"
I looked up symbolism concerning the heron and found this as it relates to NAmericans (the closest I could get to Mexico):

Most Native American tribes took note of the heron’s inquisitiveness, curiosity and determination. As such this set the heron as a symbol of wisdom in that this creature seemed to have good judgement skills.

Specifically, the Iroquois tribe held the blue heron as a very good omen, a very lucky sign. They recongnized the heron as an expert fisher/hunter. As such, they believed that sighting a heron before a hunt was a sign that the hunt would be a good one.

As a water creature the heron is also a symbol of going with the flow, and working with the elements of Mother nature rather than struggling against her.

The heron is a beautiful creature, exhibiting grace, and noble stature. It’s no wonder the Native Indians and ancients honored the heron throughout the centuries.
http://www.symbolic-meanings.com/2007/10/08/symbolism-of-the-heron/

I wonder how Esquivel is trying to play the name out here... Any argument one could make can be easily refuted because in the De la Garza family, you have Tita on one hand who exemplifies "inquisitiveness, curiosity and determination" but what about Mama Elena and Rosaura? And Gertrudis... hmm what do you think?

[nickname0811]

I want to talk about the symbolism of egg and how it is related. Basically, a lot of food required eggs as one of ingredients. I did some kind of research of symbolism of eggs. And here are the lists

1) The roundness of an egg resembles the earth and the life
Even though Tita's life wasn't really solid like a circular shape of an egg. Tita was definitely connected to the egg, since she was a cook, and egg is one of the basic ingredients. So I thought about it. Since she was a cook, she is treating eggs, which means she is treating and taking care of her life. Even though she seemed to have a miserable life for awhile, she was finally able to free herself. So her own egg became having a better shape just like her life.

2) The God
When you think about an egg, Easter is the probably first thing that you can think of. So since Easter is a day of celebrating resurrection of the God, and an egg is used to celebrate his rebirth. I thought there is a significant fact that even the God supports Tita. Because when she was preparing Rosaura's wedding cakes, which 170 eggs were used, her tears got into the food. Her cake turned out disaster to the people and they vomited. As what I said, the God is an egg. Since 170 eggs were used, which means the power of God was maximized, the food was able to turn out as whatever the God was believed into. And it definitely shows the God was on Tita's side.

3) Fertility
Since Tita broke so many eggs for Rosaura's wedding, it foreshadowed that Rosaura was unlucky to have a baby. basically the eggs for Rosaura's were broken, when Tita was preparing a cake for her. It shows through Roberto who was born with perfectly fine but died pretty soon. He was not supposed to be born considering the fact that Tita and Pedro still loved each other.

[speakup]

*Note: Because I am making up for an absence, I am probably digressing a bit from the previous post. Lo Siento!

I thoroughly enjoyed Esquivel's usage of magical realism in her novel. I loved how Esquivel interwove magical realism with the recipes of the novel, and how Tita's cooking essentially became her outlet for her emotions, because she was so oppressed by Mama Elena. I also think that Esquivel's novel is easily one that you (please excuse the usage of second person, but I figure since this forum is fairly informal, and is akin to a class discussion that it would not be deemed inappropriate-- plus I couldn't think of a good way to say it without using it) can literally lose yourself in. The world she creates through her magical realism is believable, and yet literally anything can happen. I think this suspense greatly adds to the story-telling aspect of the novel.
Even though the novel is fairly straightforward in most of its uses of symbols, I especially loved the Esquivel's usage of matches to convey the theme of the interconnectedness of passion and life in the novel. The fact that Esquivel portrays life as something that is truly not worth living without passion speaks to me as a person. I loved her symbolical use of the matches to represent the passion of life. The symbol of the matches can appear pretty obvious when first reading about it, but I think it has many facets to it. Throughout the novel, heat and burning represents life and passion. When Tita first feels Pedro’s eyes on her skin and met his gaze, she says that it was then she understood “how dough feels when it is plunged into boiling oil” (Esquivel 14). However, when Tita finds out the arrangement that Mama Elena has made between Rosaura and Pedro, “she realized that the hollow sensation was not hunger by an icy feeling of grief” (Esquivel 17). As soon as she feels this, she begins to weave her bedspread in order to stave off the cold, but it didn’t help: “not that night, nor many others, for as long as she lived, could she free herself from that cold” (Esquivel 18). And this statement, even without referencing the matches, immediately sets up the ending to Esquivel’s novel and explains why Tita and Pedro have to die in fire! The matches in the novel also represents the fire we have within, and how it can be expressed in so many different manners: for Tita, it was through cooking, for Getrudis, it was through her living in a brothel for some time, but then by becomimg a soldadera of the revolution. I also like the aspect that the matches in one’s bones need someone to light them and keep them alive. For Tita, the ideal person for this job is Pedro, but her matches are also fed through her relationships with John Brown and Getrudis. But ultimately, it is Pedro who ignites them on fire when they reach their climax of lovemaking at the end. Some of my classmates were quick to point out that Pedro only wanted one thing: sex. But I think there is much more to Tita and Pedro’s physical relationship than just physical satisfaction; they obviously need each other to keep their matches burning and keep their hearts beating.

[mummu:)]

Check other link. (Sorry, I do not know how to delete).

[captlillyhook]

Mummu, I'm quite interested in your bit about New Year's. If you glance back at this, could you elaborate on why you find it ironic?

Personally, I find the fact that it takes place at New Year's quite straightforward and not exactly ironic. The closing of the story fits perfectly with the idea of a new year. Nora leaves on New Year's to start over again, and New Year's is a chance for everyone to start anew. In fact, her declarations to Torvald are almost reminiscent of a New Year's Resolution. I think New Year's is the absolute ideal setting for the novel.

[captlillyhook]

I really appreciate your post Mummu because it has helped me make my own! The clothes also interested me in the play.

I agree that the clothes further the image of Nora being a doll played with by a controlling husband. I mean, her husband even orders her costume for a party. I think it's fascinating that it arrives tattered; it as almost like it has been played with too roughly by a child, possibly shaken about and ripped because of rough overuse. Torvald at times reminds me of that creepy boy in Toy Story who plays a bit to rough with his toys; while he is not violent with Nora, he uses her as a doll and does whatever he wishes with her. Perhaps if she stayed with him long enough, he might have gotten a bit nastier; his nasty side is hinted to when Nora mentions that he did not tolerate her old friends.

I also find her shawl very interesting and might use it in my World Lit. Paper. For a play with such few props, ones that are noted more than once are most likely important. It even is mentioned being used in actions in a play that involves very little stage direction. Nora seems to shield herself with the simple shawl. It is one of the few things that she takes out of the house with her. The shawl has done a better job of protecting her than her over-bearing husband.

[captlillyhook]

Okay, this will be my final post for the day...and this one is of my own inspiration.

Krogstad. What a character. Ask anyone and they'll tell you that I'm pretty quick to defend most villians in novels. I am the girl in English who likes the characters that everyone hates...and I'm quite sure that this general rule applies to A Doll House as well.

At first I was rather disgusted by Krogstad. He is a very slimy character that is a bit difficult to swallow, somewhat like cough medicine. Then as the play progressed, little bits of information were given about him. Turns out that Krogstad isn't too much different than Nora, the heroine. We see his sins first hand unlike with Nora whose "sins" we just hear about in her conversations. However, both characters have the same motivation - their family. I think it's unfair to hate Krogstad when he is just doing what he has to to helps his kids. He's desperate and does some not so nice things...however, the same goes for Nora. She lies and manipulates, and, in the end, she leaves her family. True, I made that sound a whole lot worse than the play does, but it does need to be noted that she does those things.

Does anyone else have comments about Krogstad?

[rachmaninoff]

I noticed that the use of eggs is introduced this chapter. I thought it was interesting how the one food Tita didn't like was soft-boiled eggs. Like Offred in The Handmaid's Tale, eggs symbolize the fertility that Tita so desperately wants but can't have because of the law that says that the youngest daughter can't marry so she can care for her mother. "A fit of trembling shook Tita's body and she broke out in goose bumps when each new egg was broken" (Esquivel 26). The fact that Mama Elena doesn't do anything to support or comfort Tita contributes to Tita's thematic, internal struggle for self control and power of her life.

I also thought that the part on pages 33-34, where Tita sees everything in white, is symbolic of her numbness and helplessness of her situation. She despises Mama Elena for marrying Rosaura to Pedro. Tita never got along with Rosaura in the first place, but the tensions between the two sisters increase as the wedding approaches. I saw Nacha as both Tita's mother figure and possibly Tita in the future (Esquivel 36). After seeing Tita cry over her loss of Pedro, Nacha breaks down and reflects on her own life, which lacked children, marriage, or a wedding. The closest she can get to these things was to enjoy other people's weddings, prepare the food, and raise Tita. It's also ironic how Tita wants to switch places with Nacha, who suffers from the exact same loneliness and helplessness Tita experiences.

Tita's sadness leads to the most interesting part of the chapter for me: the mass crying and vomiting of the wedding. This example of magical realism really shows how this marriage isn't meant to be and how Tita becomes one with her food. It's like whatever emotion Tita feels when she cooks the food is later experienced by whoever eats the food. Tita's tears and sorrow over Pedro results in everyone else at the wedding crying and vomiting. And the best part...Rosaura falling down in a river of vomit. :sick: What goes around comes around.

[rachmaninoff]

Let me start off by saying that Nacha's death was so sad. :bawling:

On page 49, Tita views herself as a weak quail, "Mama Elena was merciless, killing with a single blow. But then again not always. For Tita she had made an exception; she had been killing her a little at a time since she was a child, and she still hadn't quite finished her off. Pedro and Rosaura's marriage had let Tita broken in both heart and mind, like a quail". This relates to the theme of striving for power and shows how, like Tita and the quail, Mama Elena determines every single action of Tita's life everyday, leaving Tita no freedom whatsoever.

I also thought Rosaura's burnt meal on page 50 is significant. Food symbolizes unity because it is one of the few things that unites all living things. Everyone has to eat. The fact that Rosaura burns the food symbolizes both the disunity and dysfuntion of the family and a potentially failing marriage that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Again, Tita's delicious food has emotional effects. Because of Tita's sexual desire for Pedro, both Pedro and Gertrudis are aroused. "With that meal it seemed they had discovered a new system of communication, in which Tita was the transmitter, Pedro the receiver, and poor Gertrudis the medium, the conducting body through which the singular sexual message was passed" (Esquivel 52). So about Gertrudis, that was just weird magical realism. The pink cloud that smelled like roses definitely symbolized love between Gertrudis and Juan. Not quite sure why Gertrudis ended up working as a prostitute if she was in love, but at least she's free from the iron grip of her mother. This whole episode causes Pedro and Tita to cry because they see the pleasures of true love that they were both denied. The quail symbolizes Gertrudis' "flying away" from her oppressive mother and into the arms of a man, while it could also symbolize Tita's heart and soul "flying away" to Pedro, someone she can't have.

[rachmaninoff]

I thought it was ironic how baby Roberto actually brought Tita and Pedro together instead of separating them. One would assume that if two people have a child together, they would come together to take care of the baby. However, Rosaura is extremely ill, and Tita leaps at the chance to raise a child herself and spend time with Pedro. Roberto is the joy, love (in terms of caring for him), and excitement of Tita's life. I'm not totally sure if this is an example of magical realism when Tita discovers she has the ability to breastfeed baby Roberto, but Tita definitely forms a bond between Roberto and gets a lot closer to Pedro when he sees her bare chest. "At this moment, Tita looked like Ceres herself, goddess of plenty" (Esquivel 76). Pedro is still madly in love with Tita, and the more he sees of her, the more he wants her. For once, Tita puts her differences with Rosaura aside and loves her nephew. Everyone seems to be in a good mood until Mama Elena decides to send Rosaura and her family to San Antonio. Of course, Mama Elena has to ruin Tita's life in some way, shape, or form.

[rachmaninoff]

On page 92, the absense of doves symbolizes Tita's loss of dreams and, maybe, her incapability of leaving Mama Elena since Pedro and his family moved to San Antonio. However, Tita finds a spared newborn pigeon, which she begins to love like a child. This pigeon represents Roberto, "It didn't compare with the satisfaction derived from nursing a human being, but in some way it was familiar" (Esquivel 93). Shortly after Tita finds out Roberto is dead, the baby pigeon dies too, leaving Tita nothing to cherish and love as her own. Adding insult to injury, Mama Elena thinks Tita has gone crazy and has her sent to an asylum. Tita leaves the ranch in a carriage with Dr. Brown with her colorful bedspread trailing behind. The bedspread symbolizes the life Tita wishes she had with Pedro. This could be a stretch, but to me, the bedspread had the opposite effects of Joseph's coat of many colors (from the Bible). The coat was a gift of love from Joseph's father, and his brothers got mad because they thought their father favored Joseph over them. In Tita's situation, she makes the bedspread herself as she mourns at night, while Mama Elena only seems to find fault with Tita. Tita is jealous of her sisters because they can marry and leave home, while she has to take care of her mother. The bedspread is one of a few things that Tita can say is truly hers.

Changing the subject, "the dark room" symbolizes the dark feelings between Tita and Mama Elena and a forced, unhappy mother-daughter time. Tita wants to control her own life and marry Pedro, while Mama Elena won't tolerate any nonsense and defiance of the rules. Because these two characters will always butt heads, there won't be any light shed on the relationship any time soon.

[JuniperWoolf]

Weird.

[asdf99]

"As you can see, within our bodies each of s has the elements needed to produce phosphorous. An let me tell you something I've never told a soul. My grandmother has a very interesting theory, she said that each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves, just as in the experiment, we need oxygen and a candle to help." (115)
This passage symbolizes the formation of a relationship between Tita and John Brown throughout the novel. John believes that she has so much potential, and tries to give her to tools to uncover it. When she goes crazy after being oppressed for Mama Elena for years, he gives her a better life, and shows her that there is always hope for something better. Later in the novel, John hands Tita a box of matches: "That afternoon, when Tita was trying to light the oven....after lighting the fire, he presented her with a box of matches" (231). This shows the progression of their love and interconnects them in a new way. It shows that through Tita trusting John Brown, he has helped her strike that box of matches inside of her, giving her a much better life.

[VintagaGirl]

Going along with the presence of light in Tita and Pedro's love, there is also the instance in chapter 8 in which there are some literal fireworks between the two.
"...She [Rosaura] saw a strange glow coming from the dark room. Plumes of phosphorescent colors were ascending to the sky like delicate Bengal lights."
(Because I had to look up the definition of a Bengal light, just thought i'd mention that according to an online dictionary, Bengal lights are blue lights once used for signalling but now are used for fireworks. :) )
Later on Chencha sees these lights and thinks that they are a message from Mama Elena's ghost. " 'What else can it be, can't you see it's a ghost of the dead!' " (Both passages on page 159)
The presence of these lights is magical realism, of course, but it is also symbolic. There are actually quite a few connections between the plot and the definition of Bengal lights: For example, the simple fact that they are the color blue. Blue can symbolize a lot of different things, like coldness and sadness (Mama Elena's Ghost) but also peace and freedom (Tita and Pedro's...episode). Also, the purpose of the lights is also symbolic. Once, the lights were used as a signal, which is how Chencha interpreted the lights. However, they are more modernly used as fireworks, which, as we know, is what really happened.

[VintagaGirl]

Another important symbol throughout the novel is the occurance of deafness in some of the characters, namely Nacha and John's Aunt Mary. In the first chapter, it is mentioned that "the deaf can't hear but can understand." (15) For Nacha, this was definitely the case: many times throughout Tita's life, Nacha has shown a true understanding of Tita's feelings and dilemmas with her mother. However, John's Aunt Mary seems to have difficulty understanding the truth about John and Tita's relationship: When Tita starts crying because she is unsure of her love for John, Aunt Mary misunderstands completely. " 'How wonderful to see a woman in love weeping with emotion. I did the same many times when I was about to get married.' " (223) Aunt Mary completely misinterprets Tita's tears, in contrast to Nacha's endless understanding. This further emphasises the differences between John and Tita and foreshadows the fact that they will not get married.