Coldness, in contrast with fire, represents the condition of the spirit without love. When Tita feels cold, it is always because she is feeling desolate and hopeless. Often, she feels cold when she has lost the opportunity to pursue her feelings for Pedro. When Mama Elena first offers Rosaura to Pedro, Tita is overcome with an unshakeable inner chill that no quantity of woolen blankets can warm. When Pedro dies after all of his inner matches are lit with fire, Tita knows she will never find another love to light her own inner matches, and she begins to feel cold overtake her.
Coldness/ Chills Quotes in Like Water for Chocolate
The Like Water for Chocolate quotes below all refer to the symbol of Coldness/ Chills. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Anchor Books edition of Like Water for Chocolate published in 1995.
Chapter 1: January
Quotes
Not that night, nor many others, for as long as she lived, could she free herself from that cold.
Related Characters:
The Narrator (speaker), Tita de la Garza
Related Symbols:
Coldness/ Chills, Tita’s Bedspread
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Coldness/ Chills Symbol Timeline in Like Water for Chocolate
The timeline below shows where the symbol Coldness/ Chills appears in Like Water for Chocolate. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: January – “Christmas Rolls.”
...Mama Elena comes to announce that Pedro has agreed to marry Rosaura. Tita feels a cold chill fill her body. Nacha tells Tita that she overheard Don Pascual questioning Pedro’s choice,...
(full context)
...brings her comfort – and curl up with cloaks and robes, but her hunger and cold are insatiable. She stays awake weeping and crocheting the wedding bedspread she had begun when...
(full context)
Chapter 3: March – “Quail in Rose Petal Sauce”
...will travel back through the stars to warm her, but she is left only with chills.
(full context)
Chapter 6: June – “A Recipe for Making Matches”
...at once, the explosion creates a bright tunnel that carries the soul away. People with cold breath can kill the flame. Tita cries, and John wipes her tears. Tita then realizes...
(full context)
Chapter 9: September – “Chocolate and Three Kings’ Day Bread”
As she prepares the hot chocolate and bread, Tita feels a cold wind, and Mama Elena’s ghost appears before her. She says that Tita has “forgotten all...
(full context)
Chapter 12: December: “Chiles in Walnut Sauce.”
...disappears. She then realizes that Pedro is dead, and assumes that he entered the tunnel. Cold, she finds a box of candles and begins to eat them, concentrating on recalling moments...
(full context)