From Lesser Men to Formidable Women: the Man in the Shadow of Mecha Inzunza in El Tango de la Vieja Guardia by Arturo Perez-Reverte

El tango de la vieja guardia shows its two major characters following the lead of Perez-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.