What is it about?
El tango de la vieja guardia shows its two major characters following the lead of Pérez-Reverte´s previous great ones and takes them one step forward. From the first time they meet, in spite of having a high-concept of himself, Max Costa becomes a part of what Mecha is, does and reads. She exerts Foucauldian power over him; she induces, facilitates, seduces and makes him do things even when he is an old man feeling incapable of achieving his old feats. The novel is presented as a twice adjourned chess game, with mysteries, wars and intrigues. Mecha is the master player, while Max, without even noticing it, is a pawn and her helper. The traditional congealed form of the sexualization of inequality between men and women is subverted and Max is subordinated to Mecha, who is seen to read events more successfully than men.
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Why is it important?
Most research about Pérez-Reverte has focused on the same issues but almost nobody has looked into the complexity of his female characters
Perspectives
To open up new venues into Pérez-Reverte´s work
Dr Emilio L Ramon
Universidad Catolica de Valencia San Vicente Martir
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: De hombres menores y mujeres formidables: el hombre a la sombra de Mecha Inzunza en El Tango de la Vieja Guardia de Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Revista de Literatura, September 2018, Departmento de Publicaciones del CSIC,
DOI: 10.3989/revliteratura.2018.02.021.
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