In "And of Clay Are We Created," what is the relationship between Rolf Carlé and the narrator?
The narrator in this story is Rolf Carlé's lover. She is miles away while Rolf is attempting to calm and comfort the young woman who has become stuck in a mudpit in the aftermath of an earthquake. However, she does her best to provide support by being with him in spirit and attempting to leverage her contacts to have help sent to the site.
While Rolf stays at Azucena's side, Eva Luna supports them in every way that she can from a distance. She tries unsuccessfully to get a pump sent to the site, and shows her love ahd compassion by trying to help Rolf through her "force of mind."
Eva Luna watches for three days and three nights as Rolf holds his vigil at Azucena's side. At the point when Rolf and Azucena have to accept that they cannot change anything, and that Azucena will die, Eva Luna mourns...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
with them from across the distance.
It seems inevitable that Rolf enduring this trauma will create an emotional gap between Rolf and Eva, because much as she supports him, he must endure the experience and witness the girl's eventual death alone. The event brings to the surface other traumas that Rolf has experienced in his life, and the story ends with him needing to take time to allow various emotional wounds to heal.
Part of the anthology The Stories of Eva Luna, "And of Clay Are We Created" is a short story by Isabel Allende about a reporter who tries to save a victim of a volcanic eruption.
Rolf Carlé reports on the plight of a young girl, Azucena, who is stuck in heavy mud after the volcano erupts. Initially, he is confident that Azucena will be rescued easily, providing a great human interest piece for his network:
She was thirteen, and she had never been outside her village. Rolf Carlé, buoyed by a premature optimism, was convinced that everything would end well: the pump would arrive, they would drain the water, move the rubble, and Azucena would be transported by helicopter to a hospital where she would recover rapidly and where he could visit her and bring her gifts.
His first interest is in the story. However, as time wears on and the proper equipment is not obtained, Carlé becomes emotionally invested in Azucena; he sees it as his mission to rescue her and refuses to leave her side, without concern for his career or safety:
Rolf Carlé had a growth of beard, and dark circles beneath his eyes; he looked near exhaustion. Even from that enormous distance I could sense the quality of his weariness, so different from the fatigue of other adventures. He had completely forgotten the camera; he could not look at the girl through a lens any longer.
The damage from the volcano is massive and Azucena is only one facet of it, yet Carlé is obsessed with her rescue and ignores all other distractions. As he tries to keep her spirit strong, Carlé begins to see himself as trapped like her, but in his own past and memories:
That night, imperceptibly, the unyielding floodgates that had contained Rolf Carlé's past for so many years began to open, and the torrent of all that had lain hidden in the deepest and most secret layers of memory poured out, eveling before it the obstacles that had blocked his consciousness for so long.
Finally, both he and Azucena come to terms with her inevitable death; no one is taking steps to help and there is simply nothing Carlé can do by himself.
"Don’t cry. I don’t hurt anymore. I'm fine," Azucena said when dawn came. "I'm not crying for you," Rolf Carlé smiled. "I'm crying for myself. I hurt all over." ... I recognized the precise moment at which Rolf gave up the fight and surrendered to the torture of watching the girl die. ... I watched as he leaned down to kiss her poor
forehead, consumed by a sweet, sad emotion he could not name. I felt how in that instant both were saved from despair, how they were freed from the clay, how they rose above the vultures and helicopters, how together they flew above the vast swamp of corruption and laments. How, finally, they were able to accept
death.
(All Quotes: Allende, "And of Clay Are We Created," teacherweb.com)
In his mind, rescuing Azucena would be a confirmation of his own goodness and absolution of his life, of which he is ashamed. The emotional investment of the story gave Carlé a reason to continue trying to help, day after day, and each time he failed he felt the guilt of his previous life; when he finally gives in, it is because Azucena herself forgives him, letting him know that her death is not his fault.
How is Rolf Carlé described by the narrator in "And of Clay Are We Created"?
In Isabel Allende’s short story “And of Clay We Are Created,” Eva Luna, the narrator, provides a heartfelt description of the news reporter, Rolf Carlé. Eva is left behind as Rolf travels to a disaster zone created by a volcanic eruption. She is watching him on television as she describes his calm demeanor in the face of adversity. Rolf was known for reporting from difficult situations with a collected, almost detached attitude. Nothing phased his countenance as he plodded through human suffering and unimaginable conditions. When he was behind a camera, he transformed into someone other than himself. It seemed the lens protected him from his own feelings. Although he did not seem fearful in dire situations, Eva says, “he had confessed to me that he was not a courageous man,” yet he never seemed shaken.
Later in the story, she notes there was point, while he was talking to Azucena Lily, when he let his guard down and his emotions flowed freely. He arrives home a changed man who Eva would wait for as he worked through the ordeal in stoic silence.