Foreign Literature Studies ›› 2017, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (4): 161-167.

• Criticism and Studies of Criticism • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Construction of Subjectivity in Subaltern Female in Like Water for Chocolate

Zhang Qinyuan   

  • Online:2017-08-25 Published:2022-06-15
  • About author:Zhang Qinyuan, Ph.D. candidate in Literature, is lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Shandong University (Ji'nan 250100, China). Her interests lie in Latin American literature & Spanish literature. Email: qinyuan@sdu.edu.cn

Abstract: Like Water for Chocolate, the representative work of the Mexican woman writer Laura Esquivel, represented the Mexican women's diverse life experiences during the Mexican Revolution by taking into consideration the diversity of the subaltern women in terms of race, class and gender, etc. Through reflecting in the novel how the patriarchal culture as well as the ethnic culture simultaneously depressed and manipulated women's life, Laura Esquivel manifested her concern for the construction of the underprivileged women's subjectivity. And by centering the novel in the women protagonists' sensibilities and setting the kitchen as the main spatial scene of the novel, the author also managed to subvert the logocentric spatial order while revealing women's perception of house space. Other features of the novel include the usage of local foods as metaphors for the women protagonists' various life circumstances, the application of the magical realism in using foods as symbols to express women's sensibilities and inner voices, which eventually deconstructed the patriarchal culture, and the usage of the Indian recipe, as an aid to record female experiences and to construct the female historical genealogy beyond the gaps between different races and classes.

Key words: Like Water for Chocolate, subaltern, female's subjectivity

Journal Integrated Operation and Management Platform with Network JMPN-2.0
Journal Integrated Operation and Management Platform with Network

《Foreign Literature Studies》editorial department
Foreign Literature Studies, 152 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. To subscribe to this journal or purchase any single issue, please contact us at wwyj@mail.ccnu.edu.cn. Phone: (86) 2767866042.
Copyright © 2021   System Management
Statistical information:total visitors Online