Throughout history, men and women have dealt with the burden of the gender expectations of society. Men are supposed to be powerful and courageous, while women must remain powerless and weak. Many religions have supported these gender roles by not allowing women to take part in public activities with men and by giving them secondary roles. Even throughout the works of mythologists and philosophers, women have been deemed as dangerous and mad, while men are extremely brave and independent. Once these roles are reversed, then women are automatically seen as evil for having too much power. It is safe to say that gender inequality has occurred since the beginning of time. People are so used to the inequality, that they do not even notice it when it appears in different forms. Whether it is within religion, media, or literature, gender inequality is nearly inescapable. The issue of gender inequality is embedded within the short story “And of Clay Are We Created” written by Isabel Allende. Allende takes the historic event of a 1985 Colombian volcanic eruption and shares it in her own way with the addition of strong emotion that instantly captures readers’ attention. Along with strong emotion are two main characters that are complete opposites of one another. Allende applies typical gender roles to these characters. Rolf is the heroic, strong male, while Azucena is the weak and helpless female. Through the narrative point of view and characters, Allende shows readers what happens when those gender roles are reversed. Allende proves the significance of gender roles and shows how males are not used to being weak, so they do not know how to regain strength once they hit rock bottom. In the exposition of the story, readers are brought to the aftermath of a natural disaster. A volcanic eruption has left some of the poorest villages devastated by killing and injuring a countless amount of people and annihilating each and every one of their homes. From the damaged villages, Allende takes readers into the warm, safe, and secure home of Rolf Carle. Here we meet the narrator of the story who readers can assume to be the significant other of Mr. Carle. Through a first person point of view, the narrator explains what seems to be a normal routine of Rolf getting called into work by the news station. Readers learn that not only is Rolf being sent to the site of the disaster, but he is also able to remain calm through any situation that he reports about. “Nothing could stop him, and I was always amazed at his equanimity in the face of danger and suffering; it seemed as if nothing could shake his fortitude or deter his curiosity,” Allende writes. After reading this line, one can assume that Rolf is the typical male. He is strong, brave, and never shows emotion. He is the type of man that you can rely on to remain poised within any situation, and he alway