Isabel Allende, “And of Clay Are We
Created” (1223-1231)
Isabel
Allende:
·
Born
1942
·
One
of the known contemporary Latin American writers
·
Chilean
novelist
·
Brought
the tradition of magic realism to bear on women’s experience
·
“Allende
has portrayed women’s spiritual lives in the context of the political world of
her childhood and youth, adding a dimension to magic realism while bringing her
a wide international audience” (1224).
·
Born
in Peru
The Story:
·
Stage
of her career where she chose more realism than magic
·
The
title refers to a biblical passage that humans are said to be created of clay
or earth.
·
This
story reminds us of our shared humanity and our mortality.
·
Awareness
of the poor and disenfranchised.
·
“Allende’s
works provide a feminist perspective on the complex history of twentieth-century
Latin America” (1225).
Some Quotes:
·
She
had a first communion name, Azucena. Lily. In that vast cemetery where the odor
of death was already attracting vultures from far away, and where the weeping
of orphans and wails of the injured filled the air, the little girl obstinately
clinging to life became the symbol of the tragedy” (1225). Azucena is a type of
lilly (Madonna lilly or white lilly). A first communion name is a name that is
often of a saint that is given at the first confirmation in the Catholic
Church. The tragedy is possibly the eruption of Nevado Del Ruiz, in Columbia in
1985. The child is trapped in a mud slide caused by this eruption (mixed with
roaring waters). It is a difficult situation.
·
“He
added that it was impossible to remove all the corpses or count the thousands
who had disappeared; the entire valley would be declared holy ground, and
bishops would come to celebrate a solemn mass for the souls of the victims”
(1231).
·
“He
was Azucena; he was buried in the clayey mud; his terror was not the distant
emotion of an almost forgotten childhood, it was a claw sunk in his throat”
(1230). He felt helpless, stuck.
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