I got back home this week, and this is first opportunity for me to post on this blog, so I hope that no one else has posted on this subject, as I haven’t had time to read everything single post or comment. I apologize in advance for any clashes in subject.
When I first started the book, I found it confusing that the author (the great-niece or nephew of Tita) called her real mother Mama, and called her great-grandmother Mama Elena, and yet her great-grandfather “Tita’s father”. I got quite confused, as I thought the previous mentioned Mama (p. 1) was the same person as Mama Elena.
As I kept on reading, I realized that they’re completely different people. Then I started to wonder why everyone called Elena “Mama”. Her name is never seen without that title, even when called by people who are not her children at all (a good example is that even the child of Esperanza calls her Mama Elena). It almost seems to be a regular title of respect or fear, like that of King Mark’s. But if it’s a title of respect, why would people call her Mama? The book said that Elena preferred to be called Mami, so shouldn’t Elena be called Mami Elena instead?
Another possibility is that Tita, the only one who called Elena “Mama”, called Elena with such a title, and her name for Elena just got passed down through the generations, and that’s why the author (who probably only knew Esperanza, who in turn probably only knew Tita well) calls her Mama Elena.
Any thoughts?
like water for chocolate 
January 6, 2007 at 12:48 am
Come to think of it, I have no clue as to why the narrator calls Tita’s mom Mama Elena. After all, Mama Elena is technically her great-grandmother. I’m not sure as to how this name came to be, though I support your theory now that I’ve read it, but I do have an idea as to why the author made it that way. The book, though it’s written in Esperanza’s daughter’s point of view, is about Tita, and therefore putting everything in relation to Tita would put her into focus. Think about what it would be like if Mama Elena was Great-Grandma Elena instead. That would shift your attention to the narrator, and make you lose connection and feel more distant from Tita’s problems and situations, when Tita’s the person the author (and Esperanza’s daughter) wants you to focus on. Another possibility is that Mama seems like a more imposing title than Great-Grandma. When you think “great-grandmother”, the words “kind”, “gentle”, “dead”, and “not threatening at all” automatically come to mind. Mama Elena isn’t in any of those categories (she is physically dead in the latter half of the novel, though I’d argue that she is still “alive” in Tita’s mind), and therefore doesn’t fit the great-grandmother archetype at all.
As a side note, doesn’t Mama Elena not like to be called “Mami” at all? I might be wrong on this one, but didn’t Tita call her “Mami” once and got scolded for it? Sorry, it’s been a while since I read that part and I can’t seen to find the scene in the book.
January 6, 2007 at 3:06 am
I agree with the above comment wholeheartedly. A much better answer to my own question, really.
No, Mama Elena doesn’t like to be called Mama, she likes to be called Mami (as seen on page 12) because she “felt that the word Mama had a disrespectful sound to it.” The first time Tita called Elena Mami, she was able to calm her down. However, the second time Tita calls Elena Mami, Elena still blew up.
January 6, 2007 at 4:04 am
Even though Elena probably prefers the title “Mami”, it’s possible that other people have grown used to using “Mama”.
According to Mama Elena, “Mami” shows more respect and formality than “Mama”. However, those that address her as Mama Elena may not always wish to show respect (hmm, I wonder why?).
This reminds me of something else that’s somewhat irrelevant, but it’s a good example: Mary I was the queen of England in the sixteenth century. However, most people refer to her as “Bloody Mary” today.
Anyways, I think the author used Mama Elena because
1) It has a very homely and traditional sound to it, and Eleana’s certainly very firm on tradition
2) The author wants to keep the name consistant throughout the novel. Tita might have refered to her as Mama Elena, but Esperanza’s daughter might have also refered to her as Mama Elena
3) “Mama Elena” is shorter than “Great-Grandmother Elena”. The latter just doesn’t roll off the tongue. Also, can you imagine the narrator using “Great-Grandmother Elena” in the very beginning and very end, and “Mama Elena” in the middle?
January 6, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Even if the name “Mama Elena” got passed down through generations, to justify why Esperanza’s daughter refers to her as “Mama Elena” too, it is still interesting that Mama Elena’s own daughters call her that. I’m not talking about the “Mama” part of the name, but the “Elena” part. Think about it: each of us probably calls our parents “Mama” or something like that, but do we also call them by their actual name? Imagine calling your mother as .
However, we must also consider that we are talking about a culture and tradition that we are not familiar with. Although calling your mother by her actual name, showing respect by using “Mama” or “Mami”, or other things may seem awkward to us, that might very well be the way of Mexican culture. We know that it is a strict environment, so showing extra respect like this is not much of a surprise.
January 9, 2007 at 11:15 pm
In response to Ruey, I know many people who refer to their parents by their first names. But this isn’t the point I’m making. I think that the author refers to her as Mama Elena because that is what she’s always known her as. She never knew her as a great-grandmother – only as Mama Elena through her mother’s stories and Tita’s recipe book. Many people are refered to as “Mama” (i.e. Mama Bear for Algonquin) to show their ranking as a leader. Mama Elena was in charge of the ranch as well as everything and everybody on it from the day her husband died all the way until she herself died, and perhaps even after that. So naturally, people will always refer to her as Mama Elena, regardless of whether or not she is their birth mother.