Abundant crying is an expression of a full heart, and is associated with the power and richness of female emotions. Tita’s tears have supernatural power, even before she is born. From the womb, she cries while her mother chops onions and causes her to go into labor. Her tears continue until the floor is flooded. As she grows up in the kitchen, she frequently cries, especially while chopping onions. This makes her and Nacha laugh, causing Tita to see tears and laughter as one and the same. Mama Elena, the novel’s cold-hearted antagonist, forbids crying. Tita doesn’t cry often as an adult, as Mama Elena forbids it. This may explain why Tita’s joyous tears run down the stairs of John’s house when Chencha comes to visit her.
Crying/ Tears Quotes in Like Water for Chocolate
Sometimes she would cry for no reason at all, like when Nacha chopped onions, but since they both knew the cause of those tears, they didn’t pay them much mind. They made them a source of entertainment, so that during her childhood Tita didn’t distinguish between tears of laughter and tears of sorrow. For her laughter was a form of crying. Likewise for Tita the joy of living was wrapped up in the delights of food.
The baby’s cries filled all the empty space in Tita’s heart. She realized that she was feeling a new love; for life, for this child, for Pedro, even for the sister she had despised for so long. She took the child in her hands, carried him to Rosaura, and they wept together for a long while, holding the child.
Crying/ Tears Symbol Timeline in Like Water for Chocolate
