Their bed sheet - Como agua para chocolate (1993) Discussion

[–] maverick_j2k 21 years ago

I've heard people talk about this movie and I wanted to know what it was about and if the destined lovers end up with each other in the end.

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[–] TwiztidChick68 20 years ago

It was a
"special sheet" they used while they er.. slept together..

and in the end.. they don't use the 'special sheet' while they have sex.. and the guy dies from over excitement.. litterally.

The moral of the story is: Use the special sheet when your having sex to avoid death from over excitment.

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[–] Sandkitty 20 years ago

That is not why he died. He died because he had so much passion for Tita that his fire was lite all at once. It had nothing to do with the sheet.

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] 20 years ago

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[–] jwcbp 17 years ago

I tend to agree with Sandkitty. I believe the use of sheets to determine virginity is stupid. The hymen does not 'break' and therefore most women do not bleed. The hymen actually stretches, and the initial stretching is what causes the first time pain in women.

Not only that, but working class women are sure to have stretched their hymen naturally by the time they reach marriage so any blood that may have been caused by the act of sex would have been eliminated.

I would agree that the sheet is used for decency purposes. I am not denying it's existence all together. Just that it is used to show blood. I do believe that is a myth. If it were true, almost 100% of the women would be putting chicked blood covered sponges in their cootch.

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[–] big_kmc 16 years ago

TwiztidChick68 that is the funniest thing I ever read on IMDB

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[–] angelinastarr 20 years ago

The Sheet is called a "nuptial" sheet. it was used back then as a way of initiating their first night together without making them both feel awkward with each other while having sex for the first time. In the book, Pedro and Rosaura use it each time they have sex because Pedro has "no desire" to look or explore her body during sex.

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[–] aroseisarose 20 years ago

there was also the tradition of using a white sheet on the wedding night to have physical proof that the bride was virginal. when, um, things break, it bleeds, so the blood would show that the bride lost her maidenhead on her wedding night. if there were to be any alagations of the bride not being a virgin before her wedding, she had the sheet as a recouse to protect herself.

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[–] splattered_whim 20 years ago

aroseisarose is the most accurate here. In many cultures, where virginity is regarded as highly important, and sex is not for anything but procreation, the bride and groom would often be required to place a sheet (like in the movie) between each other. Later, the sheet would be used to prove to the families and such that the woman had indeed been a virtuous woman.

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[–] Hylian_Heroine 20 years ago

They would also use it to reveal only the necessary parts of their body, so that they would not lust, which is considered a sin by many.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"When I see you... I don't know why, but I remember...him..."

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[–] angelinastarr 20 years ago

Laura Esquivel, the author of the book, states that Pedro and Rosaura always use the sheet whenever they have sex. I think he realizes that Rosaura isn't the type of woman to be screwing around town, so therefore, he doesn't really need proof of her virginity. Besides, he could really care less because he loves Tita and not Rosaura.

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[–] clsineath 20 years ago

Just go to www.snopes.com (or Urban Legends Reference Pages) and put
"Do Orthodox Jews have sex through a hole in a sheet" in the Search box. Actually, I just entered "Religion" and the bed sheet story was #5 in the list.
You'll find the answer and other interesting FACTS....

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[–] Sandkitty 20 years ago

what does this have to do with anything? Jews do not use a sheet.

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] Sandkitty 20 years ago

He used the sheet because he had no desire to see Rosaura's body or to touch her. He only had sex wih her to produce a child.

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] angelinastarr 20 years ago

Thank You "Sandkitty" You're the only other person (other than myself) who has gotten this information correct. Kudos to you!

-angelinastarr-

Smile Please =)

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[–] Sandkitty 20 years ago

:) very welcome. Some people do not get it.

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] chasemice 19 years ago

To Sandkitty and AngelinaStarr:
Actually yes, and no. Pedro took advantage of the sheet, because he didn't really desire Rosaura - so it came in handy.
But -- Regardless of his "non-feelings" for Rosaura, the bedsheet was still a traditional custom for the wedding night in old cultures - regardless of mutual love or lack of it.

Pedro and Tita would of probably used it the very first time for the sake of honoring tradition.
Virginity and decency (hers, lol) would still be highly desired on their special wedding night. Then afterwards they'd probably toss it and then get deliciously down and dirty! *grin*

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

That is not why they used it.
Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] chasemice 19 years ago

*sigh*
Pedro didn't put the sheet specifically because he didn't want to see her body.
The sheet was put on because it was the custom back them to "try" to be "decent" and only have sex for procreation (not recreation).
You hear Pedro pray this prayer:
(paraphrased translation)
God, we procreate to recreate...

Now, of course if he had the woman he desired, they surely would of thrown tradition to the wind after the initial loss of her virginity.
The loss of virginity is a sacred ritual.
But again, Pedro didn't put the sheet on her for the sole purpose of covering her -- but he probably was relieved that they had it because he saw it as a duty only and not lovemaking.

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

Maybe so. However the use of the "sheet" is a myth and was not used.
Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] chasemice 19 years ago

Actually you are mistaken. The use of nuptial sheets have been used in many cultures of the world, and even still exists today in some villages in the Middle East. Families had to have proof (blood stains) of the bride's virginity or wife is "no good," and she dishonor her family.

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

Maybe in some Arab cultures. However, it does not really matter at all.

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] chasemice 19 years ago

Sandkitty:

No, not "maybe" -- it's a FACT indeed. Why is it so hard to believe that it is a part of some modern day (Arab and Persia), and in many other cultures of the past from many parts of the world. Nuptial sheet was used to control women, the same as chastity belts. Did you knw that in some cultures today they even cut off a woman's clitoris so that she has no desire for sex until she is forced into an arranged marriage? (Africa)

You stated: "However it does not really matter at all?"
This is a discussion board, so if you don't think it matters, then you certainly don't have to post, do you?

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

I know all this. However, this is a story and people are reading WAY too much into it. It does not matter at all. It's not a real story.

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] chasemice 19 years ago

Sandkitty: If it's only a movie that's not real -- that doesn't mean that you can't talk about certain aspects that branch off and go to a deeper level of discussion. My mistake was to try to do that with you.
Obviously our discussion is over! And yes, you can have the last word because I shall move onto another discussion, have a good day.

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

I do not want to discuss this. Nor did I ever. I was just answering the orginal poster's question on how I saw it. This is why this board annoys me. People just hit reply and do not even know who they are talking to. Anyways, have a nice day.

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] angelinastarr 19 years ago

I'm sorry if offended you all, but it's just my sense of humor. I wasn't upset or anything.

But I agree with everyone else, this has gotten a little wacky, but fun at the same time.

-rv

Smile Please =)

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

I am not offended but it seems other people were :)
Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

Thanks. I find these forums (as you call them) amusing. It amazes me what people will get their panties in a bunch over.
Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] angelinastarr 19 years ago

I just have to put my 2 cents in. I understand that other cultures may use the sheet for whatever purpose, but I am merely talking in terms of this movie.

READ THE BOOK!!

It states exactly why Pedro and Rosaura use it. Yes, they use it because the first time one has sex in these cultures is to help with any intimacy problems they may have on their wedding night. But really, the author clearly underlines the fact that Pedro has no desire to look at Rosaura's body. All he wants to do is bang Tita like an old drum without her clothes on instead of Rosaura.

Smile Please =)

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[–] chasemice 19 years ago

Angelinastarr: In terms of the movie, I completely agree with you.

And yes, I also read the book.

And I agree that Pedro has no desire for Rosaura, and yes, I know he desires to "bang" Tita naked (as you so eloquently put it, lol)!

But the discussion took a different turn (historically and culturally), and there is nothing wrong with that happening in a message board as long as it all ties in to the movie. My disagreement with Sandkitty was NOT about the book/movie, but she claimed that nuptial sheets never really existed.
Then makes comments about how "it doesn't matter" -- so that is confusing.

Sometimes you want to break into a polite, interesting discussion that is related to the movie , but I guess some people are just a tad strange and can be quite rude. *Shrugs* Oh well.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] dvwalker-1 18 years ago

Many Muslims (not just in Africa) still practice amputation of a woman's privates so that she will feel no desire or get any satisfation from relations.
The men use this to keep the women in line and prevent adultry.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] KiWi_KiD 19 years ago

chasemice your right in some respect but if you read the book they didn't have to use it, Tita and Pedro didn't, they used it coz they didn't love one another and didn't want to see each others bodies.

The Phantom of the Opera is there....inside my mind

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[–] Dragonred 19 years ago

It was custom for good catholic couples to use the sheet WAY back then. But back then, a lot of marriages were arranged, so there was no true lust between husband and wife. Tita and Pedro were lucky to have that passion. Do you think Tita's mom and dad had that passion or do you think they used the "sheet" when they procreated? I bet her mom didn't use the "sheet" when she conceived Gertrudis!!!

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[–] dvwalker-1 18 years ago

How naive can you be? A man will lust after a woman's body no matter who she is. He might have loved Tita, but place any female against him and he's raring to go.

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[–] chasemice 18 years ago

dvwalker-1:

Regarding your comment about a man's nature to just get any piece of ass (lol, sorry).........I wouls day that in this story it would not apply.

He kept her waiting and making excuses.

I guess for some men, they are still governed by their heart, not their penis, lol.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] texas1 18 years ago

How about proving that the man is a virtuous man?

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[–] chasemice 18 years ago

texas1:

I think everyone should try to be virtuous, but of course that would be "unmanly," LOL.

Funny how people have their double standards. All I can say is that women should not lower standards, but hope that men uplift theirs. (Yet, never tolerate any judgement from anyone!)

By the way, I am in no way bashing men, only the silly double standard passed on in society. Kudos to the men who think with their minds and hearts!

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[–] chasemice 20 years ago

Yes, this is true. Another interesting fact is that women had a trick they used when they were not virgins, and wanted to appear as one. They inserted a tiny "balloon" of blood that was made out of chicken blood and a thin membrane from some kind of chicken tissue. Then during intercourse, this little tiny bag was popped and the blood leaked and it appeared as if the "virgen" bled, lol. (My ancestery is Mexican and I remember my 92 year old great-aunt talking about this.)

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[–] mccolley2 19 years ago

Dr. Michael James McColley-Parmer

Chasemice and Angelinastarr, you are so right about the use of the bedsheet both in Arau's film and in Esquivel's book. And I like your trick with the chicken blood. You must have read the erotic classic, "Fanny Hill." Fanny and her bawd use the same trick, though it was a sponge soaked in animal blood, to fool an old whoremonger who wanted to experience a virgin. However, it is also true that some cultures today still use the wedding night sheet, including in Jewish communities. Yes most Orthodox Jews, as well as Conservatives and Reform would not think of using this device, but I do know of some Chassidic branches of Judaism, in which marriages are still arranged, in which the wedding night sheet is used. As for proof of virginity, any old sheet will do and only a blood test could tell that the blood isn't human!

One final comment, a Chabad Rabbi once told me that he had married a couple who found that the use of the wedding night sheet was so erotic that they used it everytime, simply for the turn on. Whatever floats the boat! Mccolley

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[–] houseofscorpio 19 years ago

The sheet was also used because the body was considered sinful, so the sheet was used to reduce the "lust" factor. Women's bodies were considered especially sinful (which is why women either covered their heads or pinned their hair up). I would feel sorry for the women who lost their hymen in other ways other than sex on the wedding night. Their are cultures today that still believe intercourse is the only way a women can break their hymen.

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

Orthodox Jews still use a special nuptial sheet on their wedding night. Really now??? A lot of my family are Orthodox Jews and I have NEVER heard of them using a sheet. BTW it's an urban myth disproved on Snopes. I have NEVER clamimed to know of other cultures. I was replying to the person who claimed that Jews use them.

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

I refuse to argue with you anymore. I have NEVER heard of Jews doing this ever. So to each their own I suppose. I will not argue this anymore. A Biogoted Jew..that will be the day!!

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Sandkitty 19 years ago

It's fun to look at and amusing yes it is.

I am a lot more educated than you appear to be. You are the one with your panties in a bunch over some comment in a "forum". Move on already. I am not even the orginal poster.

Sometimes being a B***** is all a woman has to hang on to. ~ Dolores Claiborne

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] cminks 19 years ago

The sheet is a wedding sheet. Pedro and Rosaura were trying to conceive a son, and the sex wasn't from lust, or anything, but purely for procreation. If you watch the movie carefully, once she tells him she's feeling fine, she pulls the sheet over herself while he prays, and positions the hole right over her pelvic area. That way, the only contact their unclothed bodies have are of the reproductive organs of the body.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] tishannad4 19 years ago

They did that so as to not have their skin/bodies touch. It was kind of a decency act- remeber this was in the "good, old days." The slit allowed the male organ to enter the female organ without contact of other body parts.

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[–] Haids1987 19 years ago

Back in the good ol' days, people used to have sex for the first time on pure white sheets. If a girl is a virgin, she will bleed the first time that she has sex. The sheet will get the blood on it. People would show the sheet to the family to prove that the girl was a virgin when she got married. The hole, to me, shows that Pedro wasn't in love with his wife, so their marriage and comsummation wasn't pure.

"You are a lover. Borrow Cupid's wings and soar with them above a common ground."

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[–] luiscl-1 19 years ago

First of all, for the comment of "it doesn't matter" I would say to this person that any discussion on the significance of an object be it in littereature or film, does matter. Does it matter in solving the world's problems, no, but in matters in the discussion of the story. That's why there are discussions boards, to DISCUSS these things.

Second, the wedding sheet is a simbol of the sexual repression that was common in Revolutionary Mexico. This time is characterized by the tension between the conservatives and the radicals. On one side you have hacendados, owners of the haciendas, who were few and wealthy wealthy. On the other hand you have Zapata and Villa, fighting for the poor and seeking for a redistribution of wealth. The former represent a conservative and repressed society. THe latter a radical lawless one.

The wedding sheet is a simbol of the repressed society. It represents the conservative view that there should be a rigid way of life. The rigidity of the power structure wich kept the poor under control of the rich is represented by the sheet. The sheet simbolized the repression of passion, since the only purpose of sex is procreation.

In contrast, the lack of the sheet represents the future envisioned by the villistas, a future where the former regulations are abolished. THe freedom for the repressed masses is simbolized by Tita's and Pedro's forbbidden love, which flourishes without the need for the sheet. SHex becomes a passionate act, not regulated by the old regime of decency.

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[–] snb0006 18 years ago

I remember in a scene from the fourth series of AB FAB. Marshall and Bo were involved with Kaballah and she complained that when they had sex it was through a tiny slit in a sheet. Maybe there a certain Jewish groups that do use the sheet. I didn't think there were Jewish people who believed in Jesus, but there is a sect that does. Interesting. That nupital sheet was to cut down the lust factor. You are doing a job, procreating a race, not having fun. The sheet on the bed was the proof of virginity because gravity pulls blood downward and it won't get on the nupital sheet.

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[–] dvwalker-1 18 years ago

Why didn't the man have to prove that he was a virgin?

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[–] czarina-attrition 18 years ago

In some cultures it is customary to hang the nuptial sheet (or the sheets that the couple consumated the marrige on) out the window after the first sexual encounter to show that consumation had taken place and the "evidence" of the woman being a virgin.

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