Teaching ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ by Laura Esquivel often evoked discussions on rigid societal structures. Tita, the protagonist, struggles under her mother’s oppressive rules and restrictions, and the only outlet she finds to express her emotions is through cooking. While often seen as an unfortunate victim of her oppressive cultural traditions, one student pointed out that Tita actually embodies resilience and rebellion. Her subtle defiance through cooking throughout the story, showed how she found ways to assert her independence within the confines of her society, subverting its rigid structures in her own way. This to me was a nuanced idea of feminism that diverged from typical interpretations of the text.