They are both domineering. They are both oppressive. They are both despotic. Esteban Trueba, in Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits, and Mama Elena, in Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate, are two very similar authoritarian characters in their nature and function in much the same manner. Allende's patriarch and Esquivel's matriarch assist in the development of other characters through their interactions with these characters and the response each character has to living in …showed first 75 words of 1049 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1049 total…cannot disobey her mother in front of her and always goes back to calling her mother “Mami” when she has annoyed her. Mama Elena never changes in her nature as does Esteban and she dies, and later disappears still mean and controlling as usual. Works Cited Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. Trans. Magda Bogin. New York: Bantam Books, 1982. Esquival, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. Trans. Carol and Thomas Christensen. New York: DoubleDay Publishing, 1989.