Isabel Allende's 'And Of Clay Are We Created'

Brandon Aristizabal
Rebecca Cisneros-Diaz
English 1B
West Valley College
April 21, 2015.
From Gender are we Created In the short story by Isabel Allende, “And of Clay Are We Created,” Allende tells and illustrates a story of a small Colombian village that is destroyed by dangerous mudslides. In this short story, there is a young, 13 year old girl named Azucena who gets trapped in the mud from the mudslide, but is still alive. A man, who is portrayed as a courageous, brave and daring man, named Rolph, finds Azucena trapped in the mud and he dedicates himself to saving this young girl from the sinking mud. Rolph is a TV reporter, and in his broadcast he is shown in his journey to save this young girl who is portrayed as innocent and weak.
Rolph stays with Azucena for three days until it was too late to save her. He would speak to her and comfort her, hoping to be able to save her from death. As they spoke together, we come to learn much about Rolph and his past experiences in his life. He lived a dark and hectic life in his younger years, and like Azucena, being trapped in the mud, he felt trapped in his life. Despite the gender differences between Rolph and Azucena and the way they are portrayed by their gender, we come to learn that they are both quite similar, as they have suffered tragic losses in their lives. At young ages, both Rolph and Azucena suffered tragic losses. Rolph and his sister, Katharina, were abused by their father and would, “Punish for imagined misbehavior by whipping them and locking them in rooms, and their mother did nothing to stop him” (Allende 256). They had to take care of themselves from a young age, because no one would take care of them. He lived a tragic and difficult young life, and everything came crashing down on him when he lost his beloved little sister. Azucena suffered a similar life in her young age. Her parents were naïve and would not listen to the to warnings of the mudslides. They were a poor farmer family and were unable to protect Azucena and her siblings from the mudslide and ultimately, their death. Both Rolph and Azucena suffered a difficult situation from their family, having difficult parents and losing their siblings from it. Despite Rolph being portrayed as a brave, strong, daring and courageous man, he is shown from his past experiences that he has a soft, weak side from his past that society would deem as “feminine.” The loss of Rolph’s sister would cause him to “weep for her death and for the guilt of having abandoned her” (Allende 251). Something that society’s stereotype wouldn’t accept of this “brave and courageous” man. Throughout the story of Rolph doing everything he can to try and save Azucena from the sinking mud.
While he stays and talks with her, we come to learn much about the side of Rolph that society would not expect from him. Trying to pull Azucena out of the mud, he hurts her more as he pulls. He was going to need a water pump to get her out without hurting her. He promises Azucena that they will get her out of the sinking mud and that she would live. The speaker emphasizes, “Despite the quality of the transmission, I could hear his voice break, and I love him more than ever” (Azucena 251). Despite Rolph being a courageous and brave man that he is portrayed as, the way his voice breaks shows that the way society portrays the “Man Box” to be can be false. He worries and feels sadness for Azucena, something that the “Man Box” would not portray for this brave, courageous man. Rolph began to explain to Azucena about his sister and how he lost her at a young age. He felt ashamed of himself and cowardly for not protecting his sister from her abusive father. He confesses all his secrets and emotions from his past and begins to cry. Another thing that societies “Man Box” would deem as weak, feminine and unmanly. After losing Azucena, Rolph became ill, sad and depressed. It seemed as if he couldn’t bear to live with himself for losing his sister and now Azucena. Rolph’s portrayed life changed throughout the story from being a brave, courageous and daring man whom society would never define as “weak,” to someone who we learned to have a deep, emotional life that would break this “man box” that society portrays on
us. As for Azucena, despite her being portrayed in the beginning of the story as a weak, young girl who cant help herself, we come to learn that she can demonstrate courage and strength; despite knowing she would probably die. Even though she knows she is about to die, she is able to comfort Rolph when he is emotional about his past life and experiences. She portrays strength when she emphasizes to Rolph, “Don’t Cry. I don’t hurt anymore” (Allende 257). The “woman box” would usually say that any woman in that situation would not stop crying and shouting for help. But she kept calm and displayed courage. Azucena portrayed that she could break this “woman box” that society places on woman and can be courageous and brave, despite knowing she is going to die. Society places these stereotypes on genders, that men only portray this “man box” and woman only portray the “woman box” that society has created. The story of Rolph and Azucena shows us that these gender roles that society places on us can be completely false. Woman can be courageous, tough, strong like Azucena Displayed to us as she was about to die. Men can be soft, emotional, and caring at any time in their life just as Rolph displayed from talking about his life to Azucena. This “Man and Woman Box” are not real. They are a stereotype that society has unfortunately created from history. As society evolves, it needs to learn that there is no gender, only humans.

Work Cited
Allende, Isabel. "And of Clay are We Created." The Stories of Eva Luna. Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. New York: Scribner, 2001. 248-259. Print.