First published in 1989 in Spanish and then in 1992 in English, Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate is one of the best known Mexican literary works in the United States. Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, Esquivel's novel has inspired great diversity of critical analysis among critics and scholars. Based on the author's comment regarding her intention to tell entertaining stories, critic Jay Corwin warns against the search for hidden layers to her work. Using as a framework Barthes's notion of the \"death of the author\" as well as cultural theory's argument that \"discourse writes through the author\", this work unfolds a diverse array of discourses, such as that of feminism, patriarchy, and parody, that liberate Like Water for Chocolate from the despotism of a single authority controlling the truth of the text and show that the readers are capable of intervening in the work's meaning.
","abstract_html":"<p>First published in 1989 in Spanish and then in 1992 in English, Laura Esquivel's <em>Like Water for Chocolate</em> is one of the best known Mexican literary works in the United States. Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, Esquivel's novel has inspired great diversity of critical analysis among critics and scholars. Based on the author's comment regarding her intention to tell entertaining stories, critic Jay Corwin warns against the search for hidden layers to her work. Using as a framework Barthes's notion of the "death of the author" as well as cultural theory's argument that "discourse writes through the author", this work unfolds a diverse array of discourses, such as that of feminism, patriarchy, and parody, that liberate <em>Like Water for Chocolate</em> from the despotism of a single authority controlling the truth of the text and show that the readers are capable of intervening in the work's meaning.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Marquez, Melanie Lucia"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MALS (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies)","degree_level":"Thesis - restricted","degree_discipline":"Liberal Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-05-05T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-05-05T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:31Z","subjects":["The Death of the Author","Discourse","Roland Barthes","Like Water for Chocolate","Arts and Humanities","Latin American Literature","Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1433","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Marquez, Melanie Lucia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2012-05-05T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Liberal Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MALS (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["The Death of the Author","Discourse","Roland Barthes","Like Water for Chocolate","Arts and Humanities","Latin American Literature","Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2626/viewcontent/MarquezM041112f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1433"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["First published in 1989 in Spanish and then in 1992 in English, Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate is one of the best known Mexican literary works in the United States. Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, Esquivel's novel has inspired great diversity of critical analysis among critics and scholars. Based on the author's comment regarding her intention to tell entertaining stories, critic Jay Corwin warns against the search for hidden layers to her work. Using as a framework Barthes's notion of the \"death of the author\" as well as cultural theory's argument that \"discourse writes through the author\", this work unfolds a diverse array of discourses, such as that of feminism, patriarchy, and parody, that liberate Like Water for Chocolate from the despotism of a single authority controlling the truth of the text and show that the readers are capable of intervening in the work's meaning.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Multiple Layers and Flavors: The “Death of the Author” in Like Water for Chocolate"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Marquez, Melanie Lucia"],"dc:date.issued":["2012-05-05T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["First published in 1989 in Spanish and then in 1992 in English, Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate is one of the best known Mexican literary works in the United States. Set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, Esquivel's novel has inspired great diversity of critical analysis among critics and scholars. Based on the author's comment regarding her intention to tell entertaining stories, critic Jay Corwin warns against the search for hidden layers to her work. Using as a framework Barthes's notion of the \"death of the author\" as well as cultural theory's argument that \"discourse writes through the author\", this work unfolds a diverse array of discourses, such as that of feminism, patriarchy, and parody, that liberate Like Water for Chocolate from the despotism of a single authority controlling the truth of the text and show that the readers are capable of intervening in the work's meaning.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2626/viewcontent/MarquezM041112f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1433"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["The Death of the Author","Discourse","Roland Barthes","Like Water for Chocolate","Arts and Humanities","Latin American Literature","Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["Multiple Layers and Flavors: The “Death of the Author” in Like Water for Chocolate"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Liberal Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - restricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MALS (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:31Z"}