Like Water for Chocolate has a variety of erotic components, which are defined as aspects in the literature that arouse sexual feelings in the reader. An academic reading of Like Water for Chocolate would question whether these components add any literary value. A formalist critique would focus on how effectively erotic components develop themes, character and plot. A feminist critique would question how erotic descriptions of women affect how the reader views them. Finally, one must not exclude the possibility that the erotic components do not add any literary value; perhaps their presence only influences a pointless prurient reading for the enjoyment of the reader. The title Like Water for Chocolate, a translated Mexican expression, implies “sexual arousal,” while the Mexican proverb on page 1, “To the table or to bed/You must come when you are bid” introduces the themes of food and sex. These sexual connotations immediately orient the reader with Esquivel’s comfort with writing about sex. Through the book, Esquivel describes love, lust, sexual arousal, nudity, sex etc. One example of nudity is the use of breast imagery.
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