<P> Upon learning the news of her nephew's death, whom she cared for herself, Tita blames her mother, who responds by smacking Tita across the face with a wooden spoon . Tita, destroyed by the death of her beloved nephew and unwilling to cope with her mother's controlling ways, secludes herself in the dovecote until the sympathetic Dr. John Brown soothes and comforts her . Mamá Elena states there is no place for "lunatics" like Tita on the farm, and wants her to be institutionalized . However, the doctor decides to take care of Tita at his home instead . Tita develops a close relationship with Dr. Brown, even planning to marry him at one point, but her underlying feelings for Pedro do not waver . </P> <P> While John is away, Tita loses her virginity to Pedro . A month later, Tita is worried she may be pregnant with Pedro's child . Her mother's ghost taunts her, telling her that she and her child are cursed . Gertrudis visits the ranch for a special holiday and makes Pedro overhear about Tita's pregnancy, causing Tita and Pedro to argue about running away together . This causes Pedro to get drunk and sing below Tita's window while she is arguing with Mama Elena's ghost . Just as she confirms she isn't pregnant and frees herself of her mother's grasp once and for all, Mamá Elena's ghost gets revenge on Tita by setting Pedro on fire, leaving him bedridden for a while and behaving like "a child throwing a tantrum". Meanwhile, Tita is preparing for John's return, and is hesitant to tell him that she cannot marry him because she is no longer a virgin . Rosaura comes to the kitchen while Tita is cooking and argues with her over Tita's involvement with Rosaura's daughter Esperenza's life and the tradition of the youngest daughter remaining at home to care for the mother until she dies, a tradition which Tita despises . She vows not to let it ruin her niece's life as it did hers . John and his deaf great - aunt come over and Tita tells him that she cannot marry him . John seems to accept it, "reaching for Tita's hand...with a smile on his face". </P> <P> Many years later, Tita is preparing for Esperanza's and John's son Alex's wedding to one another, now that Rosaura has died from digestive problems . During the wedding, Pedro proposes to Tita saying that he does not want to "die without making (Tita) (his) wife". Tita accepts and Pedro dies making love to her in the kitchen storage room right after the wedding . Tita is overcome with sorrow and cold, and begins to eat a box of candles . The candles are sparked by the heat of Pedro's memory, creating a spectacular fire that engulfs them both, eventually consuming the entire ranch . (eating candles was replaced by eating matches for the film adaptation) </P> <P> The narrator of the story is the daughter of Esperanza, nicknamed "Tita", after her great - aunt . She describes how after the fire, the only thing that survived under the smoldering rubble of the ranch was Tita's cookbook, which contained all the recipes described in the preceding chapters . </P>

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