A Henious Matrifocality: Transgenerational repression in Laura Esquivel's Like Water For Chocolate

Abstract

In the domestic landscape of early 20th century Mexico, the home was often seen as a sanctuary of maternal nurturance. However, in Laura Esquivel's novel Like Water for Chocolate, the De la Garza ranch functions less as a refuge and more as a site of psychological warfare. This research paper analyzes the character of Mama Elena in Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate within the framework of psychoanalytic feminism, specifically drawing upon Nancy Chodorow's The Reproduction of Mothering. Chodorow argues that mothering is not solely a biological role, but also a socio-psychological reproduction of gendered identity. This study argues that Mama Elena symbolizes the figure of the monstrous mother- a matriarchal figure who uses maternal