What describes esquivel’s primary purpose in her essay “at the hearth”?

to instruct the reader in how to prepare nutritious meals
to entertain the reader with quaint stories of her childhood
to inform and persuade the reader about her dream of a “new man”
to persuade the reader to consider giving up meat

Laura Esquivel’s primary purpose in her essay “At the Hearth” is to inform and persuade the reader about her dream of a "New Man." She starts her story by recounting childhood memories from her time spent at her mother's and her grandmother's kitchens, where she heard stories and learnt about traditions and recipes that she soon had to set aside in order to welcome other kind of knowledge, more rational and scientific, when, as a young adult, she attended college in the midst of the revolutionary 1960s, and, like other fellow students, aimed to change the world in search of the New Man. She then got married and had a daughter, and she felt a desire to feed both her husband and her child, so she returned to the kitchen, but, to her dismay, her daughter did not pay attention to her culinary efforts, and she soon realized that the new society she contributed to create, where women remain away from the hearth and disdain housework, was not conducive to the creation of the New Man. In the last paragraphs the author reflects upon the importance of hearing and respecting ancient stories and recipes told by the hearth for the appearance of the New Man, and she describes such a man. She then refers to her famous book, Like Water for Chocolate, and thanks his father for indirectly helping her to find a balance between masculine and feminine in her work. She concludes her essay by acknowledging the women in her life for having contributed to her success as an author, and other women that, like them, may not have gone to college, but know a great deal about life and about the world, and are not (publicly) recognized for the wonderful job they do feeding and taking care of their families.  

The correct answer to this question is "to inform and persuade the reader about her dream of a “New Man”.

yes, it can be both.

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