Juan José Millás and the Male Characters in his Novel "Hay algo que no es como me dicen. El caso de Nevenka Fernández contra la realidad". Two Extremes on the Curve of Masculinity

Abstract

When writing the testimonial novel Hay algo que no es como me dicen. El caso de Nevenka Fernández contra la realidad (2004), Juan José Millás takes the position of defender of the main character, victim of mobbing and sexual harassment in the Ponferrada City Council. As such, he becomes a benchmark for the new masculinity in Spain at the beginning of the 21st century. Unlike other male characters –individual and collective–, preceded by the mayor Ismael Álvarez, whose toxic masculinity is based on the feeling of superiority and the influence of the patriarchal system to which they belong, the figure of Millás is interpreted as a destabilizer of that reality, creating an alternative version of the story of Nevenka Fernández, which invites to fight against false heroes and considerate a new cultural construction.