she is worried about her. Another proof that Tita is a caring person is that she is willing to take care of her nephew Roberto, who is the son of her lover Pedro and
her sister Rosaura. Her care toward Roberto shows that as an aunt with a mother’s
role, Tita is a really caring person. As a daughter, she still cares about her mother. She is willing to come
back home and serves the needs of her mother although she knows that comes back home means being oppressed again. When her mother died, she cried for her
because she revealed the secret of her mother’s feeling which was full of sorrow. Besides being a skillful and caring woman, in the beginning of the story
Tita is described as an obedient girl yet, in the middle of the story there is the death of her nephew, Roberto, which changes her reaction toward the patriarchal
practices. Therefore, the researcher divides Tita’s characteristics into two periods,
the first period is before Roberto’s death and the second period is after Roberto’s
death.
1. The Description of Tita De la Garza in the First Period
Tita is the last daughter of De la Garza family, her sisters are Rosaura and Gertrudis. Her father died when she was a child, then her mother Mama Elena
takes the responsibility of the family. All of the people in the ranch obey Mama Elena’s commands. Since her childhood, Tita was brought up in the kitchen by the
ranch cook, Nacha. Therefore, Tita knows well how to cook, and she becomes the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
cook of the family. In her family, there is a family tradition which bans the last daughter of the family to get married and she should take care of her mother until
her mother died. The descriptions of Tita are discussed further in the following explanation.Those descriptions show the qualities of Tita as a daughter, woman,
and aunt. The description of Tita is based on the theories of Abrams and Murphy. Tita De la Garza is described as an obedient daughter. As a daughter, Tita
is expected to follow Mama Elena’s command. Mama Elena in the novel is depicted as an authoritative, independent, and strict mother. Her three daughters:
Rosaura, Gertrudis, and Tita always do what their mother says. None of them dares to protest her. Since their childhood, Tita and her sisters live with obedience
to her mother’s commands, as seen below: Then Mama Elena would say: Thats it for today. For a good listener, it
is said, a single word will suffice, so when they heard that, they all sprang into action. First they had to clear the table, then they had to assign tasks:
one collected the chickens, another drew water for breakfast from the well, a third was in charge of wood for the stove. There would be no
ironing, no embroidery, no sewing that day. When it was all finished, they went to their bedrooms to read, saytheir prayers, and go to sleep
Esquivel, 1989: 10.
Only with saying “That’s it for today”, Mama Elena makes all the people in her house stopped doing anything. Those people will automatically tidy up the
stuffs and go to bed. When Mama Elena gives commands, all the people in the will directly do what she says. Even the action done by the people in the house is
systematically arranged, and no one, including Tita, dares to disobey the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
command. Just like her older sisters, Tita does what her mother says. She does not feel that the command is irritating. It proves that Tita is obedient towards her
mother’s commands. In De la Garza family there is a tradition which states that the last
daughter cannot get married. She should take care of her mother until her mother died. Tita, as the last daughter in the family is forbidden to get married and she
should take care of Mama Elena. Unfortunately, there is a man named Pedro who falls in love with Tita, and so does she. Finally, Pedro marries Tita’s sister Rosaura
but they still live in the same house with Tita. Mama Elena always warns Tita not to be near Pedro.
.. . Youll be sorry if I ever catch you around Pedro again.” After Mama
Elenas threats, Tita tried to keep as much distance as she could between herself and Pedro Esquivel: 1989: 39.
Tita’s effort to make a distance with Pedro shows that she is an obedient daughter
. She does not disobey her mother’s warning even though she wants to be with Pedro. Tita can do nothing but follows her mother
’s command. Another proof which shows Tita’s obedience is when she gets flowers
from Pedro. Mama Elena watches that moment and her presence makes Tita aware of what she should do to the flowers, as stated: “
With just a look Mama Elena sent Tita
away to get rid of the roses” Esquivel, 1989: 48. Tita’s awareness to hurriedly throw away the flowers shows her obedience to her
mother’s warning of her intimacy with Pedro.
Besides being obedience, Tita also cares to everyone but not all of them are grateful. Yet, Tita is patient enough to deal with those ungrateful people. As a
good daughter, Tita takes care of her mother’s needs patiently. In the ranch, Tita
has a duty to prepare her mother’s bathing which requires extra concern and patience.
Preparing Mama Elenas bath was quite a ceremony Esquivel, 1992: 93. …
She brushed Mama Elenas hair until it was thoroughly dry, braided it, and that completed the liturgy. Tita always thanked God that her mother
only bathed once a week, because otherwise her life would be a real cross to bear.
In Mama Elenas opinion… no matter how hard Tita tried she always got an infinite number of things wrong Esquivel, 1992: 94.
Tita is always patient to serve her mother ’s needs, even about her
mother’s bathing steps which are such a ceremony, she never complains. Although her mother complains about her service, Tita never gets angry or even
gives up serving her mother. She still manages to do all of her duty patiently.
2. The Description of Tita De la Garza in the Second Period
